North County residents should prepare themselves for all things olive as the fifth annual Paso Robles Olive Festival, presented by Olivas de Oro, invades the Downtown City Park on Saturday, Aug. 23 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Paso Robles Main Street Association event has undergone tremendous growth over the past five years alongside the olive industry, which has seen its own renaissance of growers and producers in the North County.

 For more information on the Olive Festival, visit itsWeb site at www.pasoolivefestival.com or call the Main Street Association.

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Although economists cannot predict when the housing market will end its decline, many believe

that there are enough indicators to determine the bottom may be near, especially in California.

Home prices in many regions are declining at slower rates, and some areas have actually

experienced price increases. Some analysts predict that California may be the first state to

plateau, as a result of a vast number of foreclosures, which translated to a decline in home

prices.

KEEP THIS IN MIND

New housing starts fell to 975,000 in April, from a peak of 2.27 million in January 2006.

In the past 35 years, new housing starts have dropped from more than two million to less

than one million only three other times. In each of those cases, the housing market

rebounded within one quarter, according to Karl Case, co-developer of The Standard and

Poor’s S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.

Although home prices decreased 15.8 percent year-over-year in May, they have only

decreased 0.9 percent on a month-over-month comparison. This is the smallest monthly

decrease since September 2007 and another sign that the housing market is in recovery

mode, according to Case.

To read the full story, please click here:

http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSN0448581620080812

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The new, 90-unit Oak Tree Inn is moving forward in Paso Robles.

On Tuesday, the Paso Robles Planning Commission approved a planned development for the new hotel building subject to some new conditions. The Oak Tree Inn, 3002 Riverside Ave. near the Paso Robles Event Center, is planned to be a three-story hotel with a boardroom, outdoor pool with patio area, fitness center, housekeeping laundry facilities and hotel business offices, according to a city staff report.

The city’s Design Review Committee supported the architecture of the project. Architectural details include multicolored paint, stucco, El Dorado stone veneer, wrought iron balconies and a tiled roof, according to city officials. The DRC was pleased that the applicant integrated an existing oak tree into the site design, officials said.

The project lies on two acres of a vacant five-acre lot at the northeast corner of Riverside Avenue and Black Oak Drive.

The Planning Commission voted 6-0, with chairman Ed Steinbeck recusing himself due to a conflict of interest, to adopt a resolution with certain conditions of approval for the Planned Development, and added two new conditions.

There was some discussion centered around signage and whether the applicant should be allowed to display a sign on either an elevated tower, a nearby pole, or both.

At the conclusion of the meeting, the commission overwhelmingly preferred the idea of a tower sign and added a condition restricting the pole sign.

There was also some discussion about the 25-foot parking lot lights. The commission decided to let the project go forward subject to approval of the lighting elements by the office of the community development director.

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Jay Swanson

Winemaker Brian Benson poses in his small Westside tasting room. At age 25, he’s one of the youngest winemakers locally.

 

• Tiny Gems, Big Wines

Amidst the explosive growth of wineries large and small in the Paso Robles area, some tiny gems have been born.

Their stories are as different as their vintages: wine lovers trying to save money, ranchers trying to save their land, grape growers who wanted to show off their product, a winemaker who started at age 13.

But they all offer highly personalized wines in very limited quantities that are often difficult to find outside their wee tasting rooms. Most are also family affairs where the winemakers are often the ones pouring tastes for visitors.

Here’s an introduction to a few of these petite operations and the faces you’ll see behind the bottles:

Link for the complete story http://www.sanluisobispo.com/vintages/story/378245.html

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