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.

This year is the seventh consecutive year that California Wine Month will be celebrated in September. September marks the beginning of harvest in California and California Wine Month celebrates the state’s ideal climate for wine, beautiful wine country landscape, our talented and ingenious wine-making families, our celebrated lifestyle and cuisine, as well as our commitment to sustainability and the environment.

California wine is essential to the state’s economy, as the state is the fourth largest wine producer in the world, contributing 90-percent of American wine and responsible for $18.5 billion in the country’s retail wine sales.

California Wine Month is a campaign coordinated by the Wine Institute and its more than 1,000 California wineries and affiliated businesses.

To find out more about special activities during California Wine Month, visit http://www.discovercaliforniawine.com/ to learn about winery events, tastings, poster offers, and more.

Construction to replace a deteriorated Corrugated Metal Pipe (CMP) will begin Tuesday, September 6 and is estimated to be completed on October 18.

The collapsed CMP will be replaced with a new Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) pipe to prevent future flooding of the right-most, southbound lane of South Higuera Street, near the Margarita Avenue and South Higuera Street intersection. In addition, the embankment of San Luis Creek will be stabilized with concrete blocks—all made possible by Measure Y funding—your fifty cent sales tax at work.

Normal working hours for this project are Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Additionally, Gateworks Corporation and any surrounding businesses will remain open for business, while the private parking lot at 3026 South Higuera Street will be closed during construction.

The estimated total cost for the storm drain pipe replacement and creek stabilization is $65,460. The Project Manager is Public Works Engineer,

Manny Guzman. All work performed by the contractor, Arthur’s Contracting, will be overseen by Public Works Engineering Inspector, Bob Bishop.

For more information on how San Luis Obispo tax payers’ Measure Y funds are being put to use, please visit the Public Works website at

www.SLOCity.org or contact Public Information Officer, Andrea M. Montes at (805) 781-7014 or via email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Sunset magazine (www.sunset.com) today announced that two of California’s most celebrated mixologists, Erik Adkins of San Francisco’s The Slanted Door and Damian Windsor of LA’s The Roger Room, will proudly represent their cities as part of Sunset magazine’s “LA vs. SF: Food Town Smackdown—Cocktail Edition.” At 4 p.m. on October 2, the two will meet on “neutral ground” in San Luis Obispo County—midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles—to demonstrate their skills in front of a live audience. At the end of the 45-minute event, one city will be declared the cocktail capital of California by an expert panel of judges.

“LA vs. SF: Food Town Smackdown” is part of SAVOR the Central Coast, a four-day food and wine event that takes place September 29 to October 2 and celebrates the amazing food, wine and hospitality of California’s beautiful Central Coast.

Guests will have an exclusive look into the homes of five distinct and interesting couples as the Rotary Club of San Luis Obispo presents the 11th Annual “Homes of Distinction” Tour, on September 18 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Each home has a unique ambiance where art, décor and landscaping tell the stories of their lives. Inviting guests into their homes are:

Marilyn and Nels Silverson
Like many people who reside on the Central Coast, the Silversons followed their son here who came to attend Cal Poly. They tore down the original home on Santa Maria Avenue and built a modern masterpiece, which they describe as “contemporary with an Asian flair.” The architecture nicely showcases the view of the nearby SLO peaks and downtown. The interior showcases the many artifacts collected from the Silversons travels throughout Asia.

Stephen Burns returns to Light Photography Workshops, September 29, for a four day photography workshop that will challenge you both technically and creatively. The class is designed to take you through the entire creative process from photographing your concepts to creating powerful techniques in Photoshop that will bring your final vision to fruition.

The Workshop “Landscape Photography and the Digital Collage” with Stephen Burns will be happening Sept. 29 – Oct. 2, at Light Workshops’ facility 1060 Los Osos Valley Rd., Los Osos. Instruction will begin Thursday at 9 a.m.

The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival (SLOIFF) is proud to collaborate with a number of Central Coast organizations to present three
movie events in September, and two in October to be announced soon.

Two Short Film programs will be presented in North and South County. Popular and award-winning short films from this year's film festival will be screened first on Sept. 10, in the idyllic back garden of the Avila Bay Athletic Club & Spa. A wine reception hosted by Sculpterra Winery will begin at 7 p.m. followed by the movie program, introduced by SLOIFF Festival Director, Wendy Eidson.

Riding high on the phenomenal success of last year’s first-ever Sunset SAVOR the Central Coast, event organizers Sunset magazine (www.Sunset.com) and the San Luis Obispo County Visitors and Conference Bureau (www.SanLuisObispoCounty.com) have expanded opportunities for visitors to experience the quintessential California lifestyle at this destination food and wine event taking place Sept. 29 through Oct. 2.

“Not only is the Central Coast on the front edge of the farm-to-table movement, but it’s also a stunningly beautiful region to explore,” said Katie Tamony, editor-in-chief of Sunset. “We wanted to match unique cultural and adventure experiences to the food and drink that are getting the region so much attention.”