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closePG&E to get permit — after the fact
T he sheer volume of recent tree cutting and trimming work commissioned by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. probably will require an after-the-fact permit from the county, according to a code enforcement officer.
Art Trinidade, the county’s supervising code enforcer, and Lynn Cullen, a senior arborist and vegetation- management specialist for the utility firm, told members of the Cambria Forest Committee Oct. 28 that such a permit would set forth conditions and requirements for the work, including what mitigation would be required when a tree is removed. Property owners have to plant eight Monterey pines for every one they remove, and two oaks to replace one.
Trinidade expects the permit also would include any future work done under the utility’s “reliability” program, which is separate from mandated “compliance” work done closer to power lines.
Cullen said all removals are designed to improve the likelihood that electrical service will be available during storms and high winds, and reduce the odds of a tree falling on or through power lines at other times, too.
However, last summer’s project grew to be considerably larger than Trinidade expected originally, he told his peers on the committee. Eventually, he was shown all the trees PG&E proposed to remove, and he disallowed “about half of them.”
The 2009 reliability-program work removed 76 trees and trimmed a dozen others, mostly along or near Ardath Drive, Pineridge Drive, Richard Avenue and in the Fern Canyon area, which is protected by a conservation easement.
Property owners or representatives signed permission slips and gave instructions about how the fallen trees were to be handled, Cullen said. A contractor is due back in Cambria soon to remove more of the fallen logs and rounds, she said.
Fire Chief Mark Miller said the utility has responded well to his plea for help in cleaning up eyesores and fire hazards left by the project.
Trinidade also said he hopes this situation will prompt enactment and funding for the Cambria Forest Management Plan, completed in 2002.
—Kathe Tanner
Warning: local shellfish can be toxic
Public health officials are warning people to avoid eating sport-harvested shellfish, anchovies, sardines and crabs taken from the coastal waters of San Luis Obispo County.
The health advisory, issued Friday, Oct. 30, came after testing showed high levels of domoic acid in shellfish taken from the county’s coastal waters. Domoic acid is a toxin produced by algae in the water.
Symptoms of mild cases of domoic acid poisoning resemble flu symptoms including vomiting and stomach cramps. Severe cases of poisoning can result in seizures, coma and death.
Shellfish accumulate the poison in their tissues after filtering the algae out of the water. The poison can also accumulate in the viscera of anchovies, sardines and crab, commonly referred to as crab butter.
There is no known antidote to domoic acid poisoning. Anyone experiencing poisoning symptoms should seek immediate medical attention.
This health advisory will continue until further notice.
Marine mammals can be sharply affected by the toxin. Volunteers of The Marine Mammal Center have been swamped this summer and fall by ill and dying mammals, primarily sea lions, many of which had symptoms of domoic-acid poisoning.
Accordingto www.tmmc.org, this year the center took in its highest number ever of marine-mammal patients, more than 1,500 so far.
—David Sneed and Kathe Tanner
Community meal volunteers needed
Cambria’s free annual Thanksgiving Day dinner will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 26, at the Veterans Memorial Building, 1000 Main St.
Everybody is welcome to dine and enjoy fun and festivities. According to Chef Daun Putney, last year’s free event served nearly 750 people from all income brackets.
At this point, Putney is seeking additional food donors and volunteers who will do everything from roasting and slicing turkeys to handing out pie and cleaning up the hall.
While some participants take their meals to go, Putney hopes more people “dine in,” enjoying the music, decorations, friendship, conversation, laughter, hugs and, of course, the good food.
The event coordinator also wants “people to come back at the end, about 2:15 p.m., to get leftovers for their families,” so all the food goes to people who need and will enjoy it.
Volunteers from throughout the community, including from Vineyard Christian Fellowship and other churches, pull it all together.
For details or to volunteer, call 927-4064.
The church office also has sign-up sheets for contributions of food, money and time. — Kathe Tanner
Holiday main-stay plans shaping up
Event planners, donors and people mapping out their event schedules are marking their calendars for upcoming holiday events.
Among Cambria’s holiday highlights are:
• The annual Festival of Trees auction will be on the evening of Tuesday, Dec. 1. Trees, wreaths and other items will be auctioned to raise money for charities. Donor/designers may sign up now. For details, e-mail wendy_sheridan@yahoo.com or call the Cambria Chamber of Commerce, 927-3624.
• Hospitality Night, Thursday, Dec. 3. While the evening event is billed as a downtown open house hosted by local businesses, many nonprofits also showcase their offerings to the community, such as the Cambria Historical Museum, Cambria Teen Center, Cambria Chorale, area schools and others. The RTA Otter Trolley will provide free shuttle rides between West and East Village from 5:30 to 9 p.m.
For details, call the Cambria Chamber of Commerce at 927-3624.
• The Salvation Army is signing up bell-ringers
of most ages for Red Kettle locations at Cookie Crock Market and the Cambria Post Office on Bridge Street.
Nearly all the money stays on the North Coast to help local families in need. For details, leave name and number at 927-4044.
—Kathe Tanner
Kid art, swank event at Castle
Plans are being finalized for 15 at-risk middle-school students with artistic hopes to be mentored one-on- one at Hearst Castle by noted plein air artists from this area.
It’s all part of a Friends of Hearst Castle program that began in May with 20 artists painting castle scenes outdoors at the monument. Their 62 paintings went on sale at Friends’ June 2 “Twilight on the Terrace” hilltop reception at the State Park; some are available online at www.friendsofhearstcastle.org.
In mid-January, 15 of those artists will begin mentoring individual North Coast and North County students selected by the YMCA of San Luis Obispo County.
Cambrians Jeanette Wolff, Judy Lyon, Robin Wayne and Linda Dunn are among those who are to participate as mentor artists, according to Carol Schreiber, Friends’ executive director.
Schreiber plans to display the youngsters’ finished artworks in their communities.
Sales of the original paintings will help buy supplies and equipment for the youth-mentoring program, as well as other Castle- related programs for at-risk youngsters.
So will the upcoming “Holiday Feast” at which 100 people will dine in the Refectory, the legendary dining room where multimedia magnate William Randolph Hearst entertained his guests.
Feast tickets still are available. They include limousine transportation to the hilltop, a canopied reception on the Main Terrace, a multi-course meal ranging from rosemary-crusted lamb chops and Mexican shrimp appetizers to seared Alaskan halibut and grilled Muscovy duck breast. The evening will conclude with a short production in Hearst’s theater in La Casa Grande and live jazz music.
Tickets are $1,100 for Friends members; $1,200 for everybody else. For details, go to the Web site or call 927-2138.
—Kathe Tanner
Cambria Rotary to make clean sweep
The Rotary Club of Rosarito (Rosarito Beach, Baja, Mexico), along with the Rotary Club of Cambria, are jointly sponsoring the first Rosarito Beach Clean-up on Saturday, Nov. 14.
Edson Ruiz, the president of the Rotary Club of Rosarito, is asking all youth and service groups, clubs and organizations in the area to participate. Bruce Howard, a past-president of the Rotary Club of Cambria, is inviting all friends of Baja from north of the border to participate in this joint project.
The purpose of the clean-up is several fold; first, to clean up the beaches of Baja. Second, and of equal importance, is to build camaraderie between the participating groups; youth groups, service groups and community groups. Third is to join together to show that the participants realize that Baja is a safe place to visit and that they will continue to visit and enjoy Baja despite any of the negative press that has been visited on this area.
The Rosarito Beach Hotel is offering a special rate for participants for that evening: $59 for an ocean-view room for the night of Nov. 14, single or double occupancy. Contact the hotel (toll free at 800-343- 8582) for information on accommodations.
For event information, contact Bruce Howard at bruce@brucehowardrealtor.com.
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