Hometown News Since 1916
Good News Real News Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CIV, NO. III
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2020
atascaderonews.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
LOCAL
CHAMBER HONORS ATASCADERO’S ‘SHINING STARS’
CITY
Tax Survey? Who’s Asking? Questionnaire asks residents if they’d support raising sales tax By MARK DIAZ mark@atascaderonews.com
serving on the board of directors and being named Citizen of the Year in 2009. Moreno said that the decision was unanimous. “He’s donated time, treasure and talent to the chamber of commerce and the entire San Luis Obispo County Community,” she said. Housing and commercial developers Z Villages was honored as the Business of the Year. Moreno
ATASCADERO — In Mid-January, the City of Atascadero contracted True North Research to perform a tax survey to gather public opinion regarding raising the City’s sales tax rate. The firm formulated a questionnaire and posed the questions to residents via e-mail and telephone. However, Deputy City Manager Lara Christensen said that not everyone received an e-mail or phone call from TNR. “In order for this to work, [the study] has to be statistically valid,” Christensen said. Christensen explained that TNR polled a specific demographic. People receiving the survey must be registered voters since it is a proposed ballot measure. The company pulled information and names from the most recent registration list from the County of San Luis Obispo, among other sources. Participants must also be Atascadero residents. Since it’s a statistical poll, not every person meetings these requirements received the questionnaire or phone call. “You may have five voters in the household, but could only have one person in the household that would receive it because it’s based on a random selection,” Christensen said. Christensen said TNR would poll 400-plus people, which is standard for a city the size of Atascadero. The City expects to receive preliminary results around by late February or March. The $25,000 spent on the study not only collects useful feedback but may be considered a preventative cost. Creating a Measure to put on a ballot takes staff hours to develop and present to the public and City Council
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Atascadero Mayor Heather Moreno, left, and Chamber of Commerce CEO Emily Reaneau, right, give Terrie Banish a plaque recognizing her as Atascadero’s Citizen of the Year. Photo by Luke Phillips.
Banish named Citizen of the Year; Z Villages named Business of the Year to benefit the chamber along with a cake auction, which was a new addition this year. Atascadero Mayor Heather Moreno gave each of the awardees a moment of recognition, beginning with the chamber’s Organization of the Year, Parents for Joy. “The ( Joy Playground) project brought a lot of positive attention to Atascadero and to our community,” Moreno said. Next up was the Ambassador
By LUKE PHILLIPS luke@atascaderonews.com ATASCADERO — The Atascadero Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual awards gala this past Saturday evening, honoring Atascadero’s Citizen of the Year, Business of the Year and many others. In addition, the event featured a dinner catered by Pacific Harvest Catering, live and silent auctions
CITY
Atascadero Police Chief: Smoking Ban is Working By LUKE PHILLIPS luke@atascaderonews.com ATASCADERO — According to Atascadero Police Chief Jerel Haley, the City ’s new rules regarding public smoking are having a positive effect. “We certainly were concerned in a couple of areas where we were having some problems,” Haley said during a City Council meeting Jan. 14. “But I’m happy to report that things seem to be going well. I’ve only been able to locate one call for service in the past several months in the area of Atascadero Avenue.” In September of 2019, the City of Atascadero updated it’s public smoking ordinance to ban smoking and vaping in the downtown area, along El atascaderonews.com
Camino Real, Morro Road and Atascadero Avenue and in many other public settings. They also moved to ban the possession of tobacco products by those under the age of 18 after the state of California changed its laws to allow minors to possess tobacco products. “The effect of passing the ordinance has effectively ended the behaviors by and large, at least to our knowledge — at least people are not reporting them if they’re continuing — so that’s a dramatic improvement and we’re grateful for that,” Haley said. Hayley said that the police had issued six smoking/ vaping-related citations since CONTINUED ON PAGE A10
SPORTS
of the Year Erin McDaniel, of the Holiday Inn & Suites, whom Moreno said never misses a chamber mixer or event. “She’s always willing to lend a hand when needed and always with a smile,” Moreno said. Local business owner Don Idler was named this year’s Lifetime Member of the chamber of commerce for his many accomplishments including being a chamber member since 1983,
HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Colony House Museum Set to Reopen Memory walk to honor Bonnie Wilkins By LUKE PHILLIPS luke@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — After a string of incidents involving vagrants and vandals in the area, the Atascadero Historical Society was forced to close the doors of the Colony House Museum on Lewis Avenue this past October, citing ongoing threats to the safety of its docents, but the museum will be reopening soon, according to historical society president Jim Wilkins. Wilkins told the Atascadero News that the historical society recently installed security at the location Friday WARRIORS FOR KRISTINcameras PRESENT along with security lights that Atascadero’s Colony House Museum closed this past will be on from dusk ‘til dawn. Ocotober due to vandalism and delinquincy in the area “And the cameras connect to but will be reopening in February with new security CANDLELIGHT VIGIL FORCONTINUED our cell phones so we’ll be able measures in place. Atascadero News File Photo
SLO
BUTTERFLIES
KRISTIN SMART
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GOT OLD STUFF?
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WEATHER
Please join your friends and neighbors in this peaceful demonstration to honor the legacy and the quest for justice for Kristin Smart!
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to monitor it 24-7,” Wilkins said. Wilkins said that the museum could reopen as soon as Feb. 7 to coincide with the City’s upcoming Art, Wine & Brew tour, which would also be almost 11 years to the day from when the museum first opened its doors on Valentine’s Day 2009, he added. The historical society also recently announced another new project that will see a series of decorative gates installed on paths around the Colony House Museum and at the site of the still-under-construction Colony Heritage Center nearby in memory of Wilkins’ mother and life-long Atascadero resident Bonnie Lyn Wilkins, who
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BEARCATS top Hounds in soccer to snap four-game losing streak | B1
IT’S NOT JUST BEES, Butterflies are Disappearing Too | A3
VIGIL for Kristin Smart to be held this Saturday, February 1st | A7
AMERICAN PICKERS are coming to a neighborSaturday, February 1 SANTA ROSA PARK 5:00you PM | B3 SAN LUIS hood near HighOBISPO 63º • Low 40º