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SINCE 1916 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CV, NO. XV
THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2021
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JUSTICE FOR KRISTIN
Hundreds Attend Candlelight Vigil for Kristin Smart By CAMILLE DeVAUL camille@atascaderonews.com
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n Sat. Apr. 17 a candlelight vigil was held in the downtown Paso Robles City Park in honor of Kristin Smart. In May 1996, 19-year-old Kristin Smart, a Cal Poly freshman from Stockton, had vanished over the Memorial Day weekend. Over the years, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff ’s department completed endless searches, countless interviews, investigated one lead after another, all with no prevail until last Tuesday when Justice for Kristin finally began with the arrest of Paul Flores for Kristin’s murder and his father Ruben Flores for accessory after the fact. Members of the community gathered around the park gazebo, where a gold hoop stood adorned with flowers in the center. “Justice for Kristin” banners were hung, and candles were available for the crowd. Local resident Trish Butcher hosted the event. Special speakers included Carla Clawson Hoffman, a Smart family advocate, and “Find Kristin Smart,” social media administrator. Pascoe Bowen, a longtime activist for Kristin and former Cal Poly student along with Sandee Hunt-Burns, also an admin for the social media group and advocate for Kristin and her family, spoke on behalf of Rachel Bird, one of Kristin’s best friends. In coordination
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After a week full of search warrants, arrest, press conferences and an arraignment, Justice for Kristin Smart, finally begins. A candlelight vigil in Smart’s honor was held in the Paso Robles City Park. Speakers included Chris Lambert (right) creator of “Your Own Backyard” podcast shared hope of resolution with the upcoming case. Photos by Rick Evans.
with the speakers, San Luis Obispo County sign-language interpreter Robin Babb translated the event. Chris Lambert, creator of the “Your Own Backyard” podcast, received a standing ovation from the crowd when he walked up to speak. In late September 2019, Lambert, a Santa Maria native, started looking into Smart’s disappearance. With the lack of information he found available on the case. He decided he wanted to tell Kristin’s story in a way that had never been done before.
Through his podcast “Your Own Backyard,” Lambert walks through the details of the night Smart disappeared and the events that transpired in the years after. Local officials have credited Lambert for bringing renewed life to the case, which led to new leads and evidence. Lambert thanked everyone who has helped in bringing the Kristin Smart case to life. The Atascadero News spoke with Lambert before the vigil about the case and his podcast.
We asked Lambert if he ever thought the podcast would have this much effect on the Smart case, “In the beginning, I thought I would tell this story and then maybe something will come out of that, and then once people started coming out a speaking to me I thought I might have some interesting information here and maybe more than telling the story maybe I can move something forward.” Lambert says that he has looked into other cases for future podcast seasons, but for right now, Kristin
Smart is his main priority. “Right now, this is my focus—I’ve also become close to the family, I’ve become close with some people in the sheriff ’s department, and it feels like seeing this one through to the end is the best thing to do,” said Lambert. Lambert is currently working on a new episode of Your Own Backyard but does not have a release date yet. Numerous productions like Netflix have reached out to Lambert to turn his podcast into a series.
However, Lambert is firm on moving forward with the story rather than focusing on what has already been covered in the podcast. He does believe there will be countless productions wanting to cover Smart’s story in the future. “I do enjoy it, but it’s also enormously exhausting, especially the emotional side of it. I get attached to people, and I make good friends with witnesses and people who come forward—everybody is CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
VIRTUAL EVENT
Atascadero Chamber of Commerce Annual Gala a ‘Huge Success’ By HAYLEY MATTSON hayley@atascaderonews.com
“Data Attack” Shuts Down AUSD Board of Trustees LiveStream Meeting Tuesday Night By CONNOR ALLEN connor@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — The Atascadero Unified School District Board of Trustees Meeting was held on Tuesday night but only lasted 15 minutes before the live stream cut out on Youtube. Wednesday morning, The Atascadero News inquired about the incident, and AUSD Superintendent Tom Butler’s office responded, stating that an unknown source launched a “data attack” on the school district. The AUSD technology shut down the school’s internet connection in order to protect the data. The Atascadero News reached out to Superintendent Tom Butler’s office to inquire why the live CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
SPORTS
ATASCADERO — The Atascadero Chamber of Commerce Annual Gala was held virtually on Apr. 17 due to the coronavirus pandemic, and what an incredible celebration it was. Nina Lozano, co-anchor with KSBY News, hosted the event as the Master of Ceremonies with a backdrop that transported the viewers back to a 1920s Speakeasy, however without the boot-legging. Nina started the evening by acknowledging that almost 200 people along with local dignitaries were attending the virtual event. In attendance were Senator John Laird, SLO County Supervisor Debbie Arnold, Atascadero Mayor Heather Moreno, Atascadero Councilmembers Susan Funk, Mark Dariz, and Charles Bourbeau. The Gala had an active online auction while virtual presentations from John Laird, outgoing Chairman of the Board
Annual Gala Hosts, Nina Lozano (front), Maria Kelly (left), Terrie Banish (center) and Angela Cisneros (right). Contributed photo
Tom Jones, along with incoming Board Chair Maria Kelly, who wore a sparkling red dress that fit the Speakeasy theme. Josh Cross, the Interim President/CEO of Atascadero Chamber, presented in a dapper classic tux and shared that the goal of the Atascadero Chamber is to help further the interest in small businesses within the community. Cross explained that they are focused on investing and giving back to local
businesses by offering support and guidance as we continue through these challenging times. “I could not be more proud of our Board and our Chamber of Commerce. Our bold and robust strategic plan includes policies, goals, and programs that are going to launch this Chamber into the 21st Century. As business owners and residents, this means that you will have additional resources and tools that will help your business thrive,” Cross explained. Keeping with the 1920s Speakeasy theme, DJ Manny Medina broke out a jam session with his turntable moving vinyl records back and forth, creating percussive, rhythmic sounds which surely moved viewers off the couch to do the foxtrot or the tango. Additional presentations included an overview of the BridgeWork Co-working space by Mayor Moreno and Cross. Jill Glover, the Ambassador Council Chair, shared why the ambassador program is such an asset to the members. Charles Matthews, Co-Chair of the Diversity Council, and Christina CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
GOVERNMENT
Board of Supervisors Discuss Hearings Regarding Land Use in North County Pismo Beach celebrates its 75th cityhood birthday By MELISSA MATTSON melissa@atascaderonews.com
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors met on Tuesday, Apr. 20, for a regularly scheduled meeting. The meeting opened with the consent agenda, of which Supervisor John Peschong requested to pull item two,
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the introduction of an ordinance amending section 2.48.095 of the County Ordinance Code regarding compensation increases for the Board of Supervisors. The consent agenda passed 5-0, and 4-0 for item three, which Chairperson Lynn Compton recused herself from for undisclosed reasons. Item two was voted in favor 3-2, with Peschong and Compton against the item. SLO County Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein presented a current update
COVID-19 UPDATE
on COVID, which to date has had 20,972 cases in the county, and of that, only 211 are currently active five hospitalizations, and two people in the ICU. To read the full report on the COVID update, read SLO County 0.1 Percent From Orange Tier on page A5. Borenstein then proceeded with going over the state’s Blueprint Metrics. She stated, “unfortunately, the case count numbers place the county at 6 percent adjusted case positivity rate when it would need to be at 5.9 to move
SENIOR LIVING
the county into the Orange Tier.” Borenstein explained that she has already begun a dialogue with the state to see if there are any missing test numbers from the week in question that could move the county into the Orange Tier. By returning to the Red Tier in case positivity, it would require that the county start over the process of achieving two weeks of low numbers before moving into the Orange Tier. CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
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BEARCATS DEFEAT HOUNDS 3-1 at War Memorial Stadium with rematch scheduled for May 4 | A3
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SLO COUNTY 0.1 PERCENT AWAY ARE YOU AS YOUNG From Orange Tier while CDPH mails as you could be? Learn how life-choices antibody test to residents | A5 affect the aging process | A13
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