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Paso Robles council votes to skirt governor’s stay-at-home order

December 11, 2020

By JOSH FRIEDMAN

The Paso Robles City Council voted unanimously Thursday to return the North County city to purple-tier status, sidestepping California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest stay-at-home order.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s stay-at-home order took effect Sunday evening, triggered by an increase in patients in intensive care units at hospitals in Southern California. Until at least after Christmas, hair and nail salons; outdoor and indoor dining at restaurants; gyms; and wineries are under orders to shut down.

Newsom’s order, which requires people to stay at their homes as much as possible, has led dozens of residents to turn in neighbors they suspect have violated the rule. However, many businesses have refused to abide by the rules, and San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson and District Attorney Dan Dow have said it is not their job to enforce coronavirus lockdown orders.

At a special meeting on Thursday, the Paso Robles council voted 5-0 in favor of the city no longer complying with Newsom’s stay-at-home rules and instead returning to purple-tier restrictions. When a jurisdiction is in the purple tier, restaurants, gyms and places of worship are allowed to conduct outdoor-only operations. Likewise, retail stores can operate indoors at limited capacity.

Newsom grouped San Luis Obispo County with Los Angeles County in the Southern California region. The governor’s stay-at-home rules were triggered when, a week ago, the Southern California region’s intensive care unit capacity dropped below 15 percent.

In addition to voting to sidestep the stay-at-home order, the Paso Robles council unanimously decided to join other cities in San Luis Obispo County in requesting that Newsom reclassify SLO County in a region that does not include the Los Angele area.

Furthermore, the council called for continued education to be provided to residents and businesses and for the SLO County health officer to determine flagrant violations of coronavirus restrictions, rather than directing local law enforcement to police the matter.

Prior to the vote, Paso Robles council members voiced concern about the ability of local businesses to survive another shutdown.

Councilman Fred Strong also said he wanted to make sure what Paso Robles is doing is still legal.

“I just don’t want to really thumb our nose at the state,” Strong said. “We can oppose what they’re trying to do to us, but I don’t think we have to do that and thumb our nose at them.”


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The advisory from the state health department is just guidance. Although the state tried to scare people with warnings on their phones, that’s all this is, just scare tactics. Businesses have had enough. Mental health issues are up and livelihoods have been destroyed – so those that are left are not going to abide by any more illegal finger wagging by California. Big deal, they will pull our permits, so what, we won’t have a business anyway.


2

Neighbors have turned in neighbors for not staying home? I have neighbors that I wish would leave more and stop bothering me.


Norma Moye is great…she has to be 100 years old by now. I used to take care of the yard at her home 40 yeasr ago.


2

Great story, Josh. At the meeting, Norma Moye of the Downtown Paso Robles Main Street Association said if authorities needed to arrest someone for keeping businesses open, “You can put me in jail, I don’t care!”

See more: https://pasoroblesdailynews.com/paso-robles-city-council-votes-to-reject-stay-at-home-order-stay-in-purple-tier/118194/


17

Looks like Paso wants to remain the county’s leader in Covid cases.


-46

Or the only county city concerned about the small business owner


13

Certain Governors are testing the citizenry to see just how much they will tolerate…the vaccine is being sent out…we are on the verge of a cure to the spread and some leaders are going overboard in my opinion with new lockdown orders….

I’m happy to see Paso stand up and say not so fast…the cure can not be worse than the virus especially with a vaccine nearly available….not sure that a leader that over reacts is what is best going forward in California…we can do better than Newsome….


54

On the verge of a cure? If you aren’t a health care worker or elderly, you aren’t getting the vaccine for another several months. This current spike is increasing rapidly, and we needed the vaccine, like, last month.


-5

What’s with those rednecks in Paso, anyways? They need to get onboard with TEH SCIENCE™️


And start driving Priuses and Teslas…and lose weight so they can wear skinny jeans…and cut out all that red meat…


12

There’s no doubt that SLO will not do this but how will Atascadero turn?


18

Apparently PR has some balls… Nice to see it has the courage to do what’s right.


82

Rednecks do rednecky things. No surprise here.


-58

At least they don’t riot when they don’t get their way…


30

Yep, none for San Luis Obispo, Grover Beach, Arroyo Grande and Pismo Beach, but I’d expect nothing less for these cities so called leaders.


49