GOOD NEWS REAL NEWS HOMETOWN NEWS
SINCE 1889 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CXXXIV, NO. XLVIII
THURSDAY, MAY 9, 2024
pasoroblespress.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY
Change in California’s minimum wage laws for fast food workers drives up food prices
No more paid parking: City repeals downtown policy in Paso Robles
North County may increase wages for all restaurant workers over time, and ... the robots are coming
A second reading of repeal will be heard at next City Council meeting to solidify removal of paid parking
By BARBARA BURKE Special to The Paso Robles Press
NORTH COUNTY — As of April 1, California implemented a new law mandating that fast-food restaurants with 60 or more locations nationwide pay their employees $20 per hour. This surpasses the previous state minimum wage of $16 per hour. This pioneering legislation marks the first of its kind in the nation. Affected establishments include a range of local fast food chains, including In-N-Out Burger, Carl’s Jr., The Habit, Jack in the Box, McDonald’s, Chipotle, Subway, and Starbucks. In Atascadero, an In-NOut Burger manager told Paso Robles Press/Atascadero News that they are not affected because they have always paid above minimum wage. However, as astute readers might anticipate, how are these fast-food establishments adapting their business models to accommodate the increased labor costs? Surprisingly, they haven’t trimmed down their CEOs’ exorbitant compensation packages. Instead, they’re passing on the expense hikes to consumers. Many might argue, “That’s just how business operates; it’s fair game.” According to a statewide study conducted by Kalinowski Equity Research, Chipotle has raised prices by 7.5 percent to fund the new wage costs, as predicted in a February CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com
The crew films a scene from “Hidden Creek,” a locally produced film about an elderly rancher and his battle with dementia, at the Fiscalini family ranch in Cambria. Slabtown Studios
Central Coast-made film ‘Hidden Creek’ shines light on dementia struggles Second screening of film at Park Cinemas supports local nonprofits and raises awareness By CAMILLE DEVAUL camille@pasoroblespress.com
PASO ROBLES — The community will have a chance to see and give feedback on a Central Coast-made film this month. On Thursday, May 23, Park Cinemas in Paso Robles will be the host to the second screening of “Hidden Creek,” which tells the story of an elderly rancher and his battle with dementia. The screenplay was written by Cambria psychologist and writer Steve Brody, who was inspired to write the screenplay for “Hidden Creek” after his mother’s own battle with dementia. Many of Brody’s patients struggle with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. “There are a lot of people out there that either are going
through this, have gone through this, will be going through this, and the family dynamic is real common,” Brody explained to Paso Robles Press After seeing one of their smaller projects, Brody reached out to two local graduates of Coast Union High School in Cambria, Julian Mercado and Darien Jewel, to produce the film. The two have now graduated from film school and are working together in Los Angeles with their independent film production company Slabtown Studios — the name a calling card for what Cambria was once called. Avila, the director and producer for “Hidden Creek,” said they were ready to get straight to work when Brody approached them to produce the film. This being their biggest project yet, he said they first worked to update the script, which was written about 10 years prior. “Something we grasp to and stuck to throughout the processes was the themes of
family as well,” Avila said. “I think we as a company and as just filmmakers, we want to tell stories about family and just love and supporting each other.” Seeing his words come to life on film was exciting for Brody. “They’re [Avila and Jewel] a very competent young director-and-producer team. I was impressed with them as they made the movie,” said Brody. “Hidden Creek” tells the story of Jimmy, an elderly rancher who fears he might be losing his mind and suspects his son and daughter of furthering his dementia so they can sell the ranch out from under him. However, the story did not originally surround the story of a rancher until a location for the film was chosen. A friend of Brody’s, Gloria Fiscalini, offered her family’s generational ranch as a filming location, inspiring the ranching and sustainability tie-in to the film. “He [ Jimmy] has a real loyalty and love of the land. Doesn’t want to see it carved
up,” explained Brody of his main character and the secondary theme of the film — land preservation. Jewel, who is director and producer of the film and partner in Slabtown Studios, said from start to finish the making of the film was a journey to narrow down the theme of the film. After talking to Fiscalini and securing the film location, everything clicked. The film would then also reflect the struggles farmers and ranchers face in today’s work to keep ahold of their land. “And just preserving the legacy of the community. That’s when it struck with us that the film is about community, just in the same way that Slabtown is about honoring the community that we came from,” explained Jewel. The film had its first screening at Hearst Castle earlier this year, where it debuted in front of a sold-out theater of over 400 people. We should also mention CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
PASO ROBLES — Democracy was hard at work in Paso Robles Tuesday night as Paso Robles City Council voted unanimously to repeal the paid parking ordinance for Downtown Paso Robles. The decision came after the public fought tirelessly to remove paid parking from downtown since its implementation a few years ago. Some background on the parking program: The city first implemented paid parking in downtown Paso Robles in 2019, which received immediate backlash from much of the community. However, on Feb. 2, the city received a cease and desist letter from Templeton resident Gary Lehrer. During it’s Tuesday, Feb. 6, meeting, the Paso Robles City Council announced that it would be pausing the Downtown Paid Parking Program. Then, on March 5, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 1135 N.S. amending Chapter 12.42, Parking Management, to address the issues that had been identified with the existing program. The new ordinance, approved with a 3-2 vote, with Councilmembers Chris Bausch and Fred Strong dissenting, was set to begin again on April 5, with parking now costing $1 per CONTINUED ON PAGE A2
Eighth annual Tamale Festival brings in more tamale vendors than ever before The festivities kicked off didn’t stop there. The festival sell tamales and sell all of the early on Friday night and Cinco de Mayo weekend thousands that they brought
ATASCADERO—The streets around Atascadero’s famous Sunken Gardens were lined with delicious tamales, long lines, and smiling faces for the eighth annual Tamale Festival. The festival took place on Saturday, May 4, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. But the fun
officially kicked off on Friday, May 3, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. and concluded with a fireworks show. “We are really starting to work on Tamale Festival Weekend, making it really a Friday/Saturday thing,” said Director of Community Services and Promotions Terrie Banish. “That not only helps people who want to
but also [helps] our hotels and tourism. Then for our community, it’s kind of like Friday night is locals night.” This year, around 30 tamale vendors came out for Friday night to get a head start on selling their yummy tamales of all kinds early, but it was just a small glimpse of what was to come on Saturday.
AGRICULTURE
EVENTS
NORTH COUNTY NEWS
By CHRISTIANNA MARKS christianna@pasoroblespress.com
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The winners of the eighth annual Tamale Fest Best Tamales contest are shown. Photo by Rick Evans
SPORTS
WEATHER
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SEED COMPANIES Steady Supply | A3
NASHVILLE NIGHTS Supports Honor Flight | A4
LUMINA NIGHTS Raised over $300,000 | B1
NORTH COUNTY Sports Briefs | B8
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