Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center has become the first hospital in San Luis Obispo County to have all imaging services within the hospital accredited by the American College of Radiology (ACR).

This designation follows the hospital’s most recent three-year term of accreditation in vascular ultrasound. Ultrasound imaging, also known as sonography, uses high frequency sound waves to produce images of internal body parts to help providers diagnose illness, injury or other medical problems. 

Other accredited imaging services at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center include: Mammography, Ultrasound, Breast Ultrasound, Breast Biopsy with Ultrasound, Computed Tomography and Nuclear Medicine. Accreditation by the ACR gives assurance to patients that hospital staff and equipment have passed rigorous evaluation and demonstrates the hospital’s commitment to quality patient care. 

Cuesta College Board of Trustees accepted Superintendent/President Dr. Gil Stork’s recommendation at last week's board meeting to eliminate a Grover Beach industrial park as the site for the college’s proposed South County Education Center.

The site at 998 Huston Street is no longer in contention because the college could not come to a mutually acceptable lease agreement with the building owner to keep the project within the college’s budget.

“While the Huston Street property is no longer a viable option, the South County Education Center project is still alive,” Stork said. “The need to provide our students in the South County with a learning environment on par with the North County and San Luis Obispo campuses is still a critical one. Just as important is our need to find a viable site that is cost-neutral to the district.”

Business First Bank, a division of Heritage Oaks Bank, has promoted Liz Heitmann to vice president. Liz Heitmann has worked in Real Estate finance since 1985.

With extensive training in processing and underwriting, Heitmann is particularly well qualified to handle even the most complex loan scenarios. Her background includes not only residential lending, but also land, construction, multi-family and commercial loans.

"Liz is an example of what hard work and dedication can accomplish," says Fred Bond, mortgage division manager and senior vice president of Heritage Oaks Bank. "Liz was our top producer for 2010 and has distinguished herself not only with her production numbers, but also with excellent quality of work and an attention to customer service that is the cornerstone of her reputation."

Heritage Oaks Bank recently donated $1,000 to the Paso Robles Youth Arts Foundation (PRYAF). PRYAF aims to change the lives of at risk children in our community by giving them a place to experience the Fine Arts free of charge.

“One of our goals as a community bank is to embrace those organizations who exemplify community spirit through education including learn-by-doing activities,” says Mitch Massey, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Heritage Oaks Bank. “The Paso Robles Youth Arts Foundation does this on a daily basis,” adds Massey. 

French Hospital Medical Center (FHMC) and Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center will be donating four automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in honor of the late San Luis Obispo Fire Chief John W. Callahan to the American Red Cross at the San Luis Obispo City Council Meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 990 Palm Street.

The CEO of the San Luis Obispo County Chapter of the American Red Cross, Natalie Schaefer will accept these donations. San Luis Obispo Fire Chief Charlie Hines will also be in attendance.

The collaborative effort to donate these AEDs is in honor and memory of San Luis Obispo’s late Fire Chief John W. Callahan who died tragically of a heart attack on August 18, 2010. Chief Callahan was a huge proponent of the use and education of AEDs.A plaque will be placed next to the AEDs recognizing this memorial tribute.

It's no surprise toy and hobby brands using the Shopatron Network saw online sales grow considerably during the fourth quarter of 2010. It was the holiday shopping season.

What might be a surprise is the fact that toy and hobby brands using Shopatron's retail-integrated eCommerce system enjoyed the same online sales growth in January.

Toy and hobby branded manufactures with Shopatron grew online sales by 12 percent year over year in January, matching the 12 percent growth those same stores witnessed in Q4 2010.  

"Toy and hobby brands have always done well on Shopatron and continue to grow as more consumers buy online," said Ed Stevens, Founder and CEO of Shopatron. "There's something to be said for buying from the brand's website, particularly when it comes to categories like toy and hobby – where end consumers are passionate about the products they're looking for. Shopatron allows brands to satisfy those demands without undercutting their network of retail partners.

Cal Poly Arts and Opera San Luis Obispo are proud to present The Met: Live in HD – a live-streaming, high-definition transmission series screened at the Performing Arts Center direct from the famed Metropolitan Opera’s stage in New York City. 

On Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 10 a.m., the local Series will continue with an exciting production of Donizetti’s “Lucia di Lammermoor,” shown on the expansive 22-feet-by-40-feet screen.

Natalie Dessay triumphed as the fragile heroine of Donizetti’s masterpiece on opening night of the 2007–08 season in Mary Zimmerman’s hit production. Now she returns to the role of the innocent young woman driven to madness, opposite Joseph Calleja, who sings the role of her lover, Edgardo. Also featuring Patrick Summers, Ludovic Tézier, and Kwangchul Youn. Expected running time: 4 hours This screening is sponsored by The Neon Carrot Restaurant.

SCORE, America’s premier source of free and confidential small business advice for entrepreneurs, and Docstoc, Inc. have announced a strategic alliance designed to help millions of entrepreneurs find the documentation they need to start, manage and grow their small business.

The alliance combines SCORE’s deep knowledge and experience helping entrepreneurs get their ideas off the ground with Docstoc’s expertise at curating the wide variety of documents and reference material needed to formulate, fund and execute their business visions.

Docstoc is teaming with SCORE to help expand its web site document gallery which includes templates, forms, guidelines and other material designed to provide entrepreneurs and small businesses with the documentation they need. Using Docstoc’s proprietary Document Viewer, material will be available for preview, printing and downloading in a variety of formats, including Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Excel and Adobe PDF.