GOOD NEWS. REAL NEWS. HOMETOWN NEWS.
SINCE 1889 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CXXXI, NO. XLVIII
THURSDAY, MAY 13, 2021
pasoroblespress.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH
Disneyland Welcomes Back California Residents By CAMILLE DeVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com
ANAHEIM — Wishes came true for many on Apr. 30 when California’s Disneyland reopened its gates after 412 days of closure. On Mar. 14, 2020, Disney Parks closed its West Coast doors after California went into its first COVID-19 lockdown. After the longest closure in the park’s history, cast members and guests were more than thrilled to return to the “Happiest Place on Earth.” The Disneyland Resort has closed only two previous times since its opening on Jul. 17, 1955. The park closed for one day after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 and then on
Sept. 11 after the terrorist attacks. The unexpected and prolonged closure led to the Disney Company laying off over 30,000 employees. A closed crown-jeweled attraction like Disneyland affected more than just the Disney Company. The City of Anaheim suffered tremendously from an economic standpoint. Hotels, businesses, and services were boarded up and shut completely down. Even after the park has reopened, some businesses are still playing catch up and have yet open. Anaheim officials said in September 2020 that the COVID19 closures of Disneyland and the Anaheim Convention Center had led to a $100 million shortfall in city offers. Meanwhile, in Orlando, Florida, Disney World reopened on Jul. 11, 2020, operating above the Floridian requirements for safety protocols.
Disneyland and California Adventures re-opened to California residents after over a year of being closed due to the pandemic. Photos by Camille DeVaul
Disneyland Resort was ready to reopen in California on Jul. 17, 2020, but California ended up withholding approval for theme parks to reopen when Governor Gavin Newsom introduced the
Blueprint for a Safer Economy’s Colored Tier Program. Currently, the park is only open to California residents and at 25 percent capacity, equivalent to about 21,250 visitors in Disney-
land Park. The State set these guidelines, Disney told guests to keep their which recently changed theme park form of identification or proof of restrictions to allow out-of-state California residency on them for guests to visit the parks if they are random verifications at the ticket CONTINUED ON PAGE A15 booth.
RISING STAR
PREP SPORTS
Local Songwriter Callie Twisselman Releases First Music Video After moving to Nashville Twissleman found new inspiration and has signed her first publishing deal By CAMILLE DeVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com
L
ocal singer and songwriter Callie Twisselman recently released her debut single, “Two Hands,” and this week, on May 12, Twisselman released her first music video featuring her debut single. Twisselman said, “Two Hands is a song that is about a girl who can be a handful at times, but her man loves her and accepts
Cholame native Callie Twisselman debuts first music video in Nashville. Contributed photo
her anyway, and that was the message that I hoped people took from it. That you can be who you are, and the right person will love you for it.” Growing up on her family’s ranch in Cholame, Twisselman was surrounded by family. And with a family like hers, it would be impossible to ever forget them or where she came from. Not that I think she would ever want to. Twisselman’s music video was filmed at her family’s ranch and the Jack Ranch Cafe on Highway 46 East. “I had all my family in it [music video] as the cast members, which made it even more fun,” said Twisselman.
Paso Robles School Board Discuss Trustee-Area Election System for 2022 Board President Chris Arend opened the meeting with a moment of silence for Luca Benedetti, a San Luis Obispo Police Department (SLOPD) officer killed in the line of duty on May 10 as a result of a shooting that occurred while SLOPD officers were serving a search warrant. Arend gave a few words before the moment of silence, “We are going to take a moment of silence to remember a police officer. A great By CAMILLE DeVAUL police officer who was killed yesterday by a camille@pasoroblespress.com vicious murderer. We lost one of our blue line people here in the county yesterday, Luca BenedPASO ROBLES — The Paso Robles Joint etti, detective. And so we will observe a moment Unified School District (PRJUSD) met on May of silence.” 11, for a regularly scheduled school board meetArend then proceeded to lead the Pledge of ing. Allegiance to begin the meeting.
Trustees take a moment of silence in honor of Detective Luca Benedetti
MULTIPLE SEASONS underway as the North County temperatures heat up | A3
Bearcats, Eagles To Clash This Weekend Series likely to determine Mountain League champion
CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
EDUCATION
SPORTS
The Bearcat infield comes together to talk strategy. Contributed photo
MID-STATE FAIR
CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOU! 75th Annual Re-Do Scheduled for July 21 thru August 1 | A4
Holly Moore was announced as the new Winifred Pifer principal. Moore comes with 16 years of teaching experience, countywide leadership in the science/ stem grant, and two successful years as a guidance specialist in the District. Then Audra Carr was named the Bauer Speck principal. Carr has taught for 21 years and has been a district lead in GATE education. She has completed the last two years as the vice principal at Flamson Middle School. Before public comment began, Arend gave a few words, “We’ve had an issue here, as many of you know. We have speakers who have wanted CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
COVID-19 UPDATE
X
SMART CASE
By CONNOR ALLEN connor@pasoroblespress.com
PASO ROBLES — The Paso Robles boys’ baseball team is off to the hottest start in the last five years and will play their biggest series of the season this week when they take on the undefeated Arroyo Grande Eagles. AG is 18-0 this season, ranked no. 1 in Division 2 of the Central Section, and the unquestioned favorites to win the Mountain League. However, the Bearcats are 8-1 in league, 14-3 overall, and ready to give the Eagles their toughest test of the season. “The pressure is on them. They are the team that is 18-0, they are the team that everybody is pick-
ing to win, they are the team that is supposed to win,” Bearcats head baseball coach Jonathan Thornhill told the Paso Robles Press. “They are the team that is number one in D2 and so on and so forth. For us, we aren’t supposed to be the team that beats them; as far as I am concerned, our guys are going to come out and play some baseball. If we play the way we are capable of playing, with a little chip on our shoulders, I think it will be a good week for us. We have got some fighters, we have some guys that have done this at a higher level on their travel and summer ball teams that they have been a part of, and they live for moments like this.” The series begins on Wednesday afternoon in Arroyo Grande and will conclude following a Saturday doubleheader in Paso Robles. CONTINUED ON PAGE A15
pasoroblespress.com
WEATHER
twitter.com/ @PasoRoblesPress facebook.com/ @PasoRoblesPress
GOVERNOR NEWSOM introduces ‘California’s Comeback Plan’ as the State re-opens | A5
48 HOURS EPISODE AIRED ‘The Disappearance of Kristin Smart’ on CBS with new information | A5
High 83° | Low 45°
5
67808 24135
SUPPORT LOCAL
LOCAL NEWS. LOCAL PUBLISHING. LOCAL BUSINESS.
pasoroblespress.com
(805) 237-6060 | office@13starsmedia.com
e Scan her arted! t s t e g o t
o be t
7
the Paso Roble s s Pres
Not only do you have the power to choose the subscription that fits your life, but when you advertise, you will broaden your reach into target markets throughout the Central Coast, from Ventura County to Monterey County!
Subs cri
Disneyland reopened its gates after 412 days of closure