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Hometown News Since 1916
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Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CV, NO. III
THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2021
COUNTY
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GOVERNMENT
COMMUNITY
City Council Reviews Financial Audit, Road Report From 2019-2020
County Board of Supervisors Discuss Possible Lawsuit Against Governor Newsom County ordinance currently in place for Paso Robles Groundwater Basin set to expire in January 2022 By MELISSA MATTSON melissa@atascaderonews.com SAN LUIS OBISPO — The SLO County Board of Supervisors met today, Jan. 26, starting at 9 a.m. and continued throughout the day discussing the many items facing the county. The board approved Maryanne Zarycka as the District 1 representative to the Commission on Aging, John DeCou as District 5 representative to the First and Games Fines Committee, Ann Cochrane as the District 1 representative to the Parks and Recreation Commission, Paavo Ogren to the Water Resource Advisory Committee as the District 3 representative, Tom Ikeda as the District 3 representative to the Agricultural Liaison Advisory Committee, Craig Pritchard to the Agricultural Liaison Advisory Committee as the District 1 representative, Erica Baltodano to the Civil Service Commission as the District 3 representative. The board heard from Karen Lange and Paul Yoder of the Shaw Yoder Antwih Schmelzer and Lange regarding the state legislative platform and the potential changes regarding renters and small landlords. The moratorium on evictions that was due to end Jan. 31 is looking to be extended to June. With the additional funds, the state received this year, specifically because of AirBNB and Door Dash going public, there is available funding to be allocated for renters and landlords. In effect, landlords who are willing to extend rent forgiveness looking backward will be eligible to receive aid from the federal government for up to 70 percent of the rent owed, in exchange for an agreement to continue to forgive 30 percent of the rent going forward. The two most significant topics on the agenda were the potential lawsuit against Governor Gavin Newsom to remove San Luis Obispo County from the Southern California Region and the direction on land use policy development for the Paso Robles groundwater basin. The board heard from over 50 community members regarding the lawsuit against Newsom, both for and against, with the overwhelming majority being from community members who approve and support the suit. Business owners, such as Kevin Kennedy, owner of Kennedy Club Fitness with four locations along the central coast, Patty Hoover, owner of Still Waters Vineyard, and Aaron Burgh, owner of Calwise Distillery in Templeton, all championed for the right to be open and provide for their families and jobs for their employees. “At no point should anyone be allowed to shut down my only method to earn a living and provide for my family,” stated Brad Daughtery, owner of Cider Creek Bakery in Paso Robles and founder of the San Luis Obispo County Small Business Coalition. Not all opinions were in favor of the lawsuit, CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
COMMUNITY
By CONNOR ALLEN connor@atascaderonews.com
Atascadero City Manager Rachelle Rickard reported in her City Manager report at Tuesday nights City Council Meeting that there has been a lot of discussions on social media regarding the Atascadero Creek. Residents have reported that the creek under the El Camino bridge behind Century 21 was an “ecological disaster in the heart of the city.”The creek runs behind Malibu Brew, the Historical Society, City Hall, and the middle school and reported
ATASCADERO — The Atascadero City Council met over Zoom on Tuesday night to discuss and review a financial audit of 2020 from Moss, Levy and Hartzhiem and discuss the annual road report spawned from the passing of Measure F-14 in 2014. The meeting began with some brief updates from the City Manager before Atascadero Fire Chief Casey Bryson took over to lead a presentation on Atascadero’s new evacuation planning method. The Atascadero Fire Department will be formally teaching the public about the latest software that they have spent a year working on in the coming weeks but first gave a preview to the Council Tuesday night. “We realized we really needed to get a little more into evacuation planning and evacuation notifications,” Bryson told the Council. “Looking into both of those and how we can do a better job, we came across Zone Haven.” The website breaks Atascadero into different sections and will help all citizens keep track of evacuation orders keeping them safe and organized during stressful times. Following the Chief ’s presentation, City staff dove into the 2020 financial audit. The 2019-2020 fiscal year was an unpredictable one that presented many challenges due to the stay-at-home orders and business shutdowns from the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges, the City performed relatively well overall with the help from one-time funding from governmental aid through the CARES Act and Senate Bill 1090. The City was also aided by vacant positions being left open during the pandemic. After little discussion, a motion was made, and the audit was accepted. The 100 plus pages of the City’s financial statements can be found online at Atascadero.org. The second and final item of the night was a review of the Citizens’ Oversight Committee’s Annual Road Report. The report was approved on Dec. 10, 2020, and detailed how the City has been using the Sales Tax increase in 2014 to fix roads as they promised and which roads are in for a touch-up in 2021. The City has implemented a
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The North County Farmers’ Market Association (NCFMA) brings the community four local markets every week, year-round, even throughout the pandemic since 1985. Photos by Camille DeVaul
North County Farmers Markets Provide Local Fresh Produce Eating locally means supporting local families and your local economy By CAMILLE DeVAUL camille@atascaderonews.com
T
here was a time when everyone grew their own food. Everyone had a garden, a flock of chickens, dairy cows and goats, and maybe a
few hogs. You only ate what you grew or raised yourself. Then came the grocery store. People became used to the convenience of running to the store to grab what they needed for dinner that night. Soon, many of us lost the art of garden and husbandry. But there are those out there who keep the tradition of growing their food alive. They grow for themselves, and they grow for you, the consumer. Throughout North County and the
Central Coast, we are privileged to eat fresh and local food every day. Locally grown means the product was grown and harvested within 100 miles of your city. Local farmers provide various produce, fruits, olive oils, meat, honey, and almost anything you can think of. Bobbi Connor, owner of The Natural Alternative Nutrition Center in Paso Robles and Certified Clinical NutritionCONTINUED ON PAGE A15
NON-PROFIT
Earth Shine’s Team of Volunteers on a Mission to Keep the Central Coast Clean
Earth Shine is a volunteer group that helps keep their local communities clean and beautiful by picking up litter on streets, beaches, trails, and riverbeds. Photos by Earth Shine Volunteers
By HAYLEY MATTSON hayley@atascaderonews.com PASO ROBLES — Earth Shine is a non-profit organization that meets every second Saturday of each month in a community on the Central Coast and every third Saturday at the River Walk in Paso Robles. Their events generally happen between 9 a.m. and 12 p.m. Earth Shine is a volunteer group that hopes to inspire others to help keep their local community clean and looking beautiful by picking up litter on
ENVIRONMENT
streets, beaches, trails, and riverbeds. On Saturday, Jan. 9, the Earth Shine volunteer team was in San Miguel and cleaned up several truckloads of trash that even included furniture, and then headed out to do it all again on Jan. 16, where they cleaned up Salinas River Walk. During the pandemic, the volunteers started noticing new items along with their trash pick up, such as wipes, gloves, and disposable masks. They ask that after you protect yourself and others, don’t forget to protect the planet as well and throw away your trash.
COVID-19 UPDATE
SENIOR LIVING
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WEATHER
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BAY THEATRE FOR SALE End of an Era for Morro Bay Theater Owner After 25 Years | A3
LAND CONSERVANCY of San Luis Obispo County Purchases Historic Santa Rita Ranch | A4
PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICIALS Lift Regional Stay at Home Order for All Regions | A5
AGE WITH STYLE & GRACE Learn ways to slow, or even reverse, the hands of time | A13
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