The Central Coast’s local KCOY FOX 11 has just been awarded the prestigious FOX No. 1 Club award, an award reserved for FOX network affiliates who achieve primetime ratings dominance.

The major honor is awarded based on Nielsen Ratings, and KCOY earned the award as the national market leader in 2011 for its primetime adult viewership.

KCOY General Manager Kevin Harlan will be headed to Vail, Colo. this month to be inducted into the club and accept the award on behalf of the local station.

People flocked to San Luis Obispo last week to visit the new Target store, and insiders report that crowds exceeded the company's expectations.

The store's whopping 400 carts were reportedly turned over six times to fill shoppers' needs on Wednesday for it's soft-opening. The store’s grand opening was held on Sunday.

Target has opened 15 new stores nationwide so far this year and plans to open six more by the year's end.

Just as Target booms with new business, so do new businesses throughout San Luis Obispo. Liberty Café, a sister restaurant to Lincoln Deli, is now open in the County Government Center on the Higuera Street.

Minerva Handmade Originals Clothing Store just opened their doors at 1037 Chorro St. and Hep Kat Clothing and Accessories will open its discount outlet next door soon at 1033 Chorro St.

Old Port Inn is also set to open a fish market and café at the corner of Olive and Santa Rosa streets.

The San Luis Obispo County Visitors and Conference Bureau named Stacie Jacob as its new executive director. Jacob served as the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance Executive Director for the past seven years and resigned in May to start her own lifestyle marketing firm, Solterra Strategies LLC, based in Paso Robles.

Jacob will serve as a contract executive director for the San Luis Obispo County Visitors and Conference Bureau (SLOCVCB) for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

Jacob is familiar with the organization, serving as an active member during her seven-year tenure at the Paso Robles Wine County Alliance. She has served on the SLOCVCB Board of Directors, as chair of the board and chair of the Marketing Committee.

Insiders report that Google has purchased SLO start-up Punchd for an amount believed to be more than
$10 million.

Punchd, which started at Cal Poly as a senior project, takes customer loyalty cards (the “Buy 10 Get One Free” punch cards we usually see at coffee and sandwich shops) and puts them on mobile platforms.

The Punchd developers built the first prototype in an Android development class at Cal Poly after Google donated Android phones to the university's Computer Science department.

The young company was one of the early investments of SLO Seed Ventures, the San Luis Obispo-based seed stage accelerator/investor group.

Some SLO Chamber members, like SLO Donut Co., have used Punchd for its customer loyalty mobile app.  

A pilot summer incubator program – appropriately named the Hot House – is currently underway housing approximately 10 early-stage companies run mostly by Cal Poly students.

Local developer and angel investor Clint Pearce donated 2,500 square feet of vacant office space for the summer at 142 Cross St., near Idler’s, to partner with the university's entrepreneurship efforts. The purpose of the Hot House is to provide community support for the start-ups in the hope that some of them put roots down locally, Pearce said.

Local mentors and advisors are providing business and industry expertise to the entrepreneurs.

The new Target and Mac Superstore at Prefumo Creek Commons shopping center on Los Osos Valley Road are slated to open their doors next week.

Target is planning a soft open on July 20, with a grand opening planned for the following weekend, and MacSuperstore will be open on July 18 with a grand opening festivities planned for July 30.

San Luis Obispo City Police Chief Deborah Linden announced today her plans to retire from her public safety career in December 2011. Linden has served the city of San Luis Obispo as its chief of police since January 2003.

During her tenure, she led the department through many major criminal investigations and significant events, such as the Mardi Gras riots. Linden has also helped with collaborative problem solving policies within the community.

She plans to stay in the area after retirement and continue her service with local community organizations. A national recruitment for the next SLO chief of police will begin soon.

Insiders report that a local video production company is developing a 13-part series to air on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

Playful Planet, a Los Osos-based business, produces video programs for children with a message of health and sustainability for the planet, and its award-winning kid’s yoga DVD “Storyland Yoga” has caught the eye of PBS.

The project is currently generating funding and is expected to begin airing the 13-part PBS series on WTTW in Chicago in 2012.