Girl falls off fair ride
Posted: Friday, Jul 30th, 2010
Investigators continued to examine a ride named the Super Himalaja at the California Mid-State Fair this week after a 9-year-old girl was injured when she fell out of the ride on Tuesday.
The girl, whose identity was not being released because she is a minor, suffered minor injuries including scrapes and bruises.
According to Tommy Davis, who operates Davis Enterprises, ...more

City agencies approve the issuance of bonds to pay for City Hall work
Posted: Friday, Jul 30th, 2010
The city council, also acting as the redevelopment agency and the public finance authority, approved moving forward with issuing up to $18 million of bonds to finance the city's portion of the cost of restoring the historic City Administration Building.
Because the bonds involve all three agencies, each one had to approve the bonds. Both the RDA and the PFA ...more

Council requirements stand for La Plaza project
Posted: Friday, Jul 30th, 2010
The Atascadero City Council voted 4-1, with Councilman Bob Kelley dissenting, to maintain all requirements of La Plaza developer Larry Wysong before it will consider granting a conditional use permit.
Previously, the council had requested that Galaxy Theatres, which is under construction in Colony Square, and La Plaza Theatres, proposed for the Hoff Property on El Camino Real where the ...more

Climate change’s effects pondered at county workshop
Posted: Friday, Jul 30th, 2010
A recent daylong workshop in San Luis Obispo looked at the potential effects of climate change on San Luis Obispo County, particularly what the county would need to do in order to respond to the changes in the coming decades.
"This is adaptation," said senior county planner James Caruso. "That means climate change is occurring and it's going to have ...more

O’Malley still the only official city council candidate
Posted: Friday, Jul 30th, 2010
With only a week left to file nomination papers to run for city office, incumbent Tom O'Malley is the only person to have taken out papers to turn them in for city council. So far, O'Malley, Atascadero Planning Commissioner Chuck Ward, Planning Commissioner Sandy Jack and Atascadero resident Bret Heinemann have taken out papers.
Other open seats are city treasurer ...more

Cattlemen recognize their own
Posted: Friday, Jul 30th, 2010
The San Luis Obispo County Cattlemen's Association's highest honor was bestowed upon Ray Allen -- the 2010 Cattleman of the Year.
Allen was born and raised in Pocatello, Idaho, where he grew up on the family ranch. Allen's family raised cattle and farmed the land.
While attending Idaho State College, the Korean War began. Allen, no doubt heeding an inner-spark ...more

11 units at ASH on quarantine
Posted: Friday, Jul 30th, 2010
Atascadero State Hospital has 11 units on quarantine due to an outbreak of a gastrointestinal viral illness that ASH Public Information Officer Craig Dacus said is similar to the stomach flu.
"It's actually very common [in hospitals]," Dacus said.
Since July 12, he said 151 patients have been diagnosed with the illness and 24 employees have reported to have it ...more

Undersheriff pleads not guilty to DUI
Posted: Friday, Jul 30th, 2010
Attorney Chris Casciola entered a not-guilty plea July 21 for his client, San Luis Obispo County Undersheriff Steven Bolts, who was arrested in Atascadero in June and charged with DUI.
Bolt's attorney is requesting to retest the blood sample collected after the DUI stop and is requesting all video and audio evidence from the Atascadero Police Department.
According to Atascadero ...more

City looks to bonds to fund repairs
Modified: Friday, Jul 23rd, 2010
To finance the city's portion of the historic City Administration Building's rehabilitation, Atascadero Administrative Services Director Rachelle Rickard will recommend the City Council approve proceedings by the Atascadero Public Financing Authority for the issuance and sale of lease revenue bonds.
According to Rickard's staff report, the sale will also help finance other capital improvements throughout the city. The second part ...more

City says $5 million could be available soon for downtown parking
Posted: Friday, Jul 23rd, 2010
Atascadero city officials said there may be $5 million available soon that could be used toward increasing downtown parking.
Assistant City Manager Jim Lewis talked with a group of downtown business property owners in a meeting organized by the Atascadero Main Street Association Wednesday where he talked about parking funding.
Lewis said there had been $500,000 in RDA money put ...more

Tommy Lynn Loyd crowned 2010 Miss CMSF
Posted: Friday, Jul 23rd, 2010
Thousands of spectators packed the Fort Frontier Stage area during an unseasonably cool summer afternoon on Tuesday this week to see 13 contestants from around San Luis Obispo County to vie for the title of Miss California Mid-State Fair.
Tommy Lynn Loyd, 19, took home the crown this year. ...more

TAAG votes against proposed housing
Posted: Wednesday, Jul 21st, 2010
The Templeton Area Advisory Group voted 4-3 last week against a proposed 107-unit housing development -- a project returned to the community board from the county with recommended changes from the board of supervisors.
Voting against were Nick Marquart, Rob Rosales, Bill Pelfrey and Pam Finley. Voting for were Melanie Blankenship, David La Rue and Bill Hockey.
The Templeton Properties ...more

APD arrests man posing as a CHP officer
Posted: Wednesday, Jul 21st, 2010
Atascadero Police Department officers arrested Mark Ryan Polini, 27, of the Bay Area for possession of a concealed and loaded firearm, a loaded 22-caliber pistol; possession of a dangerous weapon, an expandable police baton; and impersonating a peace officer. ...more

Police seek suspect in motel robbery
Posted: Wednesday, Jul 21st, 2010
Police are looking for a suspect they believe is linked to a robbery-by-knifepoint at Atascadero's Super 8 Motel Monday evening.
According to police, officers responded to the motel for a robbery that had just occurred.
They determined that an unknown male had entered the business wearing a mask. The suspect was armed with a knife and demanded money from ...more

Man loses thumb at Lake Nacimiento
Posted: Wednesday, Jul 21st, 2010
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department officers were already in the neighborhood when they got a call for emergency aid regarding the severed thumb of Ryan Brown, 27, on Saturday at 12:24 p.m. at Lake Nacimiento.
The Sheriff's Department dive team was doing advanced training at the lake that included search patterns and recovery of items when the call came ...more

Fair queen chosen last night, to reign all 12 days
Posted: Wednesday, Jul 21st, 2010
The annual California Mid-State Fair will open today at noon. Last night this year's Miss CMSF was chosen during the annual pageant.
The pageant kicked off the yearly event a day earlier than it has historically been held. Marketing Director Tom Keffury said it was so the queen could reign all 12 days of the fair. See Friday's Atascadero News ...more

Miss California Mid-State Fair Pageant moved up a day from past years
Posted: Monday, Jul 19th, 2010
Though the fair officially opens on Wednesday, July 21, the 2010 celebration begins on Tuesday, July 20 with the annual Miss California Mid-State Fair Pageant.
This year 13 Central Coast ladies will vie for the title, with only one beginning the 2010 CMSF as queen. The pageant begins at 7:30 p.m. on the Fort Frontier Stage, and admission and parking ...more

Caltrans repaves Hwy. 101
Posted: Friday, Jul 16th, 2010

Caltrans workers repave a northbound lane of Highway 101 on Wednesday. The project, which will rehabiliate Highway 101 from the grade through Atascadero, is being paid for by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and state funding. The rehab project includes nearly 11 miles of roadway from Cuesta Grade to just north of the Traffic Way undercrossing. According to ...more

APD works to abate graffiti
Posted: Friday, Jul 16th, 2010
In response to graffiti and the city code that requires its fast removal, the Atascadero Police Department and local businesses are partnering to ensure that the job gets done.
Det. Keith Falerios, of the police department's community response team, said there isn't a huge graffiti problem in town, but when it does happen, two municipal codes enacted in 2007 require ...more

4 citizens take out papers for city council
Posted: Friday, Jul 16th, 2010
The nomination period of those running for city office opened on Monday and will close on Friday, Aug. 6, unless an incumbent does not file. In that case, the nomination period would be extended to Wednesday, Aug. 11.
In order to be a candidate for an open seat, the potential candidate must get at least 20 signatures of registered voters ...more

Creston woman is killed in Fresno crash
Posted: Friday, Jul 16th, 2010
Margaret Gough, 72, of Creston died Friday from wounds she sustained in a car crash the night before in Fresno.
Margaret Gough was driving a Chrysler 300 with her husband, Geoffrey, riding in the passenger's seat when the accident occurred at 1:25 a.m. The Goughs' accident happened as the last of a domino effect that began about a half hour ...more

Propane torch starts fire
Posted: Friday, Jul 16th, 2010

Atascadero City Fire Department firefighters soak a plant in front of an Atascadero home on San Marcos Road Tuesday morning. AFD Captain Bill White said the fire was started when the homeowner was killing weeds using a propane torch. The bush caught fire due to the torch and the hot morning. "This is an oily plant," White said. "It's ...more

Budget delays affect SLO Co workers
Posted: Friday, Jul 16th, 2010
Many state employees may see a temporary reduction to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour -- the state minimum wage is $8 per hour.
The temporary reduction is due to the state's not having an approved budget. The decrease in pay would be retroactive to July 1.
According to the California State Department of Personnel Administration website, ...more

Two men wanted after shooting in Paso
Posted: Friday, Jul 16th, 2010
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's deputies remained on the lookout for two suspects in connection to a shooting at a residence in the 5000 block of Weeping Willow Way in rural Paso Robles on Saturday, July 10 upon report of an assault by a single shot fired. ...more

Templeton hires new fire chief
Modified: Friday, Jul 9th, 2010
Less than a week after Greg O'Sullivan retired as the Templeton Fire Department's chief, Templeton Community Services District announced that Jim Langborg will be its next fire chief.
TCSD General Manager Jeff Hodge said the board started with 47 applicants and through the use of an external search firm, the stack was narrowed down to 16 with whom phone interviews ...more

Local man arrested for attempted murder
Posted: Friday, Jul 9th, 2010
Troy Allen Sykes, 32, of Atascadero, was arrested Tuesday and charged with two counts of attempted murder for shooting a Paso Robles woman in what police said was a domestic dispute.
At 11:45 p.m. Tuesday, Paso Robles Police Department officers were dispatched to a residence on Green Court with a report of a shooting that had just occurred. ...more

Council weighs in on La Plaza feasibility study
Posted: Friday, Jul 9th, 2010
Atascadero City Council members are weighing in on a statement from La Plaza Cinemas and retail project developers that they will not participate in a council-requested feasibility study.
Larry Wysong, La Plaza developer, submitted a letter to the council on June 29 stating that he will not participate in a feasibility study that would have had him partnering with ...more

Brush fire burns half acre in Templeton
Posted: Friday, Jul 9th, 2010
Sparks from a commercial barbecue are the likely cause for a half-acre fire that burned through one field and caused a train-track closure in Templeton Tuesday, according to fire authorities.
At 2:40 p.m. Tuesday, officials got a call of a fire burning in a field directly behind Sam's Deli in Templeton, at the corner of South Main and 5th streets.
...more

Fallen officer remembered
Modified: Wednesday, Jul 7th, 2010
North County stood still last Friday morning as a procession of vehicles, including a hearse, limousine and several flashing police cruisers, made its way from Chapel of the Roses in Atascadero to the Paso Robles Event Center for the memorial of fallen CHP officer Brett James Oswald. Oswald died in the line of duty on Sunday, June 27 when he ...more

Man arrested for assault in bar
Posted: Wednesday, Jul 7th, 2010
Michael Martinez, 31, of Bakersfield was charged with one count of mayhem, two felony counts of assault with great bodily injury and giving false information to a police after he reportedly punched and bit several Club Soda patrons in the early morning hours Saturday.
Atascadero Police Department officers were called to the El Camino Real bar with a report of ...more

Multi-agency team recovers marijuana plants
Posted: Wednesday, Jul 7th, 2010
Some 31,000 marijuana plants were located and eradicated on the Rinconada Trail in the Los Padres National Forest Thursday.
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's narcotics detectives teamed with state and federal authorities to remove the mature plants and clear the site of debris and weaponry.
Sheriff's Department Public Information Officer Rob Bryn said the plants were airlifted from the site. ...more

10 acres, buildings burn in California Valley
Posted: Wednesday, Jul 7th, 2010
A July 4 fire in California Valley burned across 10 acres of land and consumed numerous outbuildings and vehicles at Cherokee Road and Arrow Bear Trail.
More than 200 firefighting personnel fought the blaze that jumped one roadway and burned five mobile homes, two travel trailers and eight outbuildings, though the structures and vehicles were in such poor condition that ...more

Cuesta strives to keep accreditation
Posted: Wednesday, Jul 7th, 2010
Cuesta College may have been placed on probation by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges and forced to eliminate the bulk of its North County summer course offerings due to budget cuts, but President Gil Stork is aiming to reassure students that there is a silver lining shining through.
According to Stork, the upcoming fall and spring semesters ...more

Blakeslee’s solar bill advances through senate
Posted: Wednesday, Jul 7th, 2010
The Senate Local Government Committee has passed a bill authored by Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee (R-San Luis Obispo) that will improve homeowner's access to solar energy systems. ...more