A discounted regional transit pass can help alleviate parents' financial constraints this summer, while teaching youths how to use sustainable transportation.

San Luis Obispo County K-12 students can go anywhere the bus goes in the county through Sept. 5 with a special Summer Break Pass.  

The Summer Break Pass only costs $30 and works on all buses in San Luis Obispo County including the Avila, San Luis Obispo and Cambria Trolleys.

The Summer Break Pass can be purchased online at www.summerbreakpass.com or at Regional Transit Authority pass outlets.

For each pass purchased, a free Regional Day Pass is available for parents or siblings who want to accompany the pass holder on the first transit trip.

For trip planning assistance, pass purchasers are encouraged to call Rideshare at (805) 781-4362 or visit www.summerbreakpass.com to use the online bus trip planner or view the How to Ride the Bus Video and the Places to Go Guide. 

At a time when arts-related programs have been cut from our public schools at an alarming rate, the Performing Arts Center in San Luis Obispo, Calif. has stepped in to help fill the void by partnering with local arts organizations to bring increased children’s programming to the PAC. 

Now the Performing Arts Center has begun a two-year transition to become responsible for booking and presenting children’s programs.

A full-time position will be created. It will be dedicated entirely to youth programming and outreach. This position will be responsible for managing and expanding the primary existing program – School Matinees – while creating new programs to further engage young people in the arts and increase their participation in the creative process.

Last month, the Foundation for the Performing Arts Center received a generous grant from the Hind Foundation to support the creation of this new position.

American Perspective Bank (APB) has expanded to Paso Robles, opening a Loan Production Office (LPO) at 720 10th St. with plans to expand to a full service branch in the next 12 to 18 months.

The bank hosted a grand opening event on May 18 at the new office that included a ribbon cutting with the Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce. 

“We have many banking and lending clients in North County and it was time we established a location there,” said President and CEO Mark Crawford.

Verdin Marketing Ink (VMI) has recently received three prestigious industry awards from the Public Relations Society of America for its creative work in brand development, social media and web design.

In May, the Central California Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Image Awards presented three Awards of Excellence to VMI for its re-branding campaign for American Perspective Bank, social media campaign for the City of San Luis Obispo’s Shop SLO/Dine SLO program and for the website www.WineCoastCountry.com for the San Luis Obispo County Tourism Business Improvement District (CBID).

Rabobank, N.A. recently awarded a $10,000 grant to the San Luis Obispo County Housing Trust Fund (HTF). 

“Rabobank is proud of its affiliation with the San Luis Obispo County Housing Trust Fund,” said Steven L. Harding, Rabobank’s Regional President.  "We are one of their community lending partners and have provided the agency with a 10-year commitment of $1.1 million in low-cost capital that they in turn lend to facilitate the production of affordable rental and homeownership housing. Rabobank supports nonprofit organizations that make a sustainable difference in the community.”

The HTF is a nonprofit corporation that was formed in 2003 to increase the supply of affordable housing throughout San Luis Obispo County. 

San Luis Obispo-based integrated branding company, Barnett Cox & Associates (BCA), was recognized with two honors at the 17th Annual Communicator Awards. BCA was named a Distinction Winner in two categories, interactive and print, for work on the Performing Arts Center website and the Cal Poly Sustainability Report.

The Communicator Awards come on the heels of BCA’s recent wins in the ADDY Awards competition. The Sustainability Report won gold in the Central Coast competition of the ADDY Awards and silver at the district level of the competition; and the redesigned Performing Arts Center website also won gold in the Central Coast competition of the ADDYs.

The Communicator Awards are an international competition that fielded 6,000 entries in the most recent competition. Entrants submit work in various categories including print, video, interactive, integrated campaigns, marketing effectiveness and audio.

As the school year is ending, so is the book drive, sponsored by Rizzoli’s Automotive over the past seven months.

The automotive repair shop launched the drive in October 2010 to benefit the Raising A Reader program, supporting literacy in the San Luis Obispo community through the San Luis Obispo County Community Foundation. More than 600 books were donated at Rizzoli’s locations in San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria, greatly surpassing Rizzoli’s initial goal of 100 books, which extended the drive past the original ending date of December 31, 2010.

The book drive was kicked off on October 20, 2010 at the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce Mixer, hosted at the SLO location of Rizzoli’s.

Hathway, an interactive marketing agency based in San Luis Obispo, Calif., recently reinvented Straight Down Clothing’s online presence and e-commerce website.  

The San Luis Obispo-based clothing company relied on Hathway as its lead digital agency and tasked it with redesigning a sophisticated look, amplifying the brand brand and providing full e-commerce functionality.

Hathway redesigned the site from the ground up, with both Hathway and Straight Down creative teams focused on translating the Straight Down lifestyle and brand across the entire user interface. Original imagery, product photography, site layout and placement of e-commerce navigation items give straightdown.com a seamless and branded user experience.