News & Announcements

CASA - volunteer opportunity for web designer

2010-07-06T22:38:00Z

Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children of San Luis Obispo County is seeking a volunteer web designer for our template-based content management site. This site is currently under construction and we estimate that it will take approximately 20 hours to complete this project.

Please let us know if you are interested in volunteering for a great organization.

Cathy Orton
Resource Development Director
CASA - Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children of San Luis Obispo County
P.O. Box 1168 San Luis Obispo, CA 93406

805-541-6542 PHONE
805-541-5637 FAX

www.slocasa.org

Cal Poly's New Technology Park Signs New Tenant

2010-07-01T03:01:00Z

Cal Poly's New Technology Park Signs New Tenant

San Luis Obispo - Cal Poly recently signed a lease with Couto Solutions Inc. for approximately 3,500 square feet of space in the newly opened Cal Poly Technology Park.

Couto Solutions is a software development firm specializing in custom social networks for businesses and online communities. The company was founded in 2004 by Justin Couto, a former Cal Poly business graduate. Couto Solutions will maintain its headquarters, which includes its core software and development team, at the Tech Park.

A project of Cal Poly's California Central Coast Research Partnership (C³RP), the Tech Park serves as a home on campus for technology-based businesses - particularly firms engaged in applied research and development. Companies located in the park benefit from the expertise and skills of Cal Poly faculty and students.

"We are pleased to have Couto Solutions in the largest available suite of our Tech Park," said Jim Dunning, project administrator for C³RP. "They are truly a success story we would like to replicate many times over - talented graduates of Cal Poly creating and growing high-wage technology based jobs in our region."

"We are extremely excited to be moving our company's primary operations to the Cal Poly Tech Park. It's been a challenge for us to find qualified engineers in the area, and we feel through this partnership with C³RP and the development of our new internship program, being on campus will make the difference in the future success of Couto Solutions on the Central Coast." said Couto.

Partial funding for the construction of the building of the park was provided by the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The mission of C³RP is to facilitate collaboration between Cal Poly and business/industry by acting as the interface with interested collaborators. The new Technology Park has been one of the major initiatives of C³RP.

Phase I of the Technology Park project encompasses a 25,000-square-foot building that was completed earlier this month. The first lease was signed in February with Applied Technologies Associates Inc. (ATA) for 3,000 square feet of space. ATA designs, builds and manufactures technology products for the oil industry.

Currently 9,000 square feet of space is leased, with 11,000 square feet of space still available. Individual labs/suites range from 500 to 3,200 square feet and are available for lease.

For more information about the Cal Poly Technology Park project, contact Jim Dunning at 756-5551 or jdunning@calpoly.edu.

June 16: Learn about Grover Beach’s Technology Master Plan, to become a hub for broadband communications in the West Coast.

2010-06-11T23:35:00Z

GB mayor to discuss tech master plan

Grover Beach Mayor John Shoals will discuss the city’s Technology Master Plan at the next tri-Chamber luncheon set for noon Wednesday, June 16. Shoals will review Grover Beach’s goal to become a hub for broadband communications in the West Coast, utilizing the trans-Pacific fiber optical cable the comes ashore in the city. He’ll also explain how that plan will have an impact in the entire Five Cities area.

The luncheon, presented by the Grover Beach, Arroyo Grande and Pismo Beach chambers of commerce, will be held at Café Vostro, 228 W. Grand Ave., Grover Beach. The cost is $18 for chamber members who pay for reservations by noon Friday and $20 for members who pay at the door – if space is available. The cost for nonmembers is $25. To register and for more information, call the Grover Beach Chamber office at 489-9091.

[Reprinted from the Tribune 6/7/2010]

Tech-Trifecta Tweet Up @ Tech Brew

2010-06-11T13:06:00Z

Tech Networking, Tech Brew & Technology Survey

SLO Tech Brew is hosting a networking meeting this Monday!

Monday, June 14th 5:00 - 7:00 pm
Central Coast Brewing, San Luis Obispo
RSVP on Facebook

Learn about, support & promote the TAC Tech Survey!! Be there. http://ht.ly/1X0we

TAC Technology Survey - Take it now!!

2010-06-09T13:33:00Z

Please help the Technology Advocacy Committee identify the challenges and opportunities the local technology industry is facing. The SLO Chamber's TAC survey is available now by clicking: http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/WEB22AQBKVNAA8

This survey isn't just for San Luis Obispo - it covers the entire region from Paso Robles to Santa Maria. Please participate!

Take Survey

Register for Code Camp and Get a Free T-Shirt!

2010-05-13T22:54:00Z

The third annual Central Coast Code Camp is only a few days away! If you're ready to get out and get your geek on, you don't want to miss this! The Code Camp volunteers are working hard to put together a terrific event this year and you will not be disappointed. Not a geek? This year features business oriented sessions with a focus on technology. If you haven't already registered, click here to do so soon! The first 150 people who register online get a Central Coast Code Camp Tshirt at the event.

See Who's Already Registered

If you haven't visited CentralCoastCodeCamp.com lately, you might want to check out some of the new features. Now you can see who else is attending (and encourage anyone you don't see on the list to register!) and you can also check out their bios.

Location and Raffle

Central Coast Code Camp is being held Saturday May 22 at Cal Poly in the business building. Registration starts at 8am. A raffle will be held at the end of the event with plenty of geek swag to give away. To see a list of prizes that will be raffled off click here. The day doesn't end there. Following the Code Camp, there will be a no host dinner held at The Graduate on Industrial Way.

We hope to see you there!

Microsoft Certifications for your Team!

2010-05-05T02:36:00Z

IT Directors and Managers who are interested in Microsoft certifications for their teams are invited to a briefing by Chris Akelian, instructor from Cuesta College's Computer and Networking Technology Department. He will be talking about new training options offered to IT professionals by Microsoft through the college starting this fall. This new lab is employee friendly, because it is flexible and very affordable.

The event is organized by Clever Ducks CEO/CTO, Peter Kardel as part of his company's IT Director Breakfast Series. An 18-year veteran of the technology industry, Kardel founded Clever Ducks, an IT consulting firm in San Luis Obispo. He knows how important local training options are for techs. "In the past we've had to send people to the Bay Area or Los Angeles for access to this kind of training and certification. This is a great opportunity for our IT community rise to an even higher level," states Kardel.

Akelian adds, "Cuesta is committed to providing industry with a locally trained workforce that meets industry standards. Certification based training and testing here at Cuesta College will provide this opportunity to both students and professionals in the community. We are excited to be offering the resources of the Microsoft IT academy, Cisco Networking Academy and testing options through Pearson Vue as well as others in our courses this fall. I look forward to sharing the details of these opportunities at your Directors breakfast meeting since industry support in this endeavor is crucial to the success of the program."

Since early this year, Clever Ducks has hosted a monthly IT Director Breakfast on the second Wednesday of each month. The idea is to create a peer group for great discussions with other technology professionals. Industry peers collaborate in an informal environment with a catered breakfast and to discuss topics including current technology, the future of technology, and other IT management issues. To join the breakfast briefing on May 12 at 7:30 am, please RSVP online at http://www.cleverducks.com/it-director-breakfast/. - IT Directors and Managers who are interested in Microsoft certifications for their teams are invited to a briefing by Chris Akelian, instructor from Cuesta College's Computer and Networking Technology Department. He will be talking about new training options offered to IT professionals by Microsoft through the college starting this fall. This new lab is employee friendly, because it is flexible and very affordable.

Airport 'Runway Express Gift Shop' Ribbon Cutting

2010-04-27T21:42:00Z

The public is invited to help celebrate with both Airport “family members” on Weds, April 28th, with a Runway Express Ribbon Cutting ceremony from 7:30-8 pm, followed by complimentary wine tasting at the Spirit of San Luis Restaurant from 8 to 9:30 pm, featuring a sampling of wines carried collectively in the Runway Express Gift Shop and Spirit of San Luis Restaurant.

The San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport Gift Shop / Snack Bar, the Runway Express, now offers a variety of area wines as gifts items. As many of their regular diners can attest to, the Spirit of San Luis has featured some of our local vintners' finest for quite some time.

High Tech Building for Sale

2010-04-19T13:57:00Z

Huge price reduction on this hard-to-find 35,000+ square foot office building in Santa Maria. With convenient airport access, this 2-story stand-alone building is packed with many quality features. Perimeter offices and large executive office suites surround central workstation areas. Conference rooms, a large dedicated server room, cafeteria, kitchen bar with raised stage, 2-lane bowling alley and 47-seat movie theater make this remarkable facility versatile to high-tech businesses, businesses with high standards of customer care or organizations who make employee motivation and retention a priority. The facility comes with ample parking and is a secure facility with key card entry.

The building can be easily divided to accommodate two tenants (each with secure entrances). The building parcel is 7.6 acres, with almost 3 acres being undeveloped land that can be used for future expansion. Or, you can complete the in-progress lot split and reduce your investment by selling the undeveloped land.

To see current floor plan, pictures and information, please review the property brochure (http://www.staffordmccarty.com/documents/2811%20Airpark%20Brochure.pdf or call Steve Davis at 805-543-1801.

The Dioptics building in San Luis Obispo is another candidate for a technology company looking to move to this area. The building has about 36,000 sq ft of office, 80,000 sq ft of manufacturing space, ample power and a fiber optic connection to the building.

Locally Organized TED Event Gathers Fascinating People and Breakthrough Ideas for a Remarkable Evening of Discovery.

2010-04-15T12:39:00Z

INAUGURAL TEDxCHUMASH CONFERENCE - SLO MUSEUM OF ART - MAY 27TH, 2010

The first-ever TEDxChumash Conference, a three hours conference locally organized gathering of renowned presenters to develop our ability to tackle challenging issues through powerful thinking.
This is not only a current need, but a future trend. Jacky Lopez founder of Queen Global Communications, will bring a diverse line-up of speakers to the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art on Thursday, May 27, 2010.

DEADLINE TO SUBMIT ATTENDEE APPLICATION: April 30th, 2010. Any application submitted after April 30th will be subject to the availability of free places. Apply Now http://bit.ly/c1xsxw

SPEAKERS/PRESENTERS
Blake Irving Professor at Pepperdine University, Wandia Chiuri, Senior Director of Project Development at Twittrafficpro, Matthew Linden, Founder of ConciousBuild, John Battalino, Neurologist & Chief Medical Office for the State of California, Actor, Director, Script Writer, Dan Sieben, serial entrepreneur who founded and ran his first company after returning from two years in the Peace Corps in Lima, Peru. Dr. Mark Juretic, President of the Marian Medical Center Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Marian Medical Center, and Fran Dukehart, Calpoly Leadership Program's Instructor, are some of the speakers and presenters. More about presenters/performers http://bit.ly/dANQyv

Adults tickets cost $50 and student and educator tickets are $25 while quantity lasts (half the house has been set aside for discounted student and educator seating). All proceeds will be donated to the SLO Museum of Art.

About TEDxChumash Conference
The conference theme of “People 3.0: Leadership Beyond Barriers” acknowledges the importance of diversity in organizations and the key role leaders play in building and maintaining a culture and climate that accomplishes the mission and achieves goals, yet one that values and promotes the potential of all. The ever-changing nature of society creates and imperative that leaders recognize and work beyond traditional social and cultural boundaries of race, gender, and ethnicity in organizations.
TED Videos: http://bit.ly/bKqqxW

Sponsorship Opportunities http://bit.ly/d6Rpxe

For more information contact: Jacky by email at jacky@tedxchumash.com, phone at (805) 467- 6777, or visit
www.tedxchumash.com

RRM is seeking “business roommates” for Office Space

2010-04-09T00:42:00Z

RRM is seeking "business roommates" for companies in need of fully outfitted office space in our San Luis Obispo location. Our goal is to co-locate a group of forward thinking firms in their growing stages to create an informal entrepreneurial environment where we can share our experiences and help attain our business aspirations. We have the desire and opportunity to conduct training sessions and bring in experts in business management and operations in-house to support our needs. We can accommodate various combinations of the available space such as private offices, workstations and office support services such as use of a conference room, training room, reception services, copying, etc.

Our 25,000 sf, LEED®-EB Gold (LEED for Existing Buildings) San Luis Obispo office was designed with earth and employees in mind. Our own in-house design team successfully blended cutting-edge design with energy efficient materials and systems: maximized day lighting; a mechanical system combined with a louver system to optimize fresh air ventilation; and building materials specified with recycled content and no or low VOC's. What originally was a sewing room and warehouse is now an efficient, energetic, and fun place to work. To learn more about RRM please visit http://www.rrmdesign.com/.

For more information please contact Erik Justesen or Susan Whalen at (805) 543-1794.

Google Talks Innovations in Search at Cal Poly April 8th

2010-04-07T23:21:00Z

The Department of Computer Science and the College of Engineering of Cal Poly along with Cal Poly's WISH Student Club invite you to attend Innovations in Search @Google presented by Johanna Wright, Director of Program Management for Web Search.

The event will be held at:

Venue:	Harman Hall - Performing Arts Center
Location:	Grand Avenue on the Cal Poly Campus
Time:	Thursday, April 8^th, from 11:00 am to 12:15 pm.

Google is all about innovating the web experience with useful and easy-to use products, many of which have become a huge part of our lives both inside and outside of the classroom. Behind the scenes, these simple products are built upon hundreds of hard and interesting search-related problems in computer science, ranging from machine translation to data extraction. Johanna Wright will share some of the most intriguing search solutions that Google has been working on, in addition to the "secret sauce" innovation principles that keep Google's engine of innovation moving forward.

Johanna Wright is the Director of Product Management responsible for Web Search. She oversees the development of Google's search user interface and features and was the initial product lead on Universal Search, having driven it from inception to launch. Prior to Google, Johanna worked at a number of software start-ups in New York City.

The presentation is free and open to Cal Poly campus and the community.

Central Coast Code Camp Open for Registration

2010-04-02T01:15:00Z

Get ready to get out, geek up, and get your learn on with us...all for free!

The third annual Central Coast Code Camp is ramping up. The venue has been set at the campus of Cal Poly and the session content is beginning to fill up. This year's event will be a one day seminar and will feature great talks on cutting edge technologies. For those of you that have not attended a Code Camp before, it is a FREE event put on by software developers in the community and abroad that is made up of one hour long sessions devoted to the discussion and sharing of code from all disciplines. To learn more about the Central Coast Code Camp, visit our site at www.centralcoastcodecamp.com or join our discussion on Twitter by using the hash tag #cccc.

If you would like to attend please register at:
http://www.centralcoastcodecamp.com/Register.aspx.

Call for Speakers

Have a great user group talk that you would like to share? Prepping for your big keynote speech and wishing that you had a venue to give it a warm-up run? Or have you been biding your time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to give back to the technology community here on the Central Coast? Your time has come! We are actively taking registration for speakers on a wide range of technology topics. With Code Camp being a one day event, session slots will fill up fast. If you would like to present at Central Coast Code Camp you can find more info at:
http://www.centralcoastcodecamp.com/Sessions.aspx.

Call for Contributors

Central Coast Code Camp follows a contribution model for support. The owners of this event are the Central Coast developer community. Contribution is a great way to show you support the software industry here on the Central Coast. If you are interested in supporting the Central Coast Code Camp or know of a business that would, you can find more information at:

Sponsor Flyer:
http://www.centralcoastcodecamp.com/Downloads/PDF/SponsorCodeCamp.pdf

Become a Sponsor:
http://www.centralcoastcodecamp.com/Sponsor.aspx

Questions & Information

If you have questions or need more information about the up coming Central Coast Code Camp, please visit the website or contact any of the Code Camp Team Members in Softec by visiting their profiles: Steve Evans, Justin Schartzenberger, Jeff Richardson, or Justin Couto

Central Coast Code Camp 2010
May 22^nd, 2010
Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Ca.
www.centralcoastcodecamp.com

The Twestival Comes to SLO

2010-03-23T19:40:00Z

SLOCAMA, San Luis Obispo Creative and Marketing Alliance will be bringing Twestival to SLO. Meet up at Spike’s, 570 Higuera Street in San Luis Obispo, from 5-8 p.m.

Learn more about SLOCAMA and contribute to global education while meeting up with old friends, new friends and business colleagues.

What’s it all about?

On March 25, 2010, in more than 175 cities around the world, thousands of people will demonstrate social media’s power for social good through the second annual Twestival. The global event is a worldwide fundraising initiative that uses social media, particularly Twitter, to focus participants’ talent and resources to benefit one cause for one day. All proceeds generated from the 2010 Twestival will support education and be donated to Concern Worldwide, a non-governmental, international, humanitarian organization that since 1968 has dedicated itself to reducing suffering and eliminating poverty.

“Organizing online and gathering offline allows Twestival to harness the incredible communication power of Twitter to propel participation in real events around the world,” said Amanda Rose, founder of Twestival. “There is no shortage of people who are passionate and want to help. The challenge is coordination, not participation. By using social media platforms such as Twitter, Twestival is able to connect hundreds of independent local events into a powerful global initiative. At last year’s Twestival, more than 1,000 volunteers and 10,000 donors raised more than $250,000 to provide clean and safe drinking water for more than 17,000 people. We know this works and we’re excited to make it work for every child in the world that deserves an education.”

http://sanluisobispo.twestival.com/

Make SLO Fast Rally

2010-03-18T23:26:00Z

This past Tuesday was a great day for a rally! The weather could not have been nicer and with the recent time change, the extra hour gave everyone plenty of daylight to gather and have their message heard.

What message? Well, if somehow you've missed the buzz around town, Google is sizing up communities in order to determine who will be the first to test out its ultra-high speed fiber optic broadband network. San Luis Obispo is pushing hard, really, really, hard to be one of those towns.

The compitition is stiff. Cities big and small all across our country are throwing their hats in the ring. Places like Boulder, CO, Duluth, MN, Greenville, SC, and Google, KS, are all making their voices heard. Yeah, you read that right. Topeka is changing its name to Google for a month to try to score big with Google. You can bet they aren't the only ones playing hard ball. If you search for Google Fiber pages on facebook, you'll get over 120 results and each one is shouting, "Pick me! Pick me!"

San Luis Obispo wants to be the loudest "Pick me!" shouter in the bunch. The rally at the steps of the Mission brought out over 200 people to cheer on and show their support for the cause. Supplies were on hand to create signs and the attendees put them to good use. T-shirts with the San Luis Obispo Google Fiber logo, provided by Digital West, were distributed to the growing crowd. Kids were passing out balloons in the familiar Google colors to other kids. Even the pooches were on hand to take part. The whole group was in the spirit!

After some rallying talks from the five speakers, the entire group made its move out Chorro Street, down Higuera and around to the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art on Broad Street. Along the way, the crowd chanted the clever slogan, "MAKE SLO FAST!!" Even some business owners along the route joined in by painting signs on their windows.

The party ended with a gathering at the Museum of Art where everyone's sign was mounted on the walls along side works completed by local artists. Snacks, along with beer and wine, were enjoyed by most, after all we DID do a lot of walking and shouting! Supporters who had not yet had a chance to officially nominate San Luis Obispo were able to do so at on of the computers set up for that specific purpose. You can still vote SLO. Google is accepting nominations through March 26th. If you haven't done so already, run, don't walk to the nearest computer and tell Google to bring their fabulously fast fiber to San Luis Obispo!

All in all, the Bring Google Fiber to SLO rally was a great event on a gorgeous day in a beautiful town filled with wonderful people. Hey Google! How can you pass that up? Come on, MAKE SLO FAST!!!

Checkout the Pictures and Videos from the Event!

To see more pictures of the Bring Google Fiber to San Luis Obispo event, Click Here
To watch the Googe Fiber in SLO videos, Click Here