Do you remember this story about Paso Robles Mayor Steve Martin? | Letters to the editor

Martin’s honorable legacy

“Paso Robles CA Mayor Steve Martin dies after illness,” (sanluisobispo.com, Aug. 15)

The Tribune passed over Steve Martin’s role as publisher of the short-lived Atascadero Gazette, possibly because that part of his career was so brief, and the list of his accomplishments so long. But it was a courageous moment.

The Atascadero Gazette was the first of three local newspapers founded by wealthy local businessman David Weyrich, who burst onto the local scene in 1999, opening a string of newspapers.

In 2000, the debate over gay marriage intensified prior to the March election with Proposition 22 on the ballot. It defined marriage as being only between one man and one woman.

Weyrich, a religious conservative, objected to publishing even a calendar listing in the Atascadero Gazette for a meeting of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, stating that his newspapers would never publish anything positive about gay people.

Atascadero Gazette editor Ron Bass balked at the censorship. Martin, his publisher, fully backed Bass. When negotiations over the proposed censorship failed, both men quit along with all three reporters. This started a chain of walkouts across the fledgling newspaper chain, leading to its collapse.

It must have been hard to quit what seemed like a dream job — launching a new paper in the town he was born in. And Steve was a family man, his daughters were young at the time.

But he didn’t hesitate. He walked out.

Anne Quinn

Atascadero

Better site recommended

“SLO safe parking site planned near Highway 101, homes,” (sanluisobispo.com, August 9)

Turning a portion of the 1700 block into an overnight safe parking location is wrong in so many ways. This area should never be used in this manner, and the way city administrators have handled this issue has been wrong. It appears this decision was made before any residents had a sufficient opportunity to review it and submit input.

My suggestion would be to use the parking lot at the new People’s Self Help Housing office on the corner of Broad and Kendall Road. This is an underutilized location for a number of reasons: The area has mostly commercial and office buildings used only during the day, so no residents will be disturbed. And the overnight vehicles will be vacated before area office staff come to work. It has ample spaces and room for vehicles.

PSHH is already doing wonderful work throughout the tri-counties. This could be one more step in helping people find permanent housing and give some relief to neighborhoods that are impacted with overnight safe parking vehicles.

Paul C. Hertel

Arroyo Grande

Opinion

Overbroad initiative

“Morro Bay group wants voters to block battery storage plant,” (sanluisobispo.com, May 15)

A cross-section of Morro Bay citizens have expressed opposition to an initiative being circulated in the city. Initiative backers oppose building a battery storage facility on the site of the shuttered power plant. Rather than utilize the development process, they want to preempt planning, requiring any project seeking a zoning change to go to a direct vote, effectively eliminating any innovative land use. It is touted as local control, yet it would achieve the exact opposite with respect to the project its proponents want to prevent.

Unable to convince a majority to elect a council agreeing with them, proponents seek an overbroad initiative that disrupts future planning and risks the very local control they want. Vistra Energy could utilize state energy control laws to circumvent local planning if the initiative passes. Morro Bay citizens: Read the initiative carefully and consider its effects beyond the battery storage project.

If you oppose the project, use the existing planning process to make that known rather than complicate waterfront development by an ill-conceived initiative.

Jane Heath

Morro Bay

No more drills

“SLO teen arrested on suspicion of assaulting ex-girlfriend, owning illegal gun,” (sanluisobispo.com, Jan. 26)

Everyone: It’s drill time. With schools starting, it’s time to start active shooter drills.

Imagine practicing active shooter drills at just seven years old. You aren’t old enough to understand that someone entered a Connecticut elementary school and shot 20 children between the ages of six and seven.

Maybe you are a family member of a young student who wonders whether this drill will keep your young one safe, remembering the 19 children and two adults killed in Uvalde, Texas.

These drills could be avoided altogether. An active shooter drill is only necessary because of guns. We can reform access to guns and take serious steps to prevent an active shooter. First, we must recognize that this is a real threat in our communities. San Luis Obispo County is not immune to hate speech, violent actions, gun availability or mentally ill people in possessions of weapons. Hate and guns are present in our county.

Is this the kind of society that we want our children to grow up in? Let’s all do something.

Jean Slater

San Luis Obispo

Protect Prop. 13

“What SLO County CA voters need to know about Prop 13,” (sanluisobispo.com, Feb. 20, 2020)

At a recent SLO Board of Supervisors meeting, Andrea Seastrand, President of the Central Coast Taxpayers Association, talked about another attempt to dismantle Proposition 13 with a state-proposed ballot measure. Assembly Constitutional Amendment 1 would repeal one of the most important protections in Prop. 13 by lowering the existing two-thirds vote threshold for both local bonds and special taxes to 55% for myriad purposes. Seastrand asked the board to oppose this measure.

What is Prop. 13? Before it, property tax was based on the assessed market value of your home. Prop. 13 made property taxes affordable by using purchase price as the base and capping the property tax rate at 1%.

Prop. 13 also limits annual increases in the base to 2%, regardless of any changes in market value. It also makes it harder for politicians to raise other taxes, requiring a two-thirds vote instead of a simple majority. Unfortunately, Supervisors Bruce Gibson, Dawn Ortiz-Legg and Jimmy Paulding voted not to protect Prop 13.

Terri Stricklin

Nipomo

Keep SLO drive-thru free

“Why doesn’t SLO have drive-thrus at fast food restaurants?” (sanluisobispo.com, Aug. 11)

We owned the Taco Bells in town from 1987-2007, and, quite frankly not having a drive-thru wasn’t an issue. In fact, it made for a level playing field: No one else had them either, so we all had to compete on the quality of our brands. I know our customers wouldn’t drive to Arroyo Grande or Atascadero to use a drive-thru instead of eating in town.

It’s a decision that should not be revisited. Our town survives quite well without them. Allowing drive-thrus now would give those few who have access to available land an unfair advantage, while most of the other owners would not be able to add on drive-thrus.

While I disagree with the original decision, to change it today would create a costly and difficult — if not impossible — challenge to owners and city planners.

Mitch Wolf

Pismo Beach