The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce is texting. It was announced at the April Good Morning SLO event that the SLO Chamber of Commerce is now providing text alerts to their chamber members. 

Text the word "SLOCHAMBER" to 74700 to sign up for Chamber alerts (a maximum of four text messages monthly).

"This is just one more way members can stay connected with the Chamber," said Whitney Diaz, the SLO Chamber's Internet Services and Publications Director. "Although smart phones are very popular, there are many members with regular cell phones that don't have Internet or email access. So, we decided to roll out this Text Messaging program to provide those people with updates on special Chamber events and information."

MINDBODY, a business management software company based in SLO, ranks as No. 40 in Outside magazine’s annual list of The 50 Best Places to Work.

Outside is the nation’s leading active lifestyle magazine, with over two million readers a month.

Work places were evaluated on a variety of criteria, including green practices, involvement in community organizations, company culture and the availability of onsite wellness activities.

MINDBODY employees were asked to complete an extensive survey, and the winning companies were those who best enabled employees to balance productivity with an active, eco-conscious lifestyle.

To see the full list of best places to work, click here.

It’s true, pop-singing star Chris Isaak will savor the Central Coast this fall as the closing act at Avila Beach Golf Course when the inaugural Savor the Central Coast presented by the San Luis Obispo County Visitors and Conference Bureau event wraps up. 

Isaak, who came on the music scene in 1989 with his best-known song "Wicked Game" and later with his big hit "Baby Did a Bad, Bad Thing," will take center stage as the main act on Oct. 3, complete with a fireworks show.

Tickets for this event and other events throughout the four-day food and wine celebration being held Sept. 30 through Oct. 3 go on sale next Wednesday.  www.SavorCentralCoast.com.  

Celebrity athlete, UFC sports legend and local idol Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell will be the first mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter to be inducted into the famed Madame Tussauds Las Vegas collection.

The Liddell figure will be officially unveiled on May 28 at the UFC Fan Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Then on May 29, the figure will move to its permanent home at Madame Tussauds, and "The Iceman" himself will be in attendance to unveil his figure inside an interactive octagon experience.

Liddell recently opened his official fan headquarters called Ultimate Iceman on California Boulevard in SLO.

The local Damon Castillo Band might be well known around these parts and may even be gaining notoriety throughout California, but starting this Saturday they may find themselves in the big time.

The WealthTV channel has been in San Luis Obispo interviewing band members and documenting their lives for a one-hour episode on the show "In Session", airing this Saturday in more than 10.5 million households nationwide.

The show not only highlights the Damon Castillo Band, but it also showcases San Luis Obispo and why the band members love the city so much.

The first showing locally is May 1 at 2 p.m. on Charter Cable channel 137. Check listings for other showtimes.  

The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors has voted unanimously to support California’s Proposition 14 on the June 2010 ballot. 

Proposition 14 is a legislatively referred constitutional amendment that changes the election process for most state and federal offices. 

"This measure will allow any registered voter to vote for any candidate in the primary election without regard to political affiliation," said John Ewan, chairperson of the SLO Chamber’s Board of Directors. "We hope the open primary at state and federal levels will allow California voters to gain representation they wouldn’t otherwise have an opportunity to have. We also hope to have more legislators who are willing to lead and build a consensus."

If this measure passes in June, all voters would receive the same primary election ballot for most state and federal offices, with all candidates listed, including independent candidates. 

The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce recently formed a task force to study the City’s proposed Historic Preservation Program Ordinance, gauge its impact on local businesses and potentially partner with other community groups.

"In general, this ordinance is good for the community, because it’s going to formalize the procedures that have been ongoing in the last 20 years, but the definitions can be too loosely interpreted," said Pierre Rademaker, owner of Rademaker Designs. "We must be sure that the new ordinance preserves our historic character without harming our city’s businesses.”

At the direction of the Chamber’s Board of Directors, Chamber staff will also request that the City’s Cultural Heritage Committee delay the approval of the proposed ordinance in order to allow broader business and community analysis and input. 

The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce Ultrex Business Products as the major sponsor for this year’s Mixer Showcase. 

More than just a copier company, Ultrex Business Products is a proud winner of the Konica Minolta’s Pro-Tech Service Center Award for Service Excellence. The company services Central Coast businesses and homes, and its sponsorship of this year’s Mixer Showcase helps make this annual event possible. 

The recently released fourth edition of the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Vision was endorsed by a 5-0 vote at the City Council meeting last night.

This is the first time any City Council had been asked to endorse an edition of the Vision Document.

All five council members praised the Chamber’s two-year effort producing an economic development roadmap that balances economic, social and environmental values and focuses on the creation of more meaningful head-of-household jobs while protecting SLO’s unique character.

The Chamber and the City are working together on several new economic development initiatives.

Click here to view the document.