The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce membership boasts a weighty representation on a list of the world’s most innovative companies this year.

Chamber members First Solar and Pacific Gas and Electric Company were both ranked in the top 10 most innovated companies by Fast Company magazine. First Solar, a solar module manufacturer, ranks No. 6, while Pacific Gas and Electric Company ranks No. 7. Both companies are working locally on the Topaz Solar Farm project, a 550 megawatt solar power plant, proposed the Carissa Plains.

“These companies are known locally as leading-edge and inventive, but this ranking quite literally puts them in a whole new category,” San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce President Dave Garth said. “We’re very proud that not just one, but two, of our 1,400 members are listed among the top companies in the world."

Overall, Fast Company recognized 250-plus companies, including more than 75 non-U.S. businesses. The magazine analyzed information on thousands of businesses across the globe. The result identifies creative models and progressive cultures, as well as revenue growth and profit margins, to define the many forms of innovation that exist across the business landscape. 

Chamber staff joins Sunset Magazine, VCB and other major sponsors for Victory Garden Groundbreaking Ceremony

A Groundbreaking Ceremony kicked off major upscale food and wine event Sunset’s Savor the Central Coast last week.  

Sunset Magazine has partnered with the San Luis Obispo County Visitors & Conference Bureau on the creation of Sunset’s Savor the Central Coast, scheduled for Sept. 30 through Oct. 3, 2010. 

On February 26, the groundbreaking was situated at the Santa Margarita Ranch, located 10 miles north of San Luis Obispo, and the same location where the main event will be held in September. Sunset Magazine’s Editor-In-Chief, Katie Tamony, along with forty major sponsors, planted their shovels in the ground to celebrate the creation of a two-acre Victory Garden, which will include the planting of fresh fruits and vegetables.

All five City Council members last night lauded the Chamber’s 20-month effort to revise its Economic Vision document.

"This is a beautiful document that is beautifully written. It's a work of art, really," said San Luis Obispo Mayor Dave Romero. "It is something our community can be very proud of, and I will personally refer to it often."

This third revision of the document, first created in 1992, was presented to the council yesterday. It recommends several new economic development initiatives, including a new business retention program, incentives for new green businesses, more linkage to Cal Poly innovation, and development of a new community brand to be used for both tourism and business development. The city also helped the Chamber shape this new vision.

In a historic decision nearly 12 years in the making, the San Luis Obispo City Council last night adopted the Orcutt Area Specific Plan.

This multi-use, transit-friendly development plan could potentially – over the next 20 years – accommodate almost 1,000 new homes in a 230-acre area south of the city, bounded by Orcutt and Tank Farm roads.

Next month, the process to annex the land will begin, a move the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce has long advocated due to the social, economic and environmental necessity of providing adequate workforce housing in the city.

The council also agreed to find grant money to pay 50 percent of a controversial $1.7 million for a pedestrian/bicycle bridge to go over the railroad tracks.

Local marketing and branding agency Verdin Marketing Ink has been awarded the coveted marketing contract for the San Luis Obispo County Tourism Business Improvement District that covers about 700 hotels, motels and vacation rentals in the county’s unincorporated areas.

VMI is partnering with RIESTER, a national advertising agency with offices in Los Angeles, Phoenix and Salt Lake City, on the first phase of the SLOCTBID marketing efforts, which includes the branding and website development for the TBID.

Carl Ribaudo of Strategic Marketing Group in South Lake Tahoe has been retained to develop the marketing plan.

Food Network chef Tyler Florence will charm his way into the hearts of local foodies this fall as the official celebrity chef for Sunset magazine’s Savor the Central Coast event.

Florence is well-known for his best-selling cookbooks and highly rated Food Network shows “Food 911,” “How to Boil Water,” and “Tyler’s Ultimate.” Sunset’s food and wine extravaganza will span four days from Sept. 30 to Oct. 3 throughout San Luis Obispo County.

Insiders say Florence will attend the Sunset Western Wine Awards Gala on Friday evening, provide cooking demonstrations and host book signings both Saturday and Sunday, and attend a winemaker dinner on Saturday night.

The San Luis Obispo Visitors and Conference Bureau is co-presenting the event with Sunset Magazine. Click here for more event information.

By Whitney Diaz 

A news release, otherwise known as a press release, is an excellent way to communicate your business news to the media. Good news releases are sometimes used by journalists and newspapers as they are, with minor edits made. So it’s important to think like a journalist when writing a release. A news release can convey a wide range of topics including events, personnel promotions, awards, new products, significant accomplishments, an excellent quarter, etc.

The best advice I can give anyone trying to write a news release is: Stop thinking like a sales person and start thinking like a reporter. Here are a few tips on what should go into a news release:

The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce will officially present its new Economic Vision to the San Luis Obispo City Council on Tuesday. 

Chamber Chair of the Board John Ewan, President Dave Garth and Governmental Affairs Director Ermina Karim will discuss the vision’s objectives, values and strategies, explain how the vision document is used internally and externally, and share their perspective on the importance of community visioning. 

“The city helped the Chamber shape this new vision, and it’s important to explain how its strategies will help protect San Luis Obispo’s quality of life and promote its economic well-being,” Garth said.

The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce shared some tips with nearly 300 local business people today on how to bring Google's just-announced ultra high-speed broadband initiative to San Luis Obispo. 

Dubbed "Mr. Connectivity," former Chamber Board of Directors chairperson Jeff Buckingham helped organize the Chamber's ad hoc group that will examine the feasibility of making San Luis Obispo one of the locations for the fiber optic trial. 

"[Google] is giving an opportunity for communities to demonstrate that they're worthy of this kind of an opportunity," Buckingham said at Thursday's Good Morning San Luis Obispo breakfast, a monthly Chamber event that draws hundreds of local business people.

Individuals can do their part by visiting the Google Fiber for Communities Web site and filing their own application form, becoming a fan of the "Bring Google Fiber to San Luis Obispo, CA!" Facebook fan page and suggesting the Facebook page to their San Luis Obispo Facebook friends, and by visiting the Softec Web site and joining the community discussions.