Additional Articles

• News

  CalVet Tuition Fee waived for eligible veteran dependents

  SACRAMENTO — California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) offers a College Fee Waiver Program for eligible veteran dependents. The CalVet College Tuition Fee Waiver for Veteran Dependents benefit waives mandatory system-wide tuition and fees at any State of California Community College, California State University, or University of California campus.

  8 months ago
• News

  Local programs and agencies are looking for help

  COUNTY — Put your life experience to work with Senior Volunteer Services and Central Coast Community Volunteers. Join many seniors, age 50 and over, who are taking the time to help improve the lives of others. SVS and CCCV can match your talents and interests with community needs. Call SVS at 805-544-8740 for information on any of the following opportunities.

  8 months ago
• News

  Smoke from Turkey Fire impacts North County

  COUNTY — Smoke from a fire in southern Monterey County made for a hazy Monday afternoon, Aug. 6, in North San Luis Obispo County. Cal Fire San Benito-Monterey reported battling a fire at about 1 p.m. near Parkfield. The fire was near Turkey Flat Road. By 3:45 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 6, the vegetation fire was 2,225 acres with no structures threatened and 60 percent containment, according to Cal Fire.

  8 months ago
• News

  Work at Paul’s slide on Route 1 requires overnight closure

  MONTEREY COUNTY — Augmenting the existing retaining wall will require both directions of State Route 1 at Paul’s Slide to fully close overnight for three nights, starting on Sunday, Aug. 5. The highway will be closed from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next morning. Motorists and cyclists are advised to plan around these three emergency overnight hard closures. This roadwork should be completed by 6 a.m. Wednesday morning, Aug. 8. Paul’s Slide suffered major storm damage in January of 2017, losing part of its embankment including the southbound lane and closing for several months. Paul’s Slide remains active and continues to be monitored; it has currently been operating under a temporary traffic signal for the last 12 months and the signal will remain in place.

  8 months ago
• Columns

  Fonzi: How a candidate sees the world matters

  My last article suggested asking local candidates about their “Vision” for Atascadero and specific types of questions you might ask them. A candidate’s worldview is equally important since how a person sees the world influences how they govern. One need look no farther than Santa Barbara to see bad government at work albeit for the best of intentions. A ban on plastic straws was passed, ostensibly to prevent marine life from ingesting micro-plastic pollutants and being injured. Who could be against that?

  1 week ago
• News

  FDA issues voluntary recalls of Ritz, Goldfish and other products

  WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working with Mondelēz International, Inc., Pepperidge Farm Inc. and Flowers Foods, Inc. and have initiated voluntarily recalls of certain products due to a potential risk that one of the ingredients may have been contaminated with Salmonella. Recalled foods include a variety of Mondelēz’s Ritz cheese sandwiches and Ritz Bits cheese products, certain Pepperidge Farm’s Goldfish, and Flowers Foods’ Swiss Rolls sold under various brand names. Additional information about each specific recall is available on the FDA website at fda.gov/safety/recalls/. The FDA recommends people discard or return any recalled product to the store where it was purchased.

  8 months ago
• News

  Council looks to extend mayor term

  ATASCADERO — The mayor of Atascadero just can’t get enough done in two years according to three City Council members and current mayor Tom O’Malley, who spoke on the subject during a meeting Tuesday. At the end of the discussion the Council voted unanimously to pose the question to voters on the November ballot as to whether or not they’d like to see the mayor’s term extended to four years. According to O’Malley, the Council originally would select a mayor and planning commission members by a majority vote, leading to the majority dominating the direction of the Council and the City as a whole. “We used to have much-polarized politics in Atascadero, much like you’d see at the Board of Supervisors and it tended to be ‘winner take all,’” O’Malley said. “We had pendulum swings often. We’d have a majority leaning in one direction for a few years then a majority leaning another direction for a few years and we were like a yo-yo. You’d see really very little progress on major, long-term projects.”

  8 months ago
• News

  Missed the voter registration deadline? It’s not too late.

  ATASCADERO — In prior elections,voters who missed the 15-day close of registration deadline were not qualified to vote in an upcoming election. Today, new legislation allows voters who missed the May 21 deadline to complete a Conditional Voter Registration (or Same Day Registration) process and cast their ballots at the County Elections Office up to and including Election Day. All votes will be e counted after the elections official verifies the voter’s registration and confirms the voter has not yet voted elsewhere in the current election.

  8 months ago