You could win $250 and find your photo on the cover of North County’s community phone book.

Access Yellow Pages is sponsoring its Fourth Annual North County Photo Contest.

North County residents are invited to submit up to five of their best photos of local scenes, places and people.

“We are looking for the perfect local photo for the cover of our 2010 phone book,” says Access publisher Scott Brennan. “Last year we got over a hundred entries. The community participation is amazing,” he says.

The winning photo will be featured on the cover and runners up may be featured inside the phone book. Deadline for entries is May 14.

Although Jake and Josh Beckett come from  a well-established wine family in Paso, they do not rely on tradition to shape them.  Instead, they draw their influences from the world around them--surfing, motocross, family, art--and make wine that fits their world.  They want the approachable feeling of their tasting room to translate to the wine them make.  They strive to make wine which can be easily approached by connoisseur and new wine-drinker alike.

As experienced winemakers they are confident enough to let the wine speak for itself, and have fun with the outside of the bottle.  This has  allowed the image of the winery to take shape naturally.

Jake and Josh Beckett grew up in the Paso Robles wine industry, learning winemaking through watching their parents run Peachy Canyon Winery.  After finishing college, they each returned home to Paso Robles to make wine at their parents’ winery.

Paso Robles, CA. The Paso Robles Main Street Association held its 6^th Annual Olive Festival presented by Olea Farm on Saturday, August 22, 2009.  As part of the activities this year, the festival held their first Olive Oil Tasting Competition.  The winners in four categories were presented with awards Friday, August 21, 2009, at the Pre-Olive Festival Mixer held at the Paso Robles Inn Ballroom.  There were 39 entries and the winners are as follows:

Paso Robles’ hot summer days, paired with cool nights, have proven to be the perfect climate for growing Petite Sirah grapes.  The heavy and dense grapes are anything but petite and have a deep, rich color that matches its heavy taste.

Robert Hall's Don Brady is one of many winemakers who say Petite Sirah is surging in popularity in the region.  “It’s a great varietal,” Brady said. “It does very well in Paso Robles. It’s a great fit for the region.”

"It’s the most intense wine in the world”

Did you hear about CompUSA closing its doors? It was the largest computer stores in America. In 2006 it had $4 billion in sales. Last year, sales tumbled to $1.5 billion and now the company is closed. It's mind-boggling how the richest man in the world, Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, could turn a multi-billion investment into nothing in just eight years. The biggest mistake the company made, according to analysts, was underestimating the need for marketing. While the competition fought it out for customers with aggressive advertising, CompUSA died trying to save some money.

In the midst of the current economic downturn, Paso Robles has some good news to celebrate. New commercial and industrial development is coming here and creating business opportunities. One company helping fuel the boom at the Golden Hills Business Park is Lazer Star, a manufacturer of lighting products for motorcycles, dune buggies, off-road trucks and ATVs. Lazer Star invested $3-million dollars in Paso Robles with a brand new 21,400-square-foot building and relocated their company from Orange County.