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SINCE 1916 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CV, NO. VII
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2022
CITY
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COMMUNITY
Atascadero Recognizes 100th Anniversary of Fire and Emergency Services City Council submits Intent to Comply with SB 1383 to CalRecyle By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — The Atascadero City Council met for their regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 22, at 6 p.m. The regular meeting was not preceded by a closed session this week. The agenda for the night passed unanimously. A video was shared where Alan Baker from Charles Paddock Zoo, Atascadero Battalion Chief Matt Miranda, and Deputy Director of Community Development and Chief Building Officer David Muehlhausen were given Employee Recognition for their combined 60+ years of service to the City of Atascadero on the steps of City Hall. Mayor Pro Tem Heather Newsom gave a proclamation recognizing the 100-year anniversary of the Fire and Emergency Services in Atascadero. Fire Chief Casey Bryson received it virtually. “Thank you very much for the nice proclamation, Mayor and Council,” Bryson said. “One hundred years is definitely something worth celebrating! It’s a milestone.” The Consent Calendar passed unanimously. Community Choice Aggregation, which was discussed in full detail at the Feb. 8 meeting, was part of the calendar. City Manager Rachelle Rickard gave city updates and invited Atascadero Police Chief Bob Masterson to update the community on D-20 and police staffing. “Bottom numbers is we’re one officer shy position-wise and two dispatchers shy,” said Masterson. The meeting then went into a public hearing on the ratification of approval of hazardous tree removal. Community Development Director Phil Dunsmore CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
SPORTS
Zoe Zappas accepting a check on behalf of Equality Mural Project from Charles Borbeau in front of The Artery. Photo by Victoria Carranza
Equality Mural Project Brings Art Downtown The project is infusing art into the thriving community
Traffic Way area, used to be a wellknown Arts District. The Equality Mural Project is working hard to bring art back into our thriving community. “We have three [murals] right now, in the works, getting finished up,” said project committee member and volunBy CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com teer, Victoria Carranza. “I would think that those three are gonna be ready to ATASCADERO — Historically, be viewed in completion [by the first downtown Atascadero, specifically the week of March].”
Artists Rachel Hamann, Sally Lamas, and Mia Franco have been painting their murals the whole of February and will join Brandy Pippin and Isaac Yorke with their completed pieces in early March. The goal is to have ten completed murals, so the Equality Mural Project is almost halfway there. The project was sparked in 2017 with the Woman’s Equality murals painted on the wall inside Ancient Owl Beer
Garden and on the backside of Colony Market and Deli, both walls owned by Z Villages and the Zappas Family. “Fast forward to 2020, and little rumblings in 2019, one of the members of the Z Villages company, Zoe Zappas, had said, “I’d really like to expand some of the public art opportunities here, and why don’t we continue that thread of equality,” added Carranza. “We said, CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
EDUCATION
DEVELOPMENT
County-Wide Unmask Our Children Protest
The Del Rio Ranch project will blend all of the community’s favorite things; food, drinks, shopping, and also offer multiple places to live and stay. Contributed photo
Property for Del Rio Ranch Project Acquired Protesters for Mask-Choice at Templeton High School. Contributed photo
Community members from Parkfield to Arroyo Grande were in attendance
all over San Luis Obispo County gathered for a county-wide Unmask Our Children Protest Meeting for parents and kids alike who are asking for mask-choice in the county’s schools. The event was put on by By CHRISTIANNA MARKS the nonpartisan group, Moms for christiana@atascaderonews.com Liberty and was held at Atascadero Lake Park. SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY “We had people coming from — On Thursday, Feb. 17, close to Parkfield, Shandon, Paso Robles, 100 community members from Templeton, Atascadero, and as far
LOCAL NEWS
NEWS BRIEFS
as Arroyo Grande. I’m sure there are more places. Those were the ones I heard,” said Moms for Liberty District Lead, Erin Westmoreland. Local students who attend our North County schools have been protesting for mask-choice since Tuesday, Feb. 15, when 50 plus students at Paso Robles High School refused to wear masks in class. There were also mask-choice CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
SENIOR LIVING
There’s hope that construction will begin as early as the summer of 2023 By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — On Friday, Jan. 28, Cal Coast Development announced on social media they had completed the acquisition of the largest mixed-use commercial property in San Luis Obispo County after two years of negotiations. Which means the Del Rio Ranch Project has officially begun. “The property has been quietly on the CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
WEATHER
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