High school seniors who participate in a Cash for College workshop at Cuesta College will be considered for a bonus $1,000 scholarship. The event is scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7 at Cuesta’s San Luis Obispo campus in the upstairs open lab of the High Tech Center, Building 3400.

Students will receive help with FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and Cal Grant forms. To qualify for a Cal Grant, students must submit the FAFSA and GPA verification form no later than March 2. Those with a 2.0 GPA and above are eligible for up to $12,192 annually.

Locals in need of auto repairs are sure to have an excellent experience at Rizzoli’s Automotive. In 2011, the longstanding family-run business scored 100 percent in customer satisfaction for its San Luis Obispo location and 97.5 percent for its Santa Maria location.  

Emphasizing quality customer care for three generations, Rizzoli’s Automotive earns consistently high marks on the American Automobile Association’s (AAA) annual customer satisfaction evaluation.

The San Luis Obispo Symphony’s Music Van is on the road again. The Music Van has been racking up miles across the Central Coast since Jan. 17 and will continue to visit San Luis Obispo County schools through March 23. A San Luis Obispo Symphony tradition, the Music Van has toured the county this time every year for almost 20 years. Trained docents will bring the Music Van to third and fourth graders from Nipomo to San Miguel and from Cambria to Shandon, visiting almost 40 elementary schools across the county.

“The Music Van offers an interactive introduction to music for local students,” SLO Symphony Executive Director Jim Black said. “Exposing a young child to music may not only encourage them to learn an instrument themselves, but an appreciation of music enriches our lives as children and adults.”

As music education classes and programs diminish in California public schools, The Music Van continues to expose children to the world of music. Trained docents and volunteers lead the program with a short music lesson about the physics of sound and an introduction to the “family” of instruments in the orchestra. The entertaining lesson is followed by free time for children to play a variety of instruments including violins, cellos, clarinets, flutes, trumpets, trombones, drums and cymbals. It is noisy, but fun for all.

The San Luis Obispo County Visitors and Conference Bureau in partnership with the SLO County Regional Airport, Economic Vitality Corporation and SLO County Air Transportation Alliance (SLOCATA) have set out to prove to airlines that a direct flight from San Luis Obispo to Denver is good for the airline business and good for the local business community. A new survey launched today asks the business community their willingness to use and pay for direct service from San Luis Obispo to Denver https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/XHFDWVH.

San Luis Obispo Regional Rideshare invites artists, designers and community members to submit works for the 3rd Annual Bike Month Image Design Competition. Bike Month, a local celebration occurring annually each May, encourages the use of bicycle transportation through a variety of free community events. The winning design will act as a guiding force behind the 2012 Bike Month vision and bicycling festivities, encouraging San Luis Obispo County to spend more time in the bike lane and less time behind the steering wheel.

How the contest works:
The Image Design Competition is open to anyone interested in representing the new year of bicycle celebrations. The winning image/artwork will serve as the logo for Bike Month 2012 and be featured on all promotional collateral (posters, flyers, T-shirts) and advertisements. The creator of the winning image will be awarded $300 for their design and offered a contract to complete the development of all other promotional materials.

The San Luis Obispo Symphony has named five new members to its board of directors, completing the roster of directors that began their term in July 2011. New board members include Jeff Brady, founder and chairman of CygNet Software (now part of Weatherford International, Ltd.); Craig Darnell, certified financial planner at Blakeslee & Blakeslee; Diane Heath, owner of Heath Haven Ranch; Suzanne Parker, manager of policy, government and public affairs at Chevron Corporation; Liz Summer, business development officer at Wells Fargo Bank.  

Leadership SLO has announced their new board members for 2012. Of the new members, local real estate broker and graduate of Class I, Dawna Davies of Davies Company Real Estate, will be serving as Leadership Foundation Chair. Other new board members include Russ Levanway, president of TekTegrity, Jon Jaeger, marketing director at Earth Systems, Sandy Sachs of the SLO Wellness Center, Christine Wallace of the SLO Police Department and Carol Fleury, owner of Best Bike Zone.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to give back to the program and use the tools I received when I was a class member. We had a fantastic 20th anniversary celebration several months ago, and I am committed to continue to connect to the alumni, continue awareness of the program throughout the community and raise funds to support scholarships and the endowment,” Davies said.

Later this month, the city of San Luis Obispo will be upgrading its utility billing system to better serve its customers – city residents. The upgrade will bring many benefits that improve billing flexibility and efficiency. The existing system has been in use since the 1990’s.

“An improved utility billing system is overdue and we are very excited to be bringing this advanced technology to city residents,” San Luis Obispo Finance Director Charles Bourbeau said. “Ultimately, this new system will make utility billing more efficient and convenient for both the consumer and the city, saving time and money.”

San Luis Obispo County’s Hearst Castle will relive its Hollywood heydays of the 1920s and ’30s for one star-studded night during the “Hollywood to Hearst Castle” event on Friday, March 9, 2012, as part of the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival (SLOIFF). The VIP event includes an historic movie screening of Citizen Kane, a private tour of the castle, indoor poolside food and wine and more.

Honored guests, actor Harrison Ford and renowned Hollywood photographer Timothy White, will start off the evening’s festivities at 5 p.m. by flying into Hearst Ranch’s private airfield, just as William Randolph Hearst’s high-profile Hollywood friends once did.