New Public Art Display in SLO
The City of San Luis Obispo’s Public Art Program and the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art (SLOMA) present a new public sculpture, Tidewalker, by California-based artist April Banks on the lawn at Mission Plaza and SLOMA this Saturday.
“The City is excited to continue our partnership with SLOMA to bring another thought-provoking public art piece to San Luis Obispo,” said San Luis Obispo Mayor Erica A. Stewart. “We strategically set aside one percent of the Capital Improvement Plan funds for public art projects like these because they help create a sense of community, represent diversity of thought and experience, and add to the vibrancy of our home.”
San Luis Obispo community members can enjoy Tidewalker for about one year. The sculpture is the most recent addition to the City of San Luis Obispo’s public art inventory, which boasts more than 100 pieces, both temporary and permanent, throughout San Luis Obispo.
Tidewalker is a corten steel flora fauna creature that holds a resin soul cabana inside (spirit house) and inverts the colonial hierarchy between nature and the built environment.
Visitors can experience the sculpture as an enveloping protector of land and laborers, offering a refuge for people and species. This sculpture is a part of the artist’s ongoing series “Freedom is a Place,” which uses radical imagination to rethink our relationship to water, to land and to each other.
The project is supported by the City of San Luis Obispo’s Public Art Program and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Poly Cleared for Success
Cal Poly launched a comprehensive fundraising campaign to support Cleared for Success (CFS), a landmark workforce development initiative that will cultivate a talent pipeline of highly skilled STEM students interested in pursuing cybersecurity careers in the public service and national defense sectors.
Cal Poly’s CFS program aims to transform the national security landscape. Hosted by the California Cybersecurity Institute (CCI) at Cal Poly, the program will introduce students from the Noyce School of Applied Computing in the College of Engineering (CENG) to foundational security concepts; assist them in their professional journeys as future cybersecurity professionals; and provide them the opportunity to network with leading employers recruiting for this specialized skillset.
While gaining invaluable practical experience through internships and apprenticeships, students will learn the importance of obtaining and maintaining necessary credentials such as security clearances and cybersecurity certifications and will assist in those processes — ultimately improving career placement outcomes for hundreds of highly qualified students in well-paying fields in the public and private sectors.
For many prospective graduates, careers in cybersecurity in the public or private sector are often under-considered due to security clearance requirements and the lengthy process typically involved in being cleared. CFS addresses and lifts this potential barrier, creating access to well-paying opportunities for undergraduates who may not have considered pursuing work that requires a security clearance.
“This program will provide students with an unprecedented Learn by Doing opportunity as they collaborate with industry leaders on real-world projects in the field,” said Bill Britton, Cal Poly’s vice president for information technology, chief information officer, and director of the California Cybersecurity Institute. “Cybersecurity has become the frontline of national defense, and cyberthreats are rapidly evolving to incorporate emerging trends such as generative AI. Cal Poly graduates are uniquely positioned to anticipate the next frontier in cybersecurity intelligence threats to solve high-impact problems at the national level.”
The new program will build students’ competencies and confidence in this highly specialized arena and allow for opportunities to engage in additional cybersecurity training, research, and potentially work on classified projects under the mentorship of cleared faculty.
At the nexus of theory and applied practice, the program will create new opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and unlock unprecedented opportunities for students, faculty, and national defense in the effort to build a safer world.
“A program like CFS will be very valuable in helping students get acquainted with the enigmatic clearance process,” said said Dr. Chris Lupo, founding director of the Noyce School of Applied Computing. “The earlier that students receive exposure to concepts of security, the better positioned they will be to make decisions about coursework, internships, and eventually careers they want to pursue. The CFS program will be a benefit to both our students and our external partners that want to hire professionals that need clearances.”
Nationally, the cybersecurity field is growing nearly twice as fast as the workforce, and demand has only continued to accelerate, with the number of cybersecurity analyst positions anticipated to increase by 33% through 2031. As companies struggle to recruit for this unique skillset to keep pace with ballooning demand, Cal Poly’s visionary new program will be the first in the CSU system and in the state to address the industry’s resource deficit by supplying the public sector with a diverse workforce of the nation’s brightest talent.
The university has received $1 million in foundational funding through philanthropic support to launch this initiative. Cal Poly is seeking additional funding to ensure the successful implementation of the program. To learn more or to support the Cleared for Success program with a generous gift, visit the Cal Poly Giving page.
Cayucos Trust Attorney Earns Peer Recognition
An estate planning lawyer based in San Luis Obispo with an office in Cayucos, was honored with two significant recognitions early this year.
Klaus Gottlieb was selected as a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers for 2024, a distinction that less than 5% of practicing attorneys achieve, underscoring his notable expertise in the field.
He was also awarded a merit scholarship for a master’s in law (LLM) program at Golden Gate University, with a focus on taxation and estate planning. This scholarship is aimed at further deepening his legal expertise in these critical areas.
Gottlieb said that the pursuit of a dual LLM degree in Taxation and Estate Planning will allow for a “deeper understanding and knowledge of the complex interplay between tax law and estate planning.”
For clients, it ensures that they receive advice grounded in the latest and most comprehensive understanding of tax implications affecting estate planning. This can lead to more effective strategies for asset protection, wealth preservation, and the minimization of tax liabilities.
“The advanced training enables me to navigate the complexities of estate law with greater precision, offering solutions that are tailored to the unique needs and circumstances of each client,” Gottlieb said. “This level of expertise ensures that clients’ estates are managed and transferred according to their wishes, with an eye toward efficiency and legal compliance.”
To find out more about the wealth care services offered by Klaus Gottlieb, go to weathcarelawyer.com.
New Events Added for Wood’s Fundraiser
Wine 4 Paws, the weekend of wine country fundraising for homeless pets at Woods Humane Society, has extended this year to include new events on Thursday, April 18 and Friday, April 19.
Dracaena Wines has announced a Bring Your Pup Movie Night on April 18. The Downtown Wine District will host a special Bark After Dark on April 19 and 20, during which participating wineries in Downtown Paso Robles will stay open late for Wine 4 Paws. Cinquain Cellars will also join the Friday festivities, offering Yappy Hour with wines by the bottle and Pizza 4 Paws wood-fired pizzas for donations.
On Saturday, April 20, Hayseed & Housdon will host the official kick-off party at Cal Coast Beer Company. The event celebrates the release of the 2021 Pinot Noir “Pray For Love” and 100% of profits from ticket sales will go to Wine 4 Paws. Tickets include food, wine and entertainment by the Mark Adams Band.
More special events for the weekend are being added to the list each day, and currently include more than 10 unique experiences such as a cat café, pet photo portraits, wine blending, pet portrait painting, live music, food trucks, and more. Visit www.wine4paws.com/events to read the most up-to-date list of exciting Wine 4 Paws special events.
The weekend boasts more than 80 participating wineries, cideries, olive oil companies, restaurants, hotels, tour companies, and other businesses, each of which will donate a portion of their proceeds from the weekend to support dogs and cats in need at Woods Humane Society. A list of all participants can be found at www.wine4paws.com.
Woods Humane Society CEO Emily L’Heureux notes that the Wine 4 Paws event comes at a crucial time of the year when puppies and kittens are being born and the shelter begins to be inundated with pets in need of food, medical care, foster care, and adoption services. “The donations that come in from Wine 4 Paws participants will go directly toward vital surgeries, treatments, and hands-on care that help the most vulnerable puppies, kittens, dogs and cats find health, hope and loving families.”
Full Wine 4 Paws event details can be found at www.Wine4Paws.com. Woods Humane Society is located at 875 Oklahoma Ave., San Luis Obispo and at 2300 Ramona Rd., Atascadero, and is open to the public daily from 12-5 p.m., with adoption hours from 12-4 p.m. For more information about Woods, visit www.WoodsHumane.org or call (805) 543-9316. Pictured is Monch, who is available for adoption.
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