GOOD NEWS REAL NEWS HOMETOWN NEWS
SINCE 1916 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CIX, NO. XXXIV
THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 2024
atascaderonews.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
SLO County supervisor votes down use of eminent domain in Bob Jones Pathway Project Supervisor Debbie Arnold reaffirms stance against use of eminent domain to protect property owner rights By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@atascaderonews.com
Co-owners of The Poisoned Apple Devin Ceja (left) and Cody Broadstone offered their beverages at the Central Coast Cider Festival. Photos by Rick Evans.
Atascadero Citizen of the Year Jerry Tanimoto (right) visits with Scott of Rincon Brewery at the Anna’s Cider tent at the sixth annual Central Coast Cider Festival.
Central Coast Cider Festival takes over Sunken Gardens with 476 cider lovers
Gardens,” said co-owner of The and co-owner at Two Broads Cider- years? At this point, that’s how we 28 cideries from all over operate, and so this event was intriguCalifornia poured at the fest Poison Apple and Secretary of the works Maggie Przybylski. Central Coast Cider Association (CCCA) Cody Broadstone. “We’re right downtown. It’s close to The Poisoned Apple, so it’s close to home for us.” The festival took place from 4 to 8 p.m., with VIP ticketholders being able to sip on select ciders brought just for them from 4 to 5 p.m. before the rest of the crowd joined in the fun in front of the historic City Hall. “It’s especially great for cider to be in a big venue like this where all the [other] big festivals are,” stated governing board member of CCCA
By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — The Central Coast Cider Festival (CCCF) made its return for the sixth year, this time with a brand new location. After five years at the Pavilion on the Lake, the cider-filled event moved to Sunken Gardens, and 467 cider lovers showed up to taste some of California’s best. “Honestly, I think this is where we always wanted to go anyway, and it feels great being here in Sunken
Being in Sunken Gardens has been the end goal since the CCCF started, and this year, the CCCA teamed up with Andres Nuno and his business, En Fuego Events, to make their dream a reality. “It’s going to be a great turnout and then something to build on for the next years. We’d love to get to like 1,000 people and use all of Sunken Gardens,” said Nuno. “When we take on these new events that we have never done before, we have to say, is this something we believe in? That we’re going to do for many, many
ing because I don’t know of any other Cider Festivals. This can be something that can be really cool for Atascadero and for ciders in general. We have people who come from very far away because they don’t have cider festivals where they are. For us, I think it’s going to be something that we can really market to people who enjoy cider.” There were 28 cideries from all over California for the 21-plus crowd to sip from, with multiple varieties of cider from each. Fruity blends, ciders CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@atascaderonews.com Volunteers dressed as Tent City “residents” take part in an awards ceremony during a past Colony Days event in Atascadero. File Photo
Tent City is looking for community volunteers
By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@atascaderonews.com
ATASCADERO — Tent City is returning as part of the Colony Days festivities this year on Saturday, Oct. 5. The community made out of canvas tents will be erected in Sunken Gardens and will lend a hand in showing residents and neighbors of Atascadero what it was like to live in 1916 within the city’s Tent City. This year, the director of Tent City is asking the community for
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Paso Robles mourns the loss of beloved community leader Matt Masia
Lifelong resident and champion of the city, Masia’s legacy of generosity and community service lives on
The group will be in Sunken Gardens during Colony Days festivities
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY — The use of eminent domain was denied by a 1-3 vote during the Tuesday, Aug. 20, San Luis Obispo County (SLO) Board of Supervisors meeting. The “resolution of necessity” to acquire a rightof-way easement from a private landowner to complete the Bob Jones Pathway from Avila Beach to San Luis Obispo was denied when Supervisor Debbie Arnold voted no in a decision that required four votes to pass. The project, known as the Bob Jones Pathway City to Sea, aims to connect Cal Poly and the City of SLO with Avila Beach and with another planned trail connecting to Pismo Beach. Specifically, this segment of the trail is referred to as the Bob Jones Pathway “Gap Closure” Project and would close a 4.5-mile segment
help putting on the deep dive into history. “What Tent City is, I guess a shortcut way to describe it is it’s sort of like a renaissance fair,” said Tent City Director Dianne Greenaway. “This is recreating a time in Atascadero, the first two years of Atascadero, where people actually lived in tents. There was a tent community set up by E.G. Lewis and Co. There were resident tents. There were other tents. There was a diner, there was a movie tent, there was a theater tent, there were things like that.” Greenaway told Atascadero News that Tent City is CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
AGRICULTURE
NORTH COUNTY — Paso Robles lost a true pillar in the community this past July. Matt Masia died on Sunday, July 28, in his home with family by his side. There are many ways that one could have crossed paths with Masia, but the main would be at one of his cherished hotels — the Adelaide Inn or Black Oak Motel (now Best Western Black Oak). “Don’t take yourself so seriously,” that is what Mitchell Masia hopes people take away from his brother’s life. “I think he was a pretty simple guy when it came down to most aspects of his life.” A lifelong Paso Roblan, Matt was born in Paso Robles on Oct. 5, 1956, to Mario and Shirley Masia. A proud Bearcat, he graduated from Paso Robles High School in 1974 where he was active in FFA and served as ASB president. And we cannot
NORTH COUNTY NEWS
Matt Masia is shown in front of his Adelaide Inn motel after being named Roblan of the Year in 2018. Masia, a respected community leader, died at the age of 67 on Sunday, July 28. Contributed Photo
forget that he was a member of the 1972 Bearcat CIF Championship football team. Matt continued supporting FFA well after high school, following in his grandfather’s footsteps. His grandfather began buying animals at the California Mid-State Fair in 1949, and Matt continued the tradition ever since. In 2017, he was
SPORTS
inducted into the California Mid-State Fair Hall of Fame for his contributions and dedication to the fair. “Matt loved that part of his life. The connection that he had growing up and his involvement in both FFA and 4-H were a real foundation for him,” said Mitchell of his brother’s livestock showing days. “He got a lot of joy
out of participating and being a leader in those different organizations.” After attending Fresno State University, Matt came back home to get back into the family business. “We literally grew up attached to the property,” explained Mitchell. “It’s kind of a classic story ... you’re kind of exposed to everything.” Matt’s maternal grandfather, Hugh Black, opened the original Black Oak Motor Lodge in 1961, and owned the property where the motel was originally situated, extended all the way down Riverside Avenue, and was home to the Black Poultry Hatchery. Later, his maternal aunt, Linda, operated the family-owned liquor store; he worked there during high school, on weekends while attending Fresno State, and after he graduated college. Growing up, Matt had experienced all the jobs at the Black Oak Motel. At the age of 6, he answered phones and later cleaned rooms, changed beds, and greeted guests. “It was so much a fabric, part of the fabric of our childhood and our surroundings that it just kind of happened organically,” explains Mitchell. “You CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
WEATHER
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