New York Times bestselling author Gail Sheehy will speak about Passages in Caregiving: The Most Memorable Passage in Your Life. Her presentation is designed to help turn stressful, life altering situations for caregivers and healthcare professionals into a controlled and healthy process for everyone involved.

As a featured speaker at the annual Central Coast Bioneers conference, produced by local nonprofit Ecologistics, Inc., Ms. Sheehy's revolutionary Passages (1976) remained on The New York Times bestseller list for more than three years and has been reprinted in 28 languages. A Library of Congress survey named Passages one of the 10 most-influential books of our time. In The Silent Passage (1992), she broke the taboo surrounding menopause and opened a dialogue vital to maturing women's health. In New Passages and Understanding Men's Passages (1995) she revisited the stages of adult life and mapped out a completely new frontier entitled "second adulthood." In Sex and The Seasoned Woman: Pursuing the Passionate Life (2006), she lent her observant eye to the opportunities and challenges facing women concerning sex, dating, new dreams, divorce, remarriage and living passionate lives in their “second adulthood.”

The “Print Perfection” workshop with Hal Schmitt, Jennifer Wu and Canon Rep, Barbara Ellison will happen from October 6 - 9 at Light Workshops’ facility 1060 Los Osos Valley Road, Los Osos. Instruction will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday morning.

Take your photographic passion, color management, workflow, and printing to the next level. These three incredible instructors and the light staff will be there to help every step of the way to making the final print. With access to Light’s nine medium/large format inkjet printers and incredible paper/media choices you will leave with amazing prints. Learn color management including profiling and profile building, color and tonal adjustments to finish your image, workflow techniques to make an effective and efficient output process, how to print using alternative media, and so much more.

The “Coats for Kids” drive is back! As part of their annual coat drive, the Rotaract Club of San Luis Obispo will be setting up coat collection stations throughout San Luis Obispo County at local schools, banks, and high traffic businesses beginning October 1 to collect second-hand jackets, sweaters, sweatshirts, and coats. The donated articles will be distributed to needy organizations such as the Women’s Shelter, Prado Day Center, and Family Care Network.

The Rotaract Club would like to thank local businesses that have agreed to help sponsor this year’s coat drive, including Paul’s Dry Cleaners and Laundry, which has generously agreed to clean every coat collected during the drive, Central Coast Printing for printing the Drive’s posters and handouts, Service Master for donating boxes for the collection centers, and Meathead Movers and Storage for providing a storage unit.  

Please visit the Rotaract website at slorotaract.wordpress.com/coats-for-kids for more information on this year’s “Coats For Kids” drive. To set up an interview with “Coats for Kids” committee president, Naomi Oyler, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Morro Bay’s newest wine bar, STAX is hosting a chocolate tasting with six different flavors from Vosges chocolate company. The unique flavors range from cherry to bacon and each taste of chocolate will be washed down with a bold glass of Zinfandel.

Participants will get one full glass of Zinfandel, and a plate with six different chocolate flavors for $10. The event will be on Wednesday, September 14 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

STAX Wine Bar is located at 1099 Embarcadero in Morro Bay; open every day from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. For questions contact Genevieve at 772-5055, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

According to the National Institutes of Health, research has shown that spirituality offers hope to those suffering from cancer, and has been found to have a positive effect on the quality of life of cancer patients. In addition, studies have also shown that spirituality can also provide effective coping mechanisms for patients and their loved ones.

SOFTEC, The Central Coast Software and Technology Association will host its 15th Annual Central Coast High Technology Companies Symposium, “Connecting the Dots, Leveraging Local Resources to Help Entrepreneurs,” on Wednesday, September 28, at the Madonna Inn from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The event will educate Central Coast entrepreneurs on ways to track down and employ the countless local resources available to them. Tickets are $59 at www.softec.org. The event is open to the public and includes dinner.

Last year’s Cambria Oktoberfest was a great success, and the 2011 Oktoberfest will again feature a spectacular exhibit of fine vehicles. More than 35 Fiftieth Anniversary VW Type III as well as Mercedes Benz cars from all over California are expected to adorn the Veterans Memorial Hall parking lot on 1000 Main Street, Saturday, October 1. Prizes will be awarded in a variety of categories, and some magnificent vehicles will be on display. Prize winners will be announced at 3 p.m.

The doors will be open from 11:15 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. for this year’s event. Admission is $10.

The sixth annual celebration of German food, music and dancing is sponsored by American Legion Post 432, St. Paul's Episcopal Church and Santa Rosa Catholic Church and raises funds for local charities. After last year’s event $8,000 in proceeds were donated to worthy local causes such as the Friends of the Library and food distribution in our community and to provide services to the families of locals serving in the military.

The Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance Foundation is pleased to announce its Community Grant Program application is now available online at www.pasowine.com. The purpose of the Community Grant Program is to help sustain the community’s social services and support San Luis Obispo County charities with programs focused on healthcare, education and greater community services. Funds are generated through the two Wine Country Auctions and are gifted to the selected nonprofits in the fourth quarter of the year. The Alliance continues this gifting platform in 2011 and invites local San Luis Obispo County nonprofit organizations to complete the application by Friday, September 30.

“The Alliance is thrilled to continue giving back to the local community, and we encourage local nonprofit organizations that fit into our gifting platform to apply,” said Alex Villicana, Owner of Villicana Winery and Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance Chairman. “In the past six years we have been able to gift more than $283,000 and in 2010 alone, were able to gift nearly $70,000 to 13 local charities.”

French Hospital Medical Center (FHMC) will be featuring an Insulin Pump Expo at its September “SLO Pokes” Type 1 Diabetes Support Group. The meeting will be held September 26 in the FHMC Auditorium from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

This support group offers a network of support to diabetes patients and their family members. The support groups provide emotional encouragement and resources necessary to face the challenges of Type 1 Diabetes. This new series joins the previously announced Type 2 support groups which meet on the fourth Wednesday of every month at FHMC.

The support group is led by Sandra Miller, R.D., C.D.E., FHMC’s Registered Dietician. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

These support groups are free of charge and open to the public. No reservations are necessary. For more information, call Sandra Miller, R.D., C.D.E. at (805) 542-6229.