Dec. 9, 2009 --- 

Elizabeth ‘Biz’ Steinberg, chief executive officer of the Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County, Inc. (CAPSLO), announced this week the appointment of Dennis Bachelor to the position of director of planning, program development and research for Community Action.

“We are extremely gratified to have Dennis come to us from the Fresno County Economic Opportunities Commission.  Dennis has an incredible wealth of experience and will be a capable and strong leader for our excellent planning team.  We are very pleased to have Dennis join us at the Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County,” stated Steinberg.

The Director of Planning, Program Development and Research oversees grant research, directs and coordinates the preparation of various community assessments and needs assessments, tracks compliance information, develops and implements the CAPSLO planning process, and completes reporting requirements of Community Services Block Grant and other grants.

Dec. 9, 2009 ---

The 11th Annual Heritage Oaks Bank Family Fun Day & Fun Run, held the last Sunday of every September in Paso Robles, donated more than $18,000 back into our local community.

“This year’s event continued the tradition of our bank’s community outreach to have a one-day event where the entire family can participate,” says Mitch Massey, senior vice president marketing and the Fun Run race director.

Each year the Fun Run selects four nonprofit organizations to benefit. All of the race proceeds are donated back. Each participant gets to select which non-profit organization they want to support.

Dec. 9, 2009 ---

Two Cooks Catering is pleased to announce the addition of Heather Thomas as co-owner with Russell Thomas & Ben Richardson.

Heather Thomas continues with her duties as Two Cooks Catering’s director of operations and manages all daily activities and booking for the company.

Two Cooks Catering makes “global cuisine with a conscience.” They use local ingredients, including vegetables, from county farmers, fish from Morro Bay and beef from Hearst Ranch. The company’s core philosophy is to maintain a high level of quality in everything they do.

Dec. 8, 2009 --- 

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center celebrated its 50th Anniversary Dec. 7 with a community birthday party.

Nearly 100 community members, founding doctors and original employees attended the event.

Sierra Vista was founded on December 7, 1959 by 21 local doctors. When it opened it had 53 beds at a cost of $500,000.

Today, Sierra Vista is a 164-bed, acute care provider of tertiary services and serves ast the County’s trauma center. It provides exclusive services to San Luis Obispo County in neurosurgery, high risk pregnancy, maintains the County’s only dedicated Pediatric Unit and has the only NICU between Santa Barbara and Salinas.

Dec. 8, 2009 ---

Winners were honored before a capacity crowd in early December at the celebration of the 2009 Central Coast Community Impact Awards, held at the Monarch Club in Nipomo.

This year’s honorees are known for sacrificing their time and resources for people facing critical needs in our communities.  Those who received awards were Jack’s Helping Hand for Outstanding Non-Profit Organization, Beverly Aho for Outstanding Volunteer, Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center for Outstanding Business, and Jim Sargen for Outstanding Philanthropist.

Dec. 4, 2009 --- 

Effective December 31st of this year, San Luis Obispo’s 211 Hotline will be closed.

Designed to handle calls for information and help that are not immediate, life-threatening emergencies, 211 was activated to provide an alternative complement to 911. “For emergencies, there’s 911; for everything else, there’s 211,” read the slogan.

“We are sad to be making this announcement,” said 211 Hotline Board President, Tim Williams. “For the past 40 years, Hotline has handled hundreds of thousands of calls, and 45,000 callers have dialed 211 since that number was activated just over one year ago.”

Dec. 4, 2009 --- 

The Court Street shopping center shines as one of the top three innovative U.S. shopping centers with an International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) Gold Award in Pheonix. 

Announced the first week of December, the ICSC honored the best and brightest of the country's retail real estate with the 2009 U.S. Design Awards program.

Dec. 4, 2009 ---

The Mortgage House, a leading mortgage banker based on the Central Coast, announced the addition of three new staff members, despite the difficult economic times.

Dec. 3, 2009 ---

Partnership and preparedness were the themes of the day when local, state, and federal agencies, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), and the American Red Cross San Luis Obispo County Chapter participated in an emergency response exercise at Camp Roberts.

The exercise involved a simulated emergency event at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant and was evaluated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).  Exercises of this nature are routinely conducted to help ensure that government agencies and PG&E are prepared to protect the public in the unlikely event of a serious emergency at the power plant.