Volume 9
Shameful Scoreboard Matter Settled
tolosapress.com
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September 3 - 16, 2015
New Bus Connects Downtown to SLOHS
By Camas Frank
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Issue 32
YOUR COMMUNITY IN YOUR HANDS
August marked 125 years for the Point San Luis Lighthouse! The modern day lighthouse keepers, docents and volunteers donned their best 1890’s attire for the occasion and gave visitors a wealth of information. Story and photos on page 8; photo by Erin O’Donnell.
t must be the season for resolving courtroom dramas. In the Aug. 20 issue, the SLO City News reported on an appeals court decision coming out in favor of the City of SLO, regarding its effort to get rid of a former police officer. On Aug. 19, it was Cal Poly’s turn, as the school announced that it too has gotten the green light to clear the books on something that reflected poorly on the school’s good name. But it will cost the University some $480,000 to finally remove the name of disgraced financier (i.e. convicted pyramid schemer) Al Moriarty from school property. The deal was subject to the approval of a Federal Bank-
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ruptcy Court that had barred Cal Poly and the Cal Poly Foundation from removing the Moriarty name from the Spanos Stadium scoreboard, as the naming right was an Moriarty Enterprises “asset” in the proceedings following Moriarty’s 2012 bankruptcy filing and his 2014 felony conviction. Moriarty was convicted of running a Ponzi scheme — targeting local boosters of the Cal Poly Athletics programs — and one that was in full operation in 2009, when he gave Cal Poly $625,000 for naming rights to the scoreboard.
See Moriarty, page 12
By Camas Frank
SLO Brew @ The Rock Page 10
City Money Matters Page 46
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LO Transit is filling in a gap in its services, offering a new “Weekday Tripper” bus for the neighborhoods around San Luis Drive and San Luis Obispo High School. In the middle of putting together its “Short Term Plan” (or 5-year needs analysis), Transit Manager, Gamaliel Anguiano said the agency identified a demand for better options in that area and did its best to act before the new school year began. They kicked off the new service on Aug. 24. The new bus itself is a 29-foot long vehicle sold to SLO Transit for the symbolic sum of $1 by the regional bus carrier RTA. All the City has to do is meet the costs of sending it out on three,
short-looped morning and afternoon trips per day. “We did a cost analysis to determine if we could manage,” said Anguiano. “It will cost about $6,300 per year to operate this route. We will attempt to recover 20 percent minimum of the cost in ridership, which is industry standard.” The number comes from the unusual manner that mass transit systems generate revenue, using Federal and State grants to make up the balance. To meet the requirements for the route, all they’ll need is a daily ridership of nine students, Anguiano said. See Bus, page 51