Hometown News Since 1916 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CIV, NO. XV
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2020
atascaderonews.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
ESSENTIAL HEROES: DR. PENNY BORENSTEIN AND WADE HORTON
SLO COUNTY’S DYNAMIC DUO
Dr. Penny Borenstein speaks from the podium at the SLO Joint Information Center on April 15. Photo by Connor Allen
SLO County Administrative Officer Wade Horton. Contributed
Local leaders make a significant impact as they in make decisions for SLO County
By CONNOR ALLEN connor@atascaderonews.com
C
alifornia Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on March 19 for Californians to stay home except for those deemed ‘essential’ in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. For the last 33 consecutive days, the people of California have looked to their leaders for instruction and direction. In these unprecedented times, many people lead the community, from nurses and doctors risking their lives to fight the virus, employees of an essential business who show up every day to make sure the community has food and resources, as well as all the small businesses that have entirely changed their operating systems to serve the county and their neighbors. But no two people have had a greater impact or a greater weight to carry
than County Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein and County Administrative Officer and Director of Emergency Services Wade Horton. Together, Horton and Borenstein played a significant role in making decisions for SLO County — like sheltering at home and the closing of local businesses that have impacted every person in this community — and it’s not something that they have taken lightly. “I can say it was the most difficult decision I have ever made in my life,” Horton told The Atascadero News and The Paso Robles Press in an interview on Saturday. “And probably will be the most difficult decision I make in my life. I knew what the impact would be, or I thought I knew what the impact would be and making that decision, I am just trying to do the right thing for what we need. Every day I am making a lot of decisions, and every day I make those decisions based off of the information
I have and how I can do right by the community. It is a very humbling spot to be in.” Horton has served not only this county but also his country with 15 years of service in the reserves, including time overseas and was unanimously voted by the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors to be the newest San Luis Obispo County Administrative Officer in November 2017. His counterpart Borenstein has a strong resume as well. “I have a nearly 30-year career of doing this work,” Dr. Borenstein said, who has spent time working in public health all over the county, including working in Washington D.C. during the Anthrax outbreak of 2001 and working in Maryland during the times of Ebola and SARS. “I am very much accustomed to the onset of a new disease or new situation that understandably causes
ESSENTIAL HEROES
great public concern, and I have been in the situation many times before having to help manage that concern with facts and our best understanding of the disease situation,” Borenstein stated. “Having said that, those situations and this one are very humbling. No manner of training or experience can prepare a public health position for a worst-case scenario because it is global in its scope, deep in its impact. As you have seen with this situation and many others, we learn more about the details of the specific germs, organisms; it’s manner of spread, it’s propensity to hit certain groups, the asymptomatic nature of it, so it is very humbling to be in a decision making position when you can’t have all the facts at hand.” Borenstein declared San Luis Obispo County in a CONTINUED ON PAGE A14
REOPENING A COMMUNITY
LOCAL NETWORK DELIVERS COMMUNITY MASKS TO ECHO Hopes and Concerns Rise as Reopening Takes Shape STAFF REPORT
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY — “I was sheltering in place at home and needed to feel productive and wanted to help others,” said Gail Gresham. “I had friends who were sewing face masks, but I don’t sew. However, I found that they had a problem. Once a mask is made, how do you get it to someone who needs it?” Gresham recruited a team for a collaborative project, and launched a local mask production and distribution network called Face Masks for SLO County. The team went to work creating a way to connect those who sew masks with those who need a mask. Volunteers on the team included Robin Smith, Health and Harmony Media; Mimi Naish, Chris Toews, Attorney; Consuelo Meux, SPOKES CEO; Brooke-Ashley Pool, SLO MakerSpace; Stacey Hunt, Ecologistics; Ron Field, M.D., and Bob Shanbrom. These sewists are not making masks for medical
Greetings Readers, We feel compelled to deliver a letter to you, and what better place than the front page of the newspaper you have supported. This letter is a direct response to our current condition as a world, our relationship to our readers, and our ambitions moving through
LOCAL NEWS
Communities around California demand action plans from leadership By NICHOLAS MATTSON nic@atascaderonews.com
workers or first responders. They are focusing on “community masks” for local residents who want a mask to go to the grocery store, pharmacy or other essential businesses where practicing social distancing may be difficult. The network is based through the website facemasksforsloco.org. Within hours of the website
being activated, more than 100 requests had been received from Grover Beach to Paso Robles. “One request was from an 83 year old woman who wanted a mask before picking up her prescription,” said Gresham. “Another was from a man CONTINUED ON PAGE A14
T
ensions across the country grind as the fears over coronavirus spreading subside due in large part by the sheltering efforts of the nation’s citizens, and other practices, directly result in a flattening of the curve. Reported cases of COVID-19 are finding a plateau, and discussions by governors about reopen-
Letter to Our Readers
this pandemic and into the future ahead. We appreciate you. You are the reason we do what we do. You are the reason we can reach others who have yet to pick up their first edition of our newspaper and get their first glimpse into our community from the community voice that you have given to us.
ENTERTAINMENT
We all know that newspaper in its printed form has been under economic assault for more than a decade, and small town newspapers in California have been shuttered in past weeks due to the economic fallout of our community COVID-19 response. Our goal is to save our community by bringing
COVID-19 NEWS
the most accurate and informed articles to our readers, and to save our community newspaper by ensuring that we bring value to both our readers and to our advertisers. The past decade has been generous to news media companies with a wide variety of digital avenues for distribution of news,
SENIOR LIVING
ing states are met with small protests of people who demand a plan. Social media discussions rage between those who fear a resurgence of cases and those who reference further economic damage and curtailing of freedoms. “I typically refrain from commenting on Facebook,” Paso Robles resident Bob RollCONTINUED ON PAGE A14
but that has been at the cost of all paper editions. At the end of the day, each newspaper will face its own reality. So far, we are planning the longterm vitality of the paper CONTINUED ON PAGE A14
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WEATHER
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CENTRAL COAST Economic relief efforts begin at website | A3
LEGO® MASTERS Inspire a new generation of young creative builders | A4
BOOK SUGGESTIONS JOANNE PETERS Looking Offer a momentary oasis at the next stage of life and during your at home stay | A5 how to live it | A12
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