Hometown News Since 1916 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CIV, NO. XLVIII
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2020
atascaderonews.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
WINTER WONDERLAND
GOVERNMENT
Atascadero Holiday Weekend Drive-In, Drive-By and Virtual Activities Well Attended
SLO County Formally Requests Removal from Southern California Region Supervisors approve letter asking for Central Coast Region to be formed By BRIAN WILLIAMS brian@atascaderonews.com
Locals spent the weekend feeding, petting and taking pictures with Santa’s reindeer out front of City Hall. Photos by Connor Allen
By CONNOR ALLEN connor@atascaderonews.com ATASCADERO — The City of Atascadero began ramping up for the end of the year holiday season this past weekend, starting on Friday, with a mixture of delightful, family-friendly, and most importantly, socially distant and safe activities to get people out of the house and into the holiday spirit. The festivities kicked off at noon on Friday, Dec. 4, when Santa Claus sent two of his reindeer to Atascadero for a pop-up farm in front of City Hall. The reindeer were available for petting, pictures, and even receiving few snacks all weekend from noon to 5 p.m. Starting at 5:15 p.m., the City allowed
cars to pull in and park around the Sunken Gardens. As guests were getting situated around their vehicles, they were treated to a concert from a collection of Atascadero Unified School District choirs and bands broadcast on FM radio for all in the town to hear. Atascadero Mayor Heather Moreno and City Council members joined in on the fun around 6:15 p.m. They announced the winners of the “Trail Of Lights” holiday lighting contest before starting the traditional countdown for the lighting ceremony downtown. Taking first place in the “Trail of Lights” contest for best use of the theme was the CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
COMMUNITY
Mr. and Mrs. Claus make their way around the Sunken Gardens after the lighting ceremony of City Hall.
ART INSTALLATION
Aliens Off The Hook
Atascadero Mayor, Council, New Police Chief Sworn In
Story behind the monolith on Pine Mountain
By CONNOR ALLEN connor@atascaderonews.com
By CONNOR ALLEN connor@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — Tuesday night was a busy one for the Atascadero City Council as Councilmen Mark Dariz and Charles Bourbeau, Mayor Heather Moreno, and new Police Chief Robert “Bob” Masterson were sworn in. The meeting began with the oath of office for new Councilmember Dariz and returning member Bourbeau and Mayor Moreno before getting a little emotional as they said their goodbyes to Councilmember Roberta Fonzi. She served the City for 22 years. “I want to thank you for the privilege of serving with you — alongside you — and thank you for the tremendous sacrifice that is involved with so many, many years of service to our community,” Moreno said. “This is hard work that we do on the Council, but we do it right, and I appreciate that you have hung
ATASCADERO — Dec. 2 was the day Atascadero officially entered the national lexicon thanks to the installation of a giant steel monolith at the summit of Pine Mountain. With its origin, a mystery, the internet, and its 7 billion detectives went to work guessing who, what and why this monolith appeared and turned the town forever into a Final Jeopardy answer. Many speculated that the mystery object with a mesmerizing metal shimmer had to be the work of some major production company or movie studio preparing for a worldwide release. While those that thought it was a marketing stunt bickered over what movie was coming out next, others pondered if it might have been planted here but our very own space invaders. For 12 hours, though, Atascadero was the place to be in America. The next morning, tourists from Fresno, Visalia, Ventura, and many areas in the county ventured to the top of the Pine Mountain to see the San Lucia Mountain’s reflection in the shine of the steel. Instead, they found some exposed rebar and a hole in the ground where the monument once stood. However, unlike its appearance, a video of a group of teens tearing it down removed all doubt as to if the aliens had returned for their
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EVENT
BUSINESS
COVID-19 UPDATE
SAN LUIS OBISPO — The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved submitting a letter to the state asking for the formation of a Central Coast region that would include SLO, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties in the regional stay-at-home order. The letter requests that the Central Coast Region be allowed to exit the regional stay home order as a region after three weeks if the ICU capacity in the three counties exceeds 15 percent. Supervisors agreed to send the letter but were not hopeful it would lead to change. Supervisors were open to other municipalities piggybacking on their letter. “I think it’s definitely worth trying,” said Board Chairwoman and Fourth District Supervisor Lynn Compton. “I’m skeptical that we will be allowed out of this.” G o v. G a v i n N e w s o m announced the regional stay-athome order on Friday following a surge in COVID-19 cases across the state, including SLO County. The new stay-at-home order is by regional hospital networks, rather than individual counties, and takes effect only when the available, total ICU capacity in a region drops below 15%. The Southern California Region’s ICU capacity fell below 15% late Friday night and the stay-at-home order went into effect Sunday night. The order remains in effect for at least three weeks and, after that period, will be lifted when a region’s projected ICU capacity meets or exceeds 15%. Public health officials from Santa Barbara and Ventura counties joined SLO County Public Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein in submitting a letter to the state on Monday, Dec. 7, asking for a Central Coast Region. Borenstein said the three counties had worked together for years. “There are many ways in which this Central Coast region has been in place for a long time, and we are
Eager tourists make their way to the top of Pine Mountain to see the mystery ‘monolith.’ Photo by Hayley Mattson
WEEKLY FEATURE
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WEATHER
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9th ANNUAL LIGHTS OF HOPE event raises over $40k for the Cancer Support Community | A3
CALWISE SPIRITS CO. VACCINE ARRIVAL PLANNING calls for the support of local businesses continues as first wave of doses are despite new restrictions | A4 expected by mid-December | A5
HUMAN TRAFFICKING investigations are a very complicated process for law enforcement | A13
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