6 September 16, 2009 FEATURES Cuestonian

By Sophie Lowell Staff Writer

For two days this October, Morro Bay’s population will swell from 10,000 to 19,000 people as thousands from all around the Central Coast flock to the 28th annual Harbor Festival on the Morro Bay waterfront. According to the Morro Bay Harbor festival website, 49 percent of attendees are visiting Morro Bay specifi-cally for the festival.

“It really fills up the town. Morro Bay is a madhouse that weekend,” said festival CEO and Morro Bay local David Owens. With a wide variety of attractions and activities - ranging from childrens crafts to local food booths, live mu-sic and a beer garden–there is something for everyone.

Harborfest: party like a pirateSail or swim October 3 and 4 with Morro Bay’s annual harbor festival

In addition to funnel cakes, donuts, and various foods on sticks, there will be fine art and sculptures for sale and a tasting pavilion that features award winning wine and food from the top wineries and seafood restuarants in the county.

After enjoying a tasty meal, you can cruise down to one of the three entertainment satges, grab a local, micro-brewed beer and take in a variety of bands ranging from country and swing, to rock and latin.

“We try and have a variety,” said Owens. “Sometimes you get in a groove and want either country or rock, but everyone likes good music, and this is good music.” Still Time, Funk:30, Rough House, and Project 41 are booked to rock the stage on Sunday.

This year people have the opportunity to tour “Amazing Grace”, an 83 foot topsail schooner coming all the way from Gig harbor in Washington state specifically for the festi-val. In addition, there will be a sailboat race in the bay and the possibility of a helicopter aided water-rescue demonstration.

In addition to the 140 or so product vendors who will set up shop at this year’s festival, a wide range of non-profit or-ganizations will have booths along the pier. Proceeds from the event will benefit more than thirty local non-profit organizations and clubs like the Rotary club, whose volunteers work the weekend of the festival.

“If someone has a project that will benefit Morro Bay, we try and invest some of the money into that–just things that benefit the entire city rather than one specific group,” said Owens.

A two-day pass to the festi-val can be purchased in advance at www.mbhf.com as well as at Albertsons in Morro bay for $10.00. One-day tickets will be sold at the door for $8.00. Kids ages 12 and under are free and can enjoy a rock-wall, free train rides, and a designated area with kids’ games and crafts.

Many lost two hours a day, ev-ery day, or else an entire month of work.

“We can’t expect our lab tech to do his whole job with only eleven months,” said Ron Ruppert, head of the biology department. “There’s safety issues there.”

In addition to losses in personel, Cuesta had to cut 138 class sections. Fifty two of those were non-credit, Emeritus courses enjoyed primarily by seniors or people who want self improvement without the degree. The other 86 classes were credited courses.

In an email correspon-dence with the Cuestonian, Allison Merzon, president of the Cuesta teacher’s union, said that 120 teachers, most of them part time, felt a negative financial impact from the cuts. Some lost all of their summer classes and the accompanying income boost. Many of the teachers who didn’t lose classes are now overloaded with extra students – more work for the same pay.

Cathleen Greiner is the Vice President of Academic Affairs. It was her job to oversee the cuts. She said classes were cut

or kept based on whether there were multiple offerings of the same course, if enrollment exceeded an 80 percent mini-mum, and what the previous year’s student retention rates looked like. She was unsure if stricken classes would be made available in the future.

“We were told by the Chancellor’s office to protect three main areas: basic skills, transferable courses, and career training,” said Greiner. “We got the budget on August 6 and only had about a week to make some tough decisions before the semester started.”

Fiscal from page 1

By Liz AzevedoStaff Writer

Don’t forget to put money in the meter, because the city of San Luis Obispo raised the parking ticket fee by ten dollars over summer. Consequently, ticket prices have increased from $17 to $27.

Half the added fees will pay for courthouse construction projects and the other half will go to the state. None of the ad-ditional money will go to the city of San Luis Obispo.

Parking fees are up for Cuesta, too. A day pass doubled to $2, and our semester passes are up to $20.

Just having the pass might not be enough. You could get fined for displaying it incor-rectly. New policies mandate that passes be hung from rearview mirrors or displayed in front windshields. The back bumper days are gone.

Fees jacked up“I think it’s absolutely ludi-

crous. How am I going to pay for food and housing with all of these added fees?” said Cuesta student Laura Brownfield.

The raise in parking fines is in response to the increase in state surcharges. The city issues approximately 1,000 tickets per year according to prcity.com. Thus, the increase will generate an extra 10,000 dollars per year.

“It seems like the state is cracking down on law enforce-ment and increasing fees on everything these days,” said Cuesta student Heidi Patrykus. “I feel like I’m being nickeled and dimed by the very people I’m supposed to trust to protect my livelihood,”

“I understand the increase,” said Cuesta student Jazmin Rossi. “We have a devastat-ing deficit in America, and sometimes that means that the public has to deal with some unpleasant changes.”

This is how police want passes displayed. They no longer want it in the rear.

Boats sit in Morro Bay waiting for Harbor Fest.

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