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COMMUNITY
Local Resident Spreading Hope in Atascadero
Mayoral Candidates Talk Measure D-20, Cannabis And More at Forum Heather Moreno, Josh Donovan and Jerry Tanimoto participate in Chamber Of Commerce virtual event By CONNOR ALLEN the Atascadero Chamber of connor@atascaderonews.com Commerce Diversity Council, and Legislative and Economic ATASCADERO — The Council. Atascadero Chamber of This was the third and final Commerce held a Thursday night forum in a series the Chamber forum between incumbent Mayor held in 2020. In January, they had Heather Moreno and her two a forum between District Superchallengers Josh Donovan and visor candidates Ellen Beraud Jerry Tanimoto. and Debbie Arnold, and on Oct. The forum included three 25, they hosted the five candiminutes for introductions for dates for the Atascadero City candidates, five questions and five Council. minutes for closing remarks. The The forum opened with each forum began at 7 p.m. and was candidate giving their opening held virtually via Zoom. statements and making their case The forum was moderated for why they should be the next by Chamber of Commerce mayor of Atascadero. Chairman Tom Jones, who Jones opened the quesopened the event stating that tion-and-answer portion with the the questions were generated same three questions asked in the from the Atascadero Chamber of Commerce membership, CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
Local resident Carmen Ybarra presents RoCoCo Boutique with a Hope sign. Photo by Connor Allen
By CONNOR ALLEN connor@atascaderonews.com ATASCADERO — One of the county’s first confirmed cases of COVID-19 was Atascadero local Carmen Ybarra. After the fight of her life, she has committed to bringing hope to her neighbors in the community, one beautiful sign at a
time. Through the “Hope Project,” Ybarra provides custom-built and painted signs that display the word “Hope” somewhere in the design for local businesses to exhibit for free. Her only agenda is to spread hope and positivity to those that might be stuck in the dark, searching for a light to lead them out. “It got to a point to where I had given
ELECTION 2020
up, and I just felt like I couldn’t fight this virus anymore,” Ybarra told The Atascadero News. “I had every symptom on the list, I am going to be 68 years old, and I have underlying health issues. My husband was my caretaker, and he was the one that told me — convinced me — not to give CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
EDUCATION
County Election Official Confident as Early Voting Begins AUSD Moving Forward with Bringing Those who prefer to vote in person will have fewer locations to choose from, but can access voter service centers early this year By BRIAN WILLIAMS brian@atascaderonews.com SAN LUIS OBISPO — With just under 30 days until the Nov. 3 general election, San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong is confident the election will run smoothly. “Yes,” Gong said. “I don’t anticipate a delay in the vote.” Early voting began Monday, Oct. 5, in SLO County. People can drop off mail-in ballots at any designated drop off location through Nov. 3 or at any voter service center from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3. People can vote in person at any voter service center from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3. “People definitely have options,” Gong said.
EVENT
SLO County Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong stands next to a pallet of VBM ballots. Photo courtesy of San Luis Obispo County
There are 19 drop off locations and 23 Voter Service Centers in SLO County. Ballot drop boxes are subject to the Secretary of State’s Ballot Box Regulations. As with poll ballots, VBM ballots have the same chain of custody protocol with the two-person rule, counting of ballots retrieved, and logged on a sheet, which is then verified when the are returned to the Election Office. All people at the drop off locations that have access to ballots are deputized by the Clerk-Recorder’s Office. In other words, they are officially
LOCAL NEWS
trained and sworn to protect the ballots until they are picked up by teams of deputized officials from the Clerk-Recorder’s Office. Per Secretary of State Ballot Box regulations, ballots are to be retrieved every 96 hours (excluding Saturday and Sunday) from the 29th day before the election, then every 72 hours starting 10 days before Election Day. Unstaffed boxes are required to be serviced every 24 hours after the 10th day prior through Election Day. For the first time, county election offices in California sent a ballot to every active registered voter. Plus, the state Legislature changed the law to say that, as long as ballots are postmarked by Nov. 3, they can arrive at county election offices up to 17 days after the election and still be counted. California has more than 21 million people registered to vote, the most ever. SLO County sent out approximately 179,000 vote-by-mail ballots ahead of the general election. California is letting voters track their ballots CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
COMMUNITY
COVID UPDATE
Students Back to Classrooms
Board approves reopening plan and elementary waiver application By CONNOR ALLEN connor@atascaderonews.com ATASCADERO — Following a long and arduous discussion, the Atascadero Unified School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve the District’s reopening plan as well as their application for the elementary waiver. The topic of reopening schools has been a hot-button issue across the county this week and was no different in Atascadero on Tuesday night. The meeting opened
with Atascadero District Teachers Association President Christine Williams addressing trustees and the public regarding ADTA’s statement on Facebook, asking for more information on how the plan will be executed. “We have serious concerns with these documents as they are extremely light on actual details for keeping students and staff safe. We want to be in our classrooms with students. We have to trust that the plan in place will do that,” the Facebook post stated. “Right now, the plan that the Board will be voting on is extremely light on details and full of ‘trust us’ we will figure this out by the time school opens November 2.” CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
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WEATHER
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COLONY DAYS PARADE had a different look this year due to COVID-19 | A3
WASTE MANAGEMENT is having a free drop-off event for Atascadero residents | A4
MID-STATE FAIR HONORS Agriculturalist, Cattlewoman and Cattleman of Year | A5
COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER guidance for safer Halloween activities during COVID-19 | A7
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