GOOD NEWS REAL NEWS HOMETOWN NEWS
SINCE 1889 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CXXXIII, NO. XXI
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2023
pasoroblespress.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
HALLOWEEN
Downtown Paso Robles embraces Safe and Fun Halloween tradition with books and candy New business owners add a literary twist to trick-or-treating, bringing smiles to children’s faces By CAMILLE DEVAUL and CHRISTIANNA MARKS
NORT H CO UNT Y — The streets of Downtown Paso Robles were filled with families trick-or-treating at local businesses for the Paso Robles Main Street Association’s annual Safe and Fun Halloween. Downtown merchants were ready for the fun with plenty of candy to hand out, and in the center of the park, the Downtown Witches were ready for their close-up at the Holiday House. Streets were closed off to cars from 11th to 13th Street, offering a safe and exciting return of Halloween to Downtown Paso Robles. New owners of Spare Time Books, Clio Bruns and Carla Cary, experienced their first Safe and Fun Halloween on Tuesday night. But, rather than handing out candy, they fittingly offered children’s books to their trick-or-treaters. “We figured there was so much candy already being
TRAVEL
Growing SLO County Airport anticipating heavy traveling season Fall is the busiest time of year; airport anticipates more than 300,000 passengers departing this year By BLAKE ASHLEY FRINO-GERL Guest Contributor
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY — Since November 2016, when the new terminal at the SLO County Airport (SBP) was established, the airport has continued to advance to meet the demands of travelers, as well as keep up with maintenance. SBP Deputy Director of Operations Craig Piper oversees the airport’s operations and maintenance. 2019 was the CONTINUED ON PAGE A7
NEWS
Paso Robles Main Street Association witches returned on Halloween to pose for photos in front of the Holiday House in Paso Robles City Park. Photo by Camille DeVaul
passed around, and we wanted to do something that was sweet for the mind and not so much the teeth,” explained Cary. “Books are a treat for the mind,” added Burns. The two new downtown business owners enjoyed the children’s reactions to picking out a new book, and they are already looking forward
to next year. “Next year I think we will be a little more prepared and have two carts of books instead,” said Burns. The two friends took ownership of Spare Time Books earlier this year. Since April, they have been renovating the bookstore that first opened its doors in the 1980s. Docu-
menting the process on social media, they have gained thousands of followers from all over the world and have become a local favorite. “It’s encouraging to see how many kids love the books,” says Cary. “We had some other Main Street [Association] businesses come and say that the books are what they
were most excited about so that means a lot to us.” In the next town over, families filled Main Street in Templeton for their annual trick-or-treating extravaganza. Main Street businesses were ready with candy and it was truly a small-town Halloween. Atascadero got into the Halloween spirit early by kick-
ing off its Halloween festivities on Saturday, Oct. 28, with Charles Paddock Zoo’s Annual Zoo Boo. Little kiddos and their families dressed in their adorable, creepy, and fun costumes and showed up to hang out with all the animals. “Zoo Boo was wonderful, and everyone who attended truly enjoyed the event. Many families and children were dressed up and enjoyed the “not-too-scary ” Haunted House and the Hay Maze too,” said Director of Community Services & Promotions Terrie Banish. Zoo Boo was followed up by the return of the second Annual Trunk or Treat in the Sunken Gardens on Sunday, Oct. 29. The event, which brought in tons of local littles and their families, was put on by a group of local Atascadero churches. But the ghoulish fun didn’t stop there. Halloween night, the party continued with Trick or Treat on Entrada. Local businesses showed up to provide a fun and safe place for the community to roll in and show off their best costumes while having a great time. “It has been really cool to CONTINUED ON PAGE A7
DONATION
Templeton High School students donate over 1,500 socks to Community Action Partnerships of SLO
CAPSLO receives much needed socks leading up to ‘warming center’ season By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com
GOVERNMENT
County supervisor faces recall over alleged abuses of power SLO Countybased real estate development company executive arrested on a federal grand jury indictment
TEMPLETON — For the second time, Templeton High School (THS) students wrapped up their annual sock drive, which resulted in over 1,500 pairs of socks for the Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County CAPSLO. Spearheaded by Kahlea Ramos, a sophomore at THS, and Jordan Esquibel, a senior — both serving as Spirit Commissioners, the sock drive saw growth this year, with students, teachers, and the local community coming together to make a difference. Kahlea, who founded the event last year, was happy to see her classmates exceed last year’s collection. “We ended up raising even
more than we did last year, so it was cool to see them pull through like that,” she said. She attributed the success to the incredible support from the school community. “We had a lot of helping hands this year, and people were more eager to help this
drive move forward,” she said. “It’s crazy for me. We’ve been a part of things like this, and I feel like my whole life, so being able to actually put my foot in the water and donate something that will make a difference is exciting for me.” Kahlea originally organized
the event for students who were looking for another way to give back to the community. Her father, Lawren Ramos, works with CAPSLO, knew that some of the most needed items in homeless centers are socks, underwear, and toiletries.
CRIME
NORTH COUNTY LIFE
SPORTS
SECTION
By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com
Lawren Ramos (CAPSLO), with the sock drive team Hazel Loftus, Addy Nixon, Jordan Esquibel, Kahlea Ramos, Marlie Handy and Evann Moore. Photo by Camille DeVaul
CONTINUED ON PAGE A7
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY — A San Luis Obispo County supervisor is facing a recall after a citizen’s group launched a recall campaign. District 2 Supervisor Bruce Gibson was served with an intent to recall last week. The papers, which were hand-delivered to the clerk recorder’s office, state, “Gibson has abused his powers as a supervisor by getting rid of CONTINUED ON PAGE A7
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