SLO County Roundup

Pismo Beach

Several streets in Pismo Beach will be closed Sunday before the city’s fireworks show off the end of the pier.

Westbound Pomeroy Avenue will be closed starting at 1 p.m. until about midnight. Only emergency vehicles will have access to the pier area, Pismo Beach police Cmdr. Mark Miller said.

Westbound Hinds Avenue at Cypress Street will be closed at noon, though vehicles will be allowed to exit.

The entire pier will be closed at noon; the pier parking lot will close at 4 p.m. Drivers must remove their vehicles from the lot before 4 p.m.

The fireworks show will start about 9:15 p.m. and end about 9:45 p.m. After that, police will assist in helping drivers exit the downtown area, using street closures to direct traffic southbound onto Highway 101 from Price Street, Miller said.

Vehicles traveling north on Price Street will be directed east on Wadsworth Avenue and north on Bello Street to northbound Highway 101.

All fireworks, including those labeled “safe and sane,” are illegal in the city, Miller said.

— Cynthia Lambert

SLO County

Hundreds of children from birth to 5 years old throughout the county will have a chance at better oral and dental health, thanks to a two-year donation to three local agencies by First 5 San Luis Obispo County.

The organization awarded $175,725 to three local agencies:

• La Clinica de Tolosa in Paso Robles will be able to expand its coverage and will provide services to approximately 600 children over the two-year funding period.

• At Community Health Centers of the Central Coast, dental clinics in Nipomo and Templeton will expand pediatric dental services as a result of new equipment purchased with the funding.

• At the county’s Public Health Department, an oral health coordinator will be hired to coordinate children’s oral health services throughout the county, “with the long-term goal of establishing a centralized, coordinated and sustained effort to address this important and critical need,” according to First 5.

The funding allocations are “a direct result of the two children’s oral health summits convened by First 5 San Luis Obispo County in 2008 and 2010,” said Susan Hughes, executive director of First 5 San Luis Obispo County.

“During the summits, the community began the process of identifying service gaps and needs. These three projects go a long way in addressing those needs,” Hughes wrote in a news release.

“The children’s oral health awards will increase the safety net of services to families with young children in our community, especially during this difficult economic time,” said County Supervisor Katcho Achadjian, First 5 chairman. “It is very important to focus on stabilizing services for the most vulnerable residents of our community.”

First 5 San Luis Obispo County was established after voters passed Proposition 10 in 1998, placing a 50-cents-per-pack tax on cigarettes to fund education, health, child care and other programs for expectant parents and children up to 5 years old.

Including the new funding awards, the commission has invested approximately $21 million since 2000 to benefit local early child development programs and projects.

— Bob Cuddy

Paso Robles

Free pancake breakfast tickets are available at Paso Robles’ participating downtown businesses from July 12 through July 28. The California Mid-State Fair and the Downtown Paso Robles Main Street Association are again hosting the annual event as part of Community Pride Day at the fair. Attendees can enjoy pancakes, eggs, sausage, orange juice and coffee from 7:30 to 10:30 a.m. July 29 at Paso Robles’ Downtown City Park.

Local community service organizations also contribute to the breakfast.

Tickets are required, but they are available for free at merchants with window signs indicating they have the free tickets.

For questions, call Main Street at 238-4103.

— Tonya Strickland