Hometown News Since 1889 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CXXXII, NO. XXX
THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2021
EDUCATION
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NORTH COUNTY
North County Welcomes First Baby 2021 Tenet Health Central Coast helps to introduce new life in 2021
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PRJUSD School Board Determine Reopening Plan By CAMILLE DeVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com PASO ROBLES — With a 5-1 vote, Jim Reed voting no and Chris Bausch unable to attend the meeting, the Paso Robles Joint Unified School board voted to continue with option three from the agenda, which reads as the following: “Due to the Public Health decision and lack of voluntary staffing, the plan to open secondary on Jan. 11, 2021, will not occur to the extent we had hoped. We will continue to provide distance learning and negotiate immediately with both of our labor partners to craft plans for voluntary return to specific classes using cohort guidance staffed by employees choosing to be at school. With the number of students opting to return declining from previous surveys, the goal would be for all who want to return to have at least some in-person option for at least the classes they have, with teachers choosing to teach from school with students present. All precautions will, of course, be enforced strictly. Under this scenario, the plan would also include the immediate implementation of our hybrid learning plan to occur 14 days after the County returns to the Red Tier or an earlier approved reopening under any upcoming state guidance.” The district originally hoped to open secondary schools (middle and high school) with hybrid in-person learning on Jan. 11. On Dec. 15, Dr. Penny Borenstein, the County’s Public Health Director, responded to Superintendent Curt Dubost’s Dec. 4 letter, which requested clarification of the criteria for approval to move forward with hybrid in-person learning for the middle and high schools. After a few negotiation letters between Dubost and Borenstein, the County Public Health Department deemed that approval for the district’s plan was not possible. Copies of the letters are available through the Jan. 4, 2021 agenda. From a survey given to teachers CONTINUED ON PAGE A16
SPORTS
By TWIN CITIES COMMUNITY HOSPITAL
fter two New Year’s babies at Tenet Health Central Coast’s Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton is delighted to introduce its first newborn of 2021! The family has chosen to keep the first names private. Welcome First Baby of 2021 to Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton Name: The first name not provided, but they call her Baby Girl Ramos J Gender: Female Date and time of birth: Jan. 3, 2021, at 3:20 p.m. Weight: 7 lb. 11 oz. Height: 19 inches The first baby of 2021 for the county was a boy born at 12:54 a.m. on Jan. 1 at Tenet Health Central Coast’s Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, along with an additional New Year’s Day Baby born at Sierra Vista at 12:19 p.m. The parents for both babies at Sierra Vista wished to keep all the information private.
RESTAURANT MONTH
GIRL SCOUT
Taste of North County
By HAYLEY MATTSON hayley@pasoroblespress.com
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ver the last decade or so, North County has grown to be a Mecca for award-winning wines, organic produce, and delectable dining. “Foodies” from both near and far visit to enjoy the roots of our communities. From the winemakers to farmers to the aspiring artisans and the chefs, to the bakers and the roasters, we have a plethora of culinary and gourmet tastes right in our own backyard. January is Restaurant Month in San Luis Obispo County, and it could not have come with better timing. This industry, throughout the pandemic, has been significantly impacted. We have seen the true love and passion for their craft shine bright through the darkness. This year we dedicated our Taste of North County in Paso Robles Magazine and Atascadero News Magazine to all the hardworking individuals that indulge us with some of the finest foods a person can find anywhere in the world. Throughout the month of January, we will highlight some of our favorites restaurants, from breakfast to dessert; we will share a Taste of North County with you. CONTINUED ON PAGE A16
Brownie Girl Scout Chiara E. (6 years old) from Arroyo Grande is awared her patch. Contributed photo
Thomas Hill Organics farm-to-table dedicated to serving creative, organic cuisine and highlighting unique wines from the Central Coast. Contributed photo
EATERY
Taste of Italy Served Fresh in Templeton at BellaVia Food and Coffee By CAMILLE DeVAUL In Templeton at 420 S Main “Mediterranean diet is a lifecamille@pasoroblespress.com Street sits a little corner of Italy style. Food is only a part of the
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here is something about Italians and their country that makes Americans swoon. Between their food, weather, and their style, we just can’t get enough. We try to copy them as often as we can, but alas, we never come close to the Italians’ tried and true ways. Luckily for us in North County, there is somewhere and someone who can help you be Italian, even for just a moment.
FDA
named BellaVia Food and Coffee. Here, Michael Auriemma makes authentic Italian food like Sicilian cannolis, tiramisu, lasagna, Amalfi Coast cake, almond pasticciotto, and more selling at local farmers markets and his storefront in Templeton. Born and raised in Naples, Italy, Auriemma began cooking as a child. He lived and survived on what Americans call the Mediterranean diet. But to Auriemma and other native Southern Italians, it isn’t a diet; it is a lifestyle.
COVID-19 UPDATE
Local Girl Scout Troops Earn Financial Literacy Patches
Mediterranean diet because if I can teach you how to cook the best food and you smoke two packs of cigarettes a day, it’s completely useless,” Auriemma shared. Auriemma not only carries a passion for cooking but also loves teaching others the Mediterranean lifestyle. For the past two years, Michael Auriemma opened Auriemma has been teaching BellaVia Food and Coffee in the Mediterranean diet at Cuesta Templeton after he couldn’t find CONTINUED ON PAGE A16
VOTE
any quality Italian coffee in San Luis Obispo County. Contributed Photo.
By CONNOR ALLEN connor@pasoroblespress.com S A N LU I S O B I S P O COUNTY — Local Girl Scout Troops in San Luis Obispo County teamed up with Bank of America in 2020 to bring a financial literacy patch to their members during the COVID-19 pandemic. The course was administered virtually and ran for eight to ten weeks, depending on the girls’ level and age in the troop taking the course. “Bank Of America reached out to form a partnership with us to host some virtual workshops, and it just so happened that with the pandemic, we had to switch over to CONTINUED ON PAGE A16
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WEATHER
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