GOOD NEWS. REAL NEWS. HOMETOWN NEWS.
SINCE 1889 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CXXXI, NO. XXXVIII
THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2021
EDUCATION
pasoroblespress.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
BLUEPRINT FOR A SAFER ECONOMY
GOVERNMENT
Newsom Visits Cuesta College Vaccination Clinic Hours After County Moves to Red Tier
PRJUSD Staff Get Musically Creative Welcoming Back Students
Supervisors Discuss Water Resources and Amendments Penny Borenstein, County Health Officer, announces move into the red tier and loosening of restrictions
Secondary Students to return to in-person instruction student schedule after County moves to Red Tier
By MELISSA MATTSON melissa@pasoroblespress.com
By CAMILLE DeVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com PASO ROBLES — After almost a year to the day, San Luis Obispo County moves into the Red Tier, which allows all students to be able to attend school in-person. During the Feb. 23 Paso Robles Joint Unified School District (PRJUSD) meeting, trustees and staff agreed that if the County is moved into the Red Tier by Mar. 9, they plan to have their students back on campus no later than Mar. 16. CONTINUED ON PAGE A12
Many child actors, singers, and broadway actors have joined the Unicorn Club to inspire students at the schools they visit to keep dreaming. Isabel recently toured the U.S. and Canada with The Sound of Music, starring as Brigitta. “Working with Unicorn Jazz and being able to read to all the kids makes me happy because I can see their faces and seeing them dancing around and smiling. I think it’s nice, especially nowadays. I think a lot of kids are having trouble adjusting to Zoom and not seeing friends--to not seeing anybody other than family living with them, so I think it’s nice for them to have this and enjoy themselves and read books,” said Emily.
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY — The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors met for a regularly scheduled meeting on Mar. 2 at 9 a.m. The Board started with approving the consent agenda, which was approved 5-0. The next item for discussion was the COVID-19 update from County Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein. Borenstein explained the accelerated progression into the Red Tier and what new changes that brings, including all schools of all grades being opened. “Obviously, COVID is still with us, but I’m here with a lot of good news,” stated Borenstein. Borenstein went on to say that there has been a dramatic decrease in the number of cases. While still high, they are nowhere near the spike of just a month ago. In addition, the positivity rate has come down to 3.2 percent. The number of individuals in the hospital is 19, which is the first time in a while that it has been below 20. Read more about this in “SLO County Moves to Red Tier Effective Mar. 3” Additionally, she spoke on the current numbers of vaccinated individuals, the process to get on the list, and that some pharmacies were now able to offer vaccines, currently only in Arroyo Grande, but as more vaccines become available, she expects to see this increase. Following this, the Board moved on to submittal of the Fiscal Year 2021-22 County and State Budget update and the Infrastructure and Facilities Five Year Capital Improvement Plan. These presentations can
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California Governor Gavin Newsom (second from left) visited the Cuesta College COVID vaccination clinic on Tues. Mar. 2. Joining Governor Newsom from left to right was County Supervisor Dawn Ortiz-Legg (District 3), Cuesta College President Jill Stearns, San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon, County Supervisors Bruce Gibson (District 2), and Lynn Compton (District 4). Photo by Camille DeVaul. Full story on A5
LITERATURE
Read Across America and Unicorn Jazz Visit Local Elementry Schools Virginia Peterson and Kermit King participated in a virtual reading from children’s author Lisa Caprelli and child actor Emily Isabel By CAMILLE DeVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com
Sound of Music musical actor, Emily Isabel, reads and talks with Paso Robles elementary students. Contributed photo
PASO ROBLES — Students at Virginia Peterson and Kermit King Elementary Schools in Paso Robles virtually participated in Read Across America with children’s author Lisa Caprelli and 12-year-old child actor Emily Isabel. Over 400 Paso Robles students and teachers participated in an entertaining virtual reading from Caprelli and Emily.
Caprelli is the author of the children’s book series Unicorn Jazz, “which celebrates diversity, belonging, believing in others, and happiness! Her books engage young readers while also imparting some valuable life lessons for audiences of any age about the power of confidence, the value of diversity, and why we should celebrate what makes us unique.” Inspired by her shy child self, Caprelli wanted to give children the inspiration she needed when she was their age. “Sometimes, it just takes one person,” Caprelli explained. The Unicorn Jazz Club was created to bring Unicorn Jazz to life in an educational and entertaining experience for children. The club inspires students to learn more about their interests and what makes them unique.
YOUTH SPORTS
Prep Sports Spring into Action After a Pandemic Hibernation North County Football teams have begun holding practices and weekend two-a-days as they prepare for a shortened season By CONNOR ALLEN connor@pasoroblespress.com NORTH COUNTY — Sports are back in the North County, and with each passing day, it seems a new one is kicking off the start of their season. Friday afternoon, at Atascadero High School, the Greyhounds and Bearcats dove into swim season with a friendly dual meet to knock the rust off. While swim is just beginning its season, other sports like tennis and cross country are nearing some important games in their league schedule. North County Football teams have begun holding practices and weekend
two-a-days as they prepare for a shortened season of around five or six games. Track and field, baseball, and softball will also be returning to the field soon as local high schools will soon be full of athletes from sun up to sun down as they try and accommodate multiple sports that use the same fields during the spring.
of 20:52.1, followed by Jaden Anguiano (21:06) in third and Sophia Berry (21:40.8) in fourth. Cameron Leclair paced the boys and cruised to a 30-second victory with a time of 17:31. Righetti’s top finisher Corey Cambell came in second place, followed by a pack of five Bearcats. Diego Paso Robles High School Ortega (18:07) placed third, followed by The Paso Robles cross country teams Jason Scruggs (18:15.9), Joseph Martibounced back this weekend with a big win nez (18:25.8), Manuel Cruz (18:43), and over Righetti. Both the boys and girls teams Tristan Poggi (18:50). stacked the top ten with runners and won Templeton High School big; the boys defeated the Warriors 18-40 The Templeton Eagles girls tennis team while the girls won 19-42. is fully in the swing of things as they have The two teams raced on a 3.1-mile played three matches already this season course, with Bearcats taking the top spot and are off to an undefeated start. The Eagle in both races. The Lady Bearcats were led girls are 4-0 to start the year after back-toby Charlotte Castelli, who finished with back victories over the Morro Bay Pirates a time of 19:28.6. Paso Robles took each on Feb 22 and Feb 24. of the top four places on Saturday, with Not only are the Eagle girls undefeated, Sidney Moore finishing second with a time but they are also playing at the top of their
COUNTY
SPORTS
COVID-19 UPDATE
The Paso Robles Bearcats boys run against the Righetti Warriors. Photo courtesy of Malia Gaviola, Crimson News Magazine
game and absolutely blowing away all of The team is led by no. 1 player Madeline their competition. Before Thursday’s match, Murray but has six strong players filling out Templeton tinkered with its line up a bit their lineup. Sophia Sanchez is currently due to Morro Bay being short on players; playing in the no. 2 position, followed by the Eagles had won 30 of 31 sets and were outscoring their opponents 193- 67. CONTINUED ON PAGE A12
pasoroblespress.com
2021 BEST OF RESULTS
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TCSD MOVES FORWARD with construction plans for Evers Park and adjust water code| A2
BEARCATS AND GREYHOUNDS kick off their first competition since last year with a swim meet | A3
SLO COUNTY MOVES TO RED TIER BEST OF NORTH SLO COUNTY allowing movie theaters, restaurants, and results are in! Check out the list of you museums to reopen at 25% capacity | A5 winning favorite businesses | B1
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