During its Feb. 23 meeting, the Atascadero City Council acknowledged COVID-19 s significant impact on the Colony Square business center and vowed to help delay the property s possible foreclosure. Cinema Square LLC leases commercial property within Colony Square to Galaxy Theatres Atascadero, Ques Pasa! Mexican Cafe, and SloDoCo. Due to stay-at-home orders, the businesses underwent temporary closures, changes in operations, and revenue loss, so many haven t been able to afford their monthly rent payments. Galaxy Theatres has been closed since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, except for three days. click to enlarge Photo Courtesy Of Galaxy Theatre Atascadero Facebook Page
Starting in March, local tenants and landlords will be able to apply for financial assistance to cover unpaid back rent under a new state program that s allocating millions of dollars to San Luis Obispo County. The California Rental Assistance Program which will launch thanks to new state legislation, Senate Bill 91 is designed for low-income tenants who have accumulated back rent due to COVID-19 economic impacts. Landlords will also be eligible for aid to cover 80 percent of uncollected rent from qualified tenants between April 2020 and March 2021. But under the program, which is voluntary, landlords must agree to waive the remaining 20 percent of owed rent.
Children in SLO County experienced hunger at a higher rate than adults did in 2020, according to the SLO Food Bank. At the start of last year, approximately 46,000 residents in the county were struggling with food insecurity. click to enlarge File Photo By Jayson Mellom
HUNGRY The SLO Food Bank reported an increase in program participation and food insecurity among children in SLO County during 2020. Once the pandemic s impacts were felt locally, the SLO Food Bank found that hunger in the county increased by 154 percent, with children accounting for about a third of those using the food bank s services. About 40 percent of the food bank s recipients are children and teens, 20 percent are seniors, and many are working parents.
For nearly 40 years, the California Department of Parks and Recreation has been operating the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area, as permitted by the California Coastal Commission in 1982. As permitted, street-legal vehicles have been allowed to drive up and down a 2-mile stretch of beach extending from Grand Avenue in Grover Beach, across Oceano s beachfront and the Arroyo Grande Creek, to a staging area a mile south of Pier Avenue in Oceano, where ATVs can then be driven in designated areas in the dunes. Next to public health and safety, the chief concern for beach communities like Oceano, Grover Beach, and Pismo Beach is the impact off-highway vehicle (OHV) activity has on business volume and the local economy. Community beachfronts are their most valuable economic asset for generating revenue growth and creating jobs. This is especially the case for a distressed community like Oceano where OHV activity extends across the full length of its beachfront, effectively o
BYO red carpet This year, film buffs and festival enthusiasts can attend the virtual SLO International Film Festival in their own home theaters (aka living rooms) March 9 through 14, with the exception of Surf Nite on March 10 at Sunset Drive-In. Visit slofilmfest.org for more info. About a year ago, the SLO International Film Festival was forced to cancel all live events amid coronavirus worries. At the time, then Festival Director, now Artistic Director, Wendy Eidson wondered how the festival would go on in the future. But she was optimistic, noting she and the festival organizers had a whole year to watch how other film festivals proceeded through the pandemic and plan how our festival might continue safely in the unlikely event that social gatherings continued to be prohibited.