Hometown News Since 1889 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CXXXI, NO. XXIII
PUBLIC HEALTH
SLO County and Many Others Back in Purple Tier
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2020
pasoroblespress.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
COMMUNITY
GOVERNMENT
Two-Story Playground Open at Barney Schwartz Park
City Manager, Tom Frutchey Announces Retirement
By BRIAN WILLIAMS brian@pasoroblespress.com SAN LUIS OBISPO — San Luis Obispo County was one of many California counties sent backward Monday in the state’s reopening plan. SLO, along with several other counties, were moved from the Red Tier to the most-restrictive Purple Tier in the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. On Monday, Nov. 16, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he was pulling the “emergency brake” when he announced that nearly all of the state’s counties were being moved into the Purple Tier. Before Monday, there were 13 states in the Purple Tier. Now, 41 of the state’s 58 counties are in the most restrictive tier. “This is disappointing for everyone,” said SLO County Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein. “For weeks, we have seen a fast rise in cases here, across the state, and across the country. Our local hospitalization rates remain low.” In addition to the county restrictions, the state plans to impose new restrictions on businesses. Newsom also alluded to a “strengthening” of the statewide mask mandate. Newsom said the state was reviewing studies from France, Germany and Saudi Arabia on the “efficacy of their strategies as it relates to curfews.” He cited Massachusetts and Virginia as examples of what California’s could resemble. Newsom said the curfew restrictions would likely impact “certain kinds of industry and business activities.” The Purple Tier indicates that COVID-19 is “widespread” throughout the county. California places each of its 58 counties into one of four color-coded tiers to try to control COVID-19 spread. Newsom said businesses would only have 24 hours instead of 72 hours to comply with the new restrictions. “Due to the rapidity of rise in case counts and hospitalizations, the State is requiring next-day action by counties in business sectors affected by backward movement to a more restrictive tier,” said Dr. Borenstein. “We recognize that this news takes some time to filter throughout the community and such change in business practice is not easily achieved overnight. We ask that our businesses make these changes right away, but we understand that it may take a matter of 2-3 days for universal compliance. We intend to educate rather than come down with robust enforcement action over the next few days.” In the Purple Tier, restaurants, CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
EVENTS
Paso Robles City Council Addresses Purple Tier By CAMILLE DeVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com
taste and the quality is looking good.” Most of the grapes for her wines come from the prized family Dante Dusi Vineyard. She is the fourth generation in the family grape farming business. Her great-grandparents immigrated from Northern Italy in the early 1900s. They settled into Paso Robles and planted Zinfandel vines in 1925. She started the J Dusi Wines label in 2005 and opened her tasting room in 2013. Her focus has been red wines, specifically dry-farmed Zinfandel. She added a second label, Paper Street, to the portfolio in 2015. Paper Street Vineyard is located in the Willow Creek District of the Paso Robles AVA. Her father, Mike, and her brother Matthew planted it in 2013 with Zinfandel, Mourvèdre, Grenache, and Syrah. “It’s four wines right now, all from one vineyard,” Dusi said. “Super high elevation, really steep hillsides. The quality of grapes that come off of the property are intense and big. It’s really, really good.” On Oct. 8, her J Dusi 2018 Zinfandel Dante Dusi Vineyard was awarded a Double Gold medal, and her J Dusi 2017 Zinfandel
PASO ROBLES — Paso Robles City Manager Tom Frutchey announced at the end of the Nov. 16 City Council meeting that he would be retiring in February of 2021. “It has been an absolute privilege and honor to serve this city, serve the council, and work with staff,” Frutchey said. “Since I have been here, I do, however, feel that going forward, given how important decisions will be concerning COVID19 and J-20, and throughout the budget process over the coming months, that the individuals and generations who will be implementing those decisions and will be most impacted by those decisions should be the ones making those decisions at a staff level and recommending the options to the council. So after much reflection has decided that my last day with the city will be Feb. 3, 2021, and I will be stepping down from my position as City Manager at that time.” Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin responded with kind words of appreciation to Frutchey. “Thank you, Mr. Frutchey, for your service to our community,” Martin said. “I will never forget the first time we interviewed you. I think you were the only candidate that showed up that actually knew the names of the streets in our community already.” Martin continued, “You helped recruit and manage what I consider to be the best city staff I have ever worked with. You worked diligently with the council, and the sales tax oversight issue for our streets helped navigate the waters on our specific plans and other major projects in the community. You have been there through floods, fires, pandemics, and protest. Whenever something was happening, the City Manager was on the street with our staff. So I know that every time that he has sworn a new member of our staff in and the little addition to the oath that he placed I get goose pimples and that was that we strive to leave the city better than when found it, as far as I am concerned on Feb. 3 you will do exactly that sir.” The council shared Mayor Martin’s sentiment. Council agreed that they would have a special meeting to begin
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Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin speaks at the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new playground at Barney Schwartz Park on Monday, Nov. 16, in Paso Robles. Photo by Brian Williams
Endowment managed by REC Foundation pays for entire project By BRIAN WILLIAMS tion Chairman Chris Taranto had slides, shaded play areas, a spinner frustrated, watch kids at play and it brian@pasoroblespress.com just cut the yellow ribbon cele- and swings. will lighten your heart,” Martin said PASO ROBLES — Eager children raced past city officials and local dignitaries Monday morning to play on the new towering two-story playground at Barney Schwartz Park. Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin, Julie Dahlen, Director of Community Services for the City of Paso Robles, and REC Founda-
brating the addition to the upper playground of the sizable Barney Schwartz Park at 2970 Union Rd. “You don’t need to tell them what to do,” Mayor Martin said with a big smile as the children sprinted toward the playground nestled between trees near the lake. The colorful new playground is the first two-story play structure in Paso Robles and features multiple
Martin, Dahlen and Taranto each spoke during the ribbon-cutting ceremony that due to COVID-19 guidelines was limited to city and community officials, a pod of a half-dozen children and their parents. “In standing here, watching the kids reunite with their friends, I’m reminded if you are ever really feeling down or depressed or feeling
to the mask-wearing and socially distanced gathering. The renovation of the upper playground was a two-year undertaking from concept to completion that cost $447,556. It was entirely funded by the Dale Schwartz Memorial Endowment. The REC Foundation manages the Dale CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
VITICULTURE
J Dusi Wines Overcomes Everything 2020 Throws Its Way By BRIAN WILLIAMS brian@pasoroblespress.com PASO ROBLES — For Janell Dusi, 2020 was going to be a big year. Her label, J Dusi Wines, was closing in on its 15th anniversary and she was turning 40. “There was just something about 2020. It sounded so official and big and grandiose,” Dusi said. “It just went downhill so fast. We had high hopes for 2020 and it wasn’t all negative and bad. There were some negative and bad but not all bad. Hopefully, no more big, big surprises.” COVID-19 hit America in late January and it has been crazy ever since — one surprising thing after another. California shut down its economy for a solid three months and has been bouncing back-and-forth since. The state was ravaged by a historic summer of fires ignited by 6,235 dry-lightning strikes amidst a heatwave in mid-August. Even with everything that transpired, Dusi was hopeful the 2020 harvest would be smooth. For the most part, it was, Dusi said, adding that it looked to be on track after a cool growing season. “Then we got that heat, and then it was a rush,” said Dusi, while
HOLIDAY
Janell Dusi, owner of J Dusi Wines, says 2020 has been challenging, but the winery is on solid footing. Photo courtesy of J Dusi Wines
standing in her tasting room on Highway 46 West. “Those high temperatures didn’t do us any favors,” Dusi said. “A lot of our stuff is dry-farmed, so we get a lot of accelerated raisining or prune dimples kind of going on the grapes.” Yields are lower than usual, Dusi said. The intense heat leads to fruit with high sugars and fermentations are getting stuck. Par for the course for 2020. “Every year, there is a different challenge that presents itself.
DECISION 2020
I wouldn’t expect anything less for 2020, right,” Dusi said. “We are dealing with Mother Nature, the weather, and everything she brings along with it, which is always a gamble in farming.” All of this is pushing winemakers in the cellars. Fortunately, smoke taint has not been an issue. “There are some challenging things happening in the cellar — fermentations aren’t wanting to go,” Dusi said. “I think it just needs time in the cellar. It’s finishing, but I have been pleasantly surprised with the
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