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At a Glance: Regional News of Note

Arroyo Grande

AG police upgrading radar in patrol units

Speeders beware: The Arroyo Grande Police Department’s nine patrol cars and two motorcycles will soon have state-of-the-art radar systems.

The City Council recently approved a $27,261 contract with Applied Concepts Inc. of Plano, Texas, to lease 11 Stalker DSR 2X radar units that will give officers the ability to monitor the speed of vehicles approaching from the front and rear simultaneously.

A report from Police Chief Steven Annibali said the radar units have such extra features as the ability to monitor vehicles traveling in either direction while the patrol unit is moving.

They also can warn officers of a vehicle closing dangerously fast from the rear when the patrol unit re-enters the roadway after a traffic stop.

Signals are digitally converted in the antenna, which eliminates interference from such sources as high-powered TV and high-frequency transmitters, mobile data terminals and automotive equipment like alternators, air conditioners and fuel pumps.

The units will be leased for a 4-year period.

City seeks volunteer for transportation committee

Arroyo Grande is looking for a volunteer to represent the city on the Citizens Transportation Advisory Committee.

The committee reviews and prepares recommendations to the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments on all phases of its transportation planning program, including public transit, streets and roads, bicycle facilities and airports, funding and plan preparation.

Meetings are generally held from 6 to about 9 p.m. on Wednesdays every other month in San Luis Obispo.

The term is indefinite for the Arroyo Grande representative, who serves at the city’s discretion.

For information on applying for the position, contact Mayor Tony Ferrara at City Hall, 214 E. Branch St., Arroyo Grande 93420, or 473-5404; or Aida Nicklin, SLOCOG executive secretary, at 1150 Osos St., Suite 202, San Luis Obispo 93401 or

781-4292.

Avila Beach

PSHH completes 29 new affordable apartments

Construction of a 29-unit permanently affordable apartment complex at the corner of Laurel Lane and Ocean Oaks Drive was recently completed, and Avila Beach residents displaced during Unocal’s razing of the town have begun moving in.

The rental complex, known as Lachen Tara, includes eight studio apartments and 18 one-bedroom and three two-bedroom units. Four of the units are reserved for farm workers, and eight are for people with special needs.

Rents range between $400 and $700. The complex should be fully occupied by mid-January.

When Unocal began clean-up efforts in downtown Avila Beach, the town’s entire core had to be razed and many longtime residents were forced to relocate.

People’s Self Help Housing was able to secure an agreement with Unocal that the clean-up would include an affordable housing development that would allow displaced residents to be given preference for the rental units.

Grover Beach

Fire guts room of home on Trouville Avenue

Fire destroyed one room and its contents Saturday afternoon at a home at 537 Trouville Ave. in Grover Beach, according to the Grover Beach Fire Department.

Investigators had not released the cause of the fire by press time.

The fire broke out about 3:45 p.m. in the single-story, single-family residence, a spokesman said. Firefighters had the blaze out in about 10 minutes.

No other residences were threatened by the fire, and no injuries were reported. No dollar value was placed on the loss, but the spokesman said damage was mostly limited to the residents’ contents.

Pismo Beach

New police chief to be sworn into office Tuesday

The city’s newest top cop — Jeff Norton — will be sworn in as police chief during Tuesday’s Pismo Beach City Council meeting, which starts at 4:30 p.m. at City Hall, 760

Mattie Road.

The swearing-in ceremony will take place immediately following a public farewell to former Police Chief Joe Cortez, who announced his retirement early last year. His last day with the department was Sunday.

Norton was selected from a field of more than 80 candidates to replace Cortez, who led the department for seven years.

Nipomo

Rotary Club blood drives start Thursday

The Rotary Club of Nipomo will hold a blood drive from 2 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 8, in the Vons Shopping Center off on West Tefft Street.

All blood donors will receive a thank-you movie ticket, said a club spokesman.

The Arroyo Grande Rotary Club will hold blood drive from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29, in the Steamer’s of Pismo parking lot, 1601 Price St., Pismo Beach.

Blood donors there will be presented with a 4-ounce box of See’s chocolates as a thank-you gift.

The clubs are holding the drives in conjunction with United Blood Services, Central Coast, as part of National Blood Donor Month in January, when blood donations typically drop off.

The Central Coast needs 270 donations every day to keep up with the community’s need, said a Rotary spokesman.

For more information on area blood drives, visit

www.UnitedBloodServices.org or call the San Luis Obispo center at 543-4290. Donors can make an appointment or walk in.

San Luis Obispo County

More than 400 bikes given to kids through program

The Sheriff's Department’s bicycle program was once again in full swing this holiday season, supplying more than 400 bikes to needy children and teens in the county.

Donated used bikes are collected by the department throughout the year. County Honor Farm inmates refurbish the bikes.

Community groups such as the South San Luis Obispo County Boys and Girls Club, Family Care Network and the Nipomo Family Resource Center give the refurbished bikes, along with helmets, to children from low-income families.

This year, several Sheriff’s Department employees purchased two bikes to match a request for a bicycle size that wasn’t in the current inventory of donated bikes, according to a department spokesman.

The bicycle program has been wheeling around the county for 20 years.

Supervisors-elect to take oath Monday

One incumbent and two freshmen county supervisors will take the oath of office during a special swearing-in ceremony Monday at the County Government Center, 1055 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo.

The swearing-in ceremony starts at noon in board chambers for incumbent 5th District Supervisor Jim Patterson and newly elected 3rd District Supervisor Adam Hill and 1st District Supervisor Frank Mecham.

Patterson, Hill and Mecham will serve a 4-year term on the Board of Supervisors, which usually meets on the first four Tuesdays of the month.

The first Board of Supervisors meeting of 2009 starts at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Texting while driving now illegal

Beginning New Year’s Day, texting while driving became illegal, making it an infraction to write, send or read text-based communications on a cell phone or other wireless electronic device when operating a motor vehicle.

Previously, texting while driving was only prohibited for drivers 18 and younger. However, Senate Bill 28 made it illegal for all drivers to text as of Jan. 1.