SanLuisObispo.com: Local

Biz Buzz: A daVinci joins sierra vista hospital

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:58 PST

On Tuesday, Dr. Elaine Yin of Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center performed the hospital�s first procedure using the daVinci Surgical System � a $1.8 million robot that a physician remotely controls to perform minimally invasive surgical procedures.

Yin looked at a 3-D image of the surgical area as the daVinci translated her movements into precise, 360-degree movements of surgical instruments inside the patient. She removed the uterus of Karon Cushing by making five 1-centimeter incisions. In the past, these abdominal hysterectomies have involved 12- to 14-centimeter incisions. Smaller incisions mean reduced trauma to the body and faster recovery time.

Sierra Vista is the only hospital between Santa Barbara and Salinas to offer the technology, which the hospital expects to use for urological, gynecological, ear, nose and throat, and other general surgical procedures.

Search begins for new Poly president

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:53 PST

By Nick Wilson -- The search for the next president to replace Cal Poly�s Warren Baker has officially begun.

The committee that will interview candidates and make a recommendation to the California State University board of trustees gathered Tuesday at the Performing Arts Center for its first and only public meeting.

The 18-member group includes CSU Chancellor Charles Reed and five CSU trustees, as well as representatives of Cal Poly faculty, administration, staff, students and alumni.

Farmers will manage own sales again

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:45 PST

By AnnMarie Cornejo -- The Farmers� Market Association will regain management of the produce section of Thursday Night Farmers Market in an agreement reached Tuesday.

The boards of directors of the Downtown Association and the Farmers� Market Association are expected to complete the contract this week, City Attorney Christine Dietrick said.

The change came after the Downtown Association took control of the produce vendors in late January. The shift in control caused a public outcry that led the San Luis Obispo City Council to direct the Downtown Association to work out a new contract with the Farmers� Market Association.

SLO County Roundup

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:43 PST

Carrizo Plain

The motorcyclist who was killed in an off-road crash in a remote area of eastern San Luis Obispo County on Friday has been identified as Matthew Drake of Fresno.

Drake, 38, was one of four people riding on a dirt service road about 1.6 miles west of Soda Lake Road in the Carrizo Plain National Monument, said officer Bill Irons of the CHP�s Templeton office.

Governor Schwarzenegger spotlights jobs in visit to San Luis Obispo

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:12 PST

By AnnMarie Cornejo -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger lobbied Monday in San Luis Obispo for a set of bills he says will create more jobs by assisting California businesses in hiring and training qualified employees.

Schwarzenegger, joined by state Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, who is Schwarzenegger�s nominee for lieutenant governor, toured REC Solar, a solar installation firm, before discussing the legislative package designed to create or preserve at least 100,000 jobs.

�Here is the perfect example of what is good for the economy and also good for the environment,� said Schwarzenegger, adding that his legislative package would help companies such as REC Solar expand throughout the state.

David Weyrich�s jet center gets notice of eviction

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:10 PST

By Melanie Cleveland -- The city of Paso Robles has given an eviction notice to David Weyrich, the operator of the Paso Robles Jet Center at the city�s airport.

But the Paso Robles business has refused to budge and continues to provide fuel services to the airport.

Weyrich�s refusal to be evicted prompted the city to file a lawsuit last week against him and North American Jet Charter, which is the company on the lease with the city.

Arroyo Grande residents take action against Centennial Plaza plan

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 11:21 PST

By Cynthia Lambert -- Concerns over a proposal to create a pedestrian plaza in the heart of Arroyo Grande�s historic Village have prompted some community members to take action.

Gordon and Manetta Bennett formed a committee called Save Short Street and distributed letters and postcards for Arroyo Grande residents to sign to show their support for keeping part of Short Street between East Branch Street and Olohan Alley open. Gordon Bennett turned in more than 200 letters to the city Monday. The issue goes before the City Council tonight.

In a separate effort, Arroyo Grande architect Gary L. Scherquist designed a plan that would keep Short Street open.

Grass to stay greener

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:53 PST

By Tad Weber -- San Luis Obispo County residents need to prepare for both rain and cold temperatures today as a storm system comes into the area from Northern California.

John Lindsey, a local weather forecaster and media relations official for Pacific Gas and Electric Co., said the storm system will mix cold air from the upper atmosphere with warmer air near the Earth�s surface. As a result, there is a chance of thunderstorms.

The National Weather Service is adding the possibilities of hail and even water spouts off the coast to its forecast. About a half inch to an inch of rain is expected along the coast and interior; 1.5 inches could fall at higher elevations, the forecasts say.

Biz Buzz: County unemployment falls slightly

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:48 PST

San Luis Obispo County�s unemployment rate continued to be well below most communities in California in December, falling one-tenth of a percent compared to the previous month. That figure, however, was still above the unemployment rate in December 2008.

The state�s Employment Development Department recorded 9.4 percent in December, down from a revised 9.5 percent in November and above 7.1 percent in December 2008. A total of 13,000 people were jobless but actively seeking work in December, out of a labor force of 138,800.

The county lost the most jobs in leisure and hospitality, a total of 700 jobs from December 2008 to December 2009. Trade, transportation and utilities lost 500 jobs, construction lost 400 jobs and government lost 200 jobs, compared to the same month in 2008.

Case proceeds for bank robbery suspect

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:14 PST

By Nick Wilson -- A Santa Barbara man who allegedly robbed four San Luis Obispo County banks last year had sufficient evidence presented against him in a preliminary hearing, Judge Barry LaBarbera ruled Monday.

Anthony William Frisco, 44, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of robbery and four counts of burglary of Wells Fargo and Chase banks in San Luis Obispo, as well as a Rabobank in Pismo Beach and a Wells Fargo branch in Nipomo.

Authorities initially gave Frisco the nickname �Red Sharpie Bandit� because of a red magic marker he allegedly used during heists.

Cal Poly to rent out books

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:51 PST

By Nick Wilson -- Cal Poly will roll out a new book rental program in the fall to give university students a cheaper option for finding their course texts.

Other Cal State University campuses already operate book rental programs � including Fresno State University, where more than 80 percent of books are available for rent at the campus bookstore.

Cal Poly�s fledgling rental program will be limited to an estimated 14 of the most heavily-used books campuswide from a variety of disciplines, though that number hasn�t been finalized, officials said.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to visit San Luis Obispo's REC Solar today

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:21 PST

By Antonio A. Prado -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will visit a San Luis Obispo solar firm today to promote a legislative package designed to create or preserve at least 100,000 jobs.

He�ll visit REC Solar � a San Luis Obispo firm that installs solar panels � to announce training and hiring incentives and other policies that would be designed to make it easier for businesses to grow and expand in California.

State Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, who is Schwarzenegger�s nominee for lieutenant governor, will join him for the 10 a.m. visit, which will be shown live online.

Centennial Square plan up for debate at City Council meeting in Arroyo Grande

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 00:11 PST

By Amy Dempsey -- The Arroyo Grande City Council on Tuesday is expected to debate the proposed Centennial Square, a plan for a pedestrian plaza and other improvements local leaders say would make the historic Village a more desirable gathering place.

If approved, the small block of Short Street between East Branch Street and Olohan Alley would become a downtown pedestrian square.

The project also calls for a deal in which NKT Commercial would give the city the office building at Mason and Branch streets in exchange for the Conrad House, the 1950s-era city Building Department office known as the �malt shop� and the parking lot between the buildings.

Inspired in the quake zone

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:59 PST

By Julia Hickey -- Two Central Coast women recently returned from separate medical missions in Port-au-Prince with something in common: admiration for the Haitians� endurance amid disaster.

Before the trip, recent Cal Poly graduate Heidi Swangler of Atascadero did not know if she would be able to handle the smell of death.

She assisted physicians from Oregon in a makeshift clinic beside a collapsed hospital, from which she said the nauseating stench would sometimes blow.

Group may force a union vote

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 22:48 PST

By Bob Cuddy -- A breakaway county employee union says it has gathered enough signatures to force an election that could decertify the county�s main member association as representative for one group of county employees.

SLOGEA � the San Luis Obispo General Employees Association � said it has turned in signatures from more than 40 percent of the 180 members of the Trades Services unit.

The signatures, if verified, would be one of several steps that could trigger an election to determine whether these workers will be represented by SLOGEA or their current representative, the San Luis Obispo County Employees Association (SLOCEA), in negotiations with county management over wages and benefits.

Week Ahead: Public meetings on the Central Coast

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 23:01 PST

TODAY

Morro Bay City Council. 6 p.m. Veterans Memorial Building, 209 Surf St. 772-6261. www.morro-bay.ca.us. On the agenda: Discussion of draft regulations for medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. On TV: Live on Charter Channel 20 in Morro Bay; replayed at 1 a.m., 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily.

TUESDAY

Rossi still building from the ground up

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:47 PST

By Julie Lynem -- The first commercial purchase Rob Rossi made was the old Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house on Garden Street in San Luis Obispo, about 150 feet from Rossi Enterprise headquarters on Pismo Street.

In 1976, a year out of Cal Poly�s architecture program, he was employed as an architect but financially strapped, so he asked his parents for a loan to buy the dilapidated structure. It not only smelled rotten, but it leaned like a sailboat on the open sea.

�Mom and Dad took out a second (mortgage) on their house in Ohio to loan me $5,000 to buy a fraternity house (along with local physician Jim Harrison) in shambles,�� he said. �But I thought I could restore it.�

Photos: Boys mark 100 years of scouting

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:45 PST

Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Venturers from San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties marked the 100th anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America at the annual Scout-O-Rama in the Santa Maria Town Center.

Activities included rock climbing, walks across rope bridges and woodcarving.

The national organization�s Los Padres Council, which includes the two counties, has more than 9,000 boys in the three Scouting programs.

Candidates agree on big issues

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:42 PST

By Amy Dempsey -- All three candidates running to represent the South County�s 4th District on the Board of Supervisors pride themselves as fiscal conservatives, agree that the Oceano Dunes should be kept open for off-roading and oppose plans to drill for oil in the Huasna Valley.

But coming from different backgrounds, they differ in the qualifications and experience they touted at a forum Saturday in Nipomo.

Arroyo Grande City Councilman Jim Guthrie, Lucia Mar school board member and county Parks Commissioner Paul Teixera and attorney and rancher Mike Zimmerman are running in June�s election.

Political Notebook

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:35 PST

San Luis Obispo

Assembly candidate Hilda Zacarias will be honored at a Pre-Valentine Ladies Night Out of wine and jewelry at the Tolosa Winery on Friday.

The event runs from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the winery�s heritage room, 4910 Edna Road, San Luis Obispo.