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County demands blogger remove personal information

October 15, 2010

UPDATE: Ochs reported on Friday that all personal information has been removed from his blog at the request of county counsel. Ochs said he took the information down shortly after he received the email.

San Luis Obispo County Counsel Warren Jensen is demanding that a Central Coast blogger remove the home addresses and phone numbers of three public officials that he has posted on his site.

Aaron Ochs, who writes the blog “The Razor Online,” posted an article called “Get the Facts: Ring Paavo’s Doorbell,” in which he lists the home address and phone number for three county officials directly involved in the Los Osos wastewater controversy: Bruce Gibson, Paavo Ogren, and John Diodati.

Ochs suggested that more names and addresses might be posted.

“Go ahead, ring their doorbells. Knock on their doors. Give them a call,” Ochs urged. “Let them know you want a conversation. Let them know you want your questions answered. Because they’re building Los Osos a sewer that will become the most expensive public works project per capita in the United States — with Los Osos’ money, not theirs — and we’re entitled to the facts.”

Jensen’s email to Ochs, a copy of which was obtained by CalCoastNews, requested that the personal information be removed immediately:

“Pursuant to California Government Code section 6254.21(c)(3), Paavo Ogren, John Diodati,and Bruce Gibson have designated the County as their agent to make a written demand that you remove their home addresses and home phone numbers from the Razor Online site.

“Pursuant to 6254.21, these three individuals are elected or appointed officials of the County who are entitled to have this information removed from the internet. They fear that having their home addresses and phone numbers jeopardizes their safety, given the past threatening behavior of some Los Osos residents, and the likelihood that the inflammatory and unfounded assertions contained in the article will induce an unstable person to take matters into his or her own hands.

“A copy of section 6254.21 is attached for your information. This e-mail will be followed up with a written demand that will be personally served on you as soon as feasible. I am hoping that you will remove the illegally posted addresses and phone numbers in response to this e-mail so that you can come into compliance with the law without delay.”

The information remains on Ochs’ site as of Friday morning.

Warren R. Jensen  |  County Counsel  |  San Luis Obispo County


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Alon: You missed my point, which is so like you. Stand way back and reread. There are people losing their homes, jobs, family members, suffering tragic losses…IN THIS COUNTY. These are where county should focus their attention; NOT who released information on public officials whose info is available to anyone who cares to look. Nuff said.


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Danika dearest…….

(takes a step back and pauses to polish his reflective Sunglasses on his warden’s shirt)


“…..Whayt we have Heeya, iz a fail-yer to Core-muni-kate”

as in;

A-Is the Core issue “How much will the Sewer cost, and what will happen when them bills be-a-comin”.

Or is it on THIS Blog at THIS time

B-“What has Aaron Oches’ being a naughty naughty nasty little boy (Again) have anything to do with bringing down the cost of the Sewer?”


Because if it is “A” you would know that I have spent many times and hours communicating to the County on that very subject under the ethically, legally and democratically appropriate methods, available to all Citizens, and very rarely utilized by “The Razor”.


And your take in your first comment “more important issues spoken about on blogs”


is apparently that the County should ignore the consequences of the chilling precedent set by this clearly defined (legally) harassment.

And to some degree I do agree with you, in terms of time wasted and the actual real damage caused by the insatiable attention grabbing mosquito, however I won’t fault the County for responding to protect their current and future employees and officials, as they are legally required to do. And I think the taxpayers should pay heed to the consequences of Publicity stunts and self -promotion antics, by individuals members of the public pretending to represent all, some or the rest of the public.


Your second comment is more of a concern because it implies agreement that somehow having someone ringing an officials doorbell brings resolution to issues of


But I will let you know that I did have a secret agenda beyond directly responding to your discussion worthy comment, which is that I not only see the mark of a self infatuation troll in the “Bell ringing” Razor article, I saw the same stylistic fingerprint in the “Work” of the Santa Maria Murdered Teen article troll. And unfortunately having much more exposure to the Ochs stylings than anyone else in this county, my bloodhounds are very familiar with that smug self satisfied smell.


“There are people losing their homes, jobs, family members, suffering tragic losses…IN THIS COUNTY”– I think You may be genuine in that. I KNOW that The Razor isn’t. It’s not whether “The end justifies the means- These means could NEVER get to a positive end.

To the self satisfied “Bored housewives of Los Osos” (Not gender specific) or Sewer dilettantes, or for the professional troll, the “Mean means” are the “End in itself”.


So for not directly responding to the exactitude of your words and intent;

Ah do most humbly arpolergize, let us hope, no one eylse has seen mah indiscreyshin, and be tempted to foller suite, for that would be a most ungainly a precident to sully the repyoutashin of this fine Bloggin parlor.


So ya seez; What we REALLY have heeya, is a fail-yer to Ex-communicate.

So I hope you are not distract-aid again by yer gardin variety morse-keeter.


Look away, look away, look away, Osos Land.


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Personal safety and preserving the sanctity of one’s home and family’s well being is a serious matter.


If there’s a civil or criminal issue at hand, then handle it through proper channels that are already in place like civilized people. Unwanted harassment at one’s residence IS not only abusive and hurtful to a person and family, it’s illegal: In re Frisby v. Schultz, 487 U.S. 474 (1988).


It disgusts me that some people lack all reason and sense of personal boundaries in order to exert their sense superiority and entitlement for a pound of flesh.


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What Mr. Aaron Ochs posted was available to the public in the first place. If Mr. Gibson and Mr. Ogren weren’t so guilty about screwing the Los Osos PZ homeowners royally then you wouldn’t bring up any violence whatsoever. Come on! They are guilty and acting guilty.


Like I said in my previous post, it took one man with a bus full of people to go to the Bank CEO’s homes with a megaphone to get these banks to act and finally help the people. Thousands of people finally got the help them deserved in LA alone. There was no violence involved there.


This is about getting answers for homeowners who are paying for a huge project. Gibson refuses to answer the key important questions….maybe he should start answering. The people deserve answers especially considering the price of $25,000, plus interest, plus rates and charges, plus cost overruns, etc. etc. etc. People will end up paying about $60,000 per home. We need answers to our questions. We need some honesty. We haven’t gotten either!


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I’m all for justice when it’s due, but in our country, there are things called due process, the California Penal Code, case law, First Amendment rights and moral responsibility.


Crazy, I know.


If the ends justifies the means as you suggest, why have rules or laws for anything?


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Hi there!


I read the article and I found it fascinating for a couple of reasons.


This article was written on October 15, 2010 1:36 am, which mentioned an e-mail that was dispatched to me on 8:14 am (roughly seven hours later). Interesting. Immediately after reading the e-mail, which was at 9:00 am, I removed the contact information per their written demand, which is required by law. CalCoastNews was not a named recipient in the e-mails. If CalCoastNews printed the contents of said e-mail prior to me receiving the notice, then County Counsel violated their own confidentiality clause. In the clause it, reads the following:


“If the person actually receiving this e-mail or any other reader of the e-mail is not a named recipient or the employee or agent responsible to deliver it to a named recipient, any use, dissemination, distribution or copying of the communication is strictly prohibited.”


County Counsel’s office and/or the recipients broke the counsel’s own confidentiality clause by releasing their California Government Code section 6254.21(c)(3) written demand request to the media before I received it. They essentially broke the law. Within the duration between the notice being written and the time I received it, CalCoastNews falsely implied that the information remained on the site in spite of Counsel’s written demand to have the information removed, which I promptly did after I received the e-mail.


CalCoastNews has not printed a retraction since I removed the information, which was at 9:49 AM, and I believe that it is irresponsible for CalCoastNews to let this article stand. This is nothing more than politics as usual in San Luis Obispo County, and for a site, which once championed for the underdog by investigating their government (Undercover SLO), they are now working by their side.


Contributing Editor Dave Congalton threatened to “call me on it” and abuse his position to post false statements with no byline. This is inexcusable.


Regardless of your opinions on whether or not the contact information of public officials should be posted, there is a greater, legal issue at hand that speaks not only to the journalistic integrity of this “publication,” but to the extent that our government will go to persecute those who want innovative, affordable solutions for a town that many love dearly.


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oh, brother! I think the county is not in a position to be demanding anything. They should be answering the question regarding who outside of Los Osos has to eventually pay for the sewers?


BTW. What a bunch of whinners and weenies… I think there are a whole lot of folks who need to ‘man-up’ here. So what if someone calls you at home — screen your calls… if they come to your door — close the door. Oh yeah, post with your own names…


Now, personally I think those in government service at any level should be held accountable for their actions… after all, they have a choice, they shouldn’t ‘just be following orders.’ I think trying to stiffle criticism… no matter how confrontive — is cowardly. Besides if the info is in the phone book… what’s the big deal.


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—————————These comments do need to be removed.


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I agree that no one should bother these people at home. It’s also not a secret what their phone numbers are. They’re in the phone book.


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I disagree, I say picket the SOB’s, anybody that put’s themselves out there for public office has no right to any expectations of privacy. We have every right to know who you are and where you live. We have every right to picket you. What we don;t have a right to is to threaten an elected member with any harm to themselves, their families, their loved ones, their pets or to any way threaten their personal assets or ever bring any harm to anything surrounded them that would be unlawful. THERE is where I draw the line, however to picket you, you have it coming if you are a scum bag that collects a paycheck from the tax payers and have not followed through with your promises to us.


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Oops. sorry for a few grammatical errors but you all get my drift.


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Right on Cindy go girl, these creeps called the freaking cops on me for trying to give them $100 bill.

Sherrif at my front door apologizing to me, said they were calling the cops on anyone who said “boo”. I explained what happened and he went away costing the tax payers more money for the law to visit me. The people with money or the unemployed who haven’t had their phone cut yet are the only one’s who can blog anyway, so things said here don’t represent 100% of the population equally anyway, los osos is full of a bunch of old poor retired people that the county of San Luis Obispo can’t wait to screw!


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While at times I get as upset as the next constituate with an elected official, you don’t go to someone’s home. Period!! They are entitled to their privacy as much as you or I, when they are home they are off the clock. How would we all feel if we had people associated with our work, showing up on our door after we are off work? Probably as upset as this group. Like them or not, they are entitled to their space. They have offices. Go see them there during business hours.


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Pretty chickensh*t maneuver to increase hits on an otherwise unreadable and irrelevant website.


Where does Ochs live? Maybe I will stop by and tell him. ;-)


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Yup.


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Ochs and his anti-sewer minions will stop at nothing to bring this project down, including what may constitute or contribute to a physical threat to these public officials. What is most obvious is that they grow more desperate by the hour.


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Pity the more important issues spoken about on blogs didn’t get the attention THIS issue did. Were that the case, taxpayers would be happier and spend their residual money to stimulate the economy. Just a thought, Mr. Jensen…


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Danika, you may want to observe the amount of time and attention diverted from the 15 year old Murder victim article (comment) section by trolling marauders. While you are at it, observe the stylistic fingerprint of the primary abuser. Note also the sophistication in which this clear attack on the person making comments is coached in terms that make it appear relevant to the article at hand.

If you step back and look at the comments in aggragate, what you will see is the plaintive cry; “Look at me… Look at me… look at me”


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Mr. Perlman, to my knowledge is not a homeowner in Los Osos, so I have NO idea why he is attempting to discredit anyone who disagrees with the County’s overpriced & unaffordable project. Face facts, the price of this project is being paid for by UNDER 5,000 homeowners living in the “Prohibition Zone” of Los Osos….Do the math, is that even affordable for only 5,000 property owners to repay? I think not. If these 5,000 homeowners are footing the bill for this disastrous project, THEY NEED TO BE CALLING THE SHOTS & get the project THEY WANT …one that is AFFORDABLE & doesn’t have the high O & M that the current project has. These property owners DO NOT WANT TO DO BUSINESS with the corrupt MWH & the Wallace Group. Give them the options THEY (the 5,000 homewoners) want.


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Best real blog on this whole article, this is how we feel. And I hone a home here, wish I didn’t.


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