2017

Coast Hills Credit Union robbed in Santa Maria

A man wearing a cap with the word “Cali” robbed a Coast Hills Credit Union in Santa Maria on Wednesday and has since managed to evade capture. Around 5 p.m., the robber entered the Coast Hills branch on Bradley Road... (Continue reading)

SLO City Council should listen to the people

OPINION by RICHARD SCHMIDT Near the end of a nearly three-hour San Luis Obispo City Council session on ramming a bike freeway through a neighborhood between Foothill Boulevard and Highway 101, a large audience consisting of people who seldom go... (Continue reading)

Lame duck California Republican leader accused of sabotage

On his way out as leader of California’s Assembly Republicans, Assemblyman Chad Mayes has shuffled legislative committee assignments, Capitol offices and campaign funds, prompting allegations that he is punishing those involved in his ouster and rewarding the lawmakers who sided... (Continue reading)

Lompoc kidnapper arrested in Las Vegas

A Lompoc man suspected of kidnapping and holding his ex-girlfriend captive for four days was arrested Tuesday in Las Vegas. On Monday evening, Joseph Hetzel, 52, released Virginia Paris, 55, in front of a hotel in Henderson, Nevada. Paris told... (Continue reading)

Pismo Beach man busted again for selling drugs

  Nearly one year to the day after a Pismo Beach man was arrested for hit-and-run and selling prescription pills, he was arrested again, this time during a narcotics raid. On Sept. 1, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Narcotics... (Continue reading)

3,000 gallons of sewage spills in Paso Robles

A private sewer lateral pipeline burst in Paso Robles Monday afternoon, resulting in about 3,000 gallons of sewage spilling onto city streets. Shortly before 2 p.m., the spill was reported at 351 Lark Drive, according to the San Luis Obispo... (Continue reading)

Kelly Gearhart wins sentencing hearing appeal

Former North County developer Kelly Gearhart will receive a new sentencing and restitution hearing after the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Judge Otis Wright II erred in sentencing Gearhart to 14 years in federal prison. In 2014,... (Continue reading)

Abducted Lompoc woman rescued in Nevada, kidnapper on the run

Following four days in captivity in a total of three states, a Lompoc woman was rescued at a Nevada hotel. Her ex-boyfriend and alleged kidnapper remains on the run. [KSNV] On Tuesday morning, Virginia Paris, 55, called security at the... (Continue reading)

Woman kidnapped outside SLO bar

A Lompoc man allegedly picked up a woman off Higuera Street in San Luis Obispo early Monday morning by naming two of her friends and telling the victim that they had asked him to take her to a friend’s house.... (Continue reading)

Abducted Lompoc woman spotted in Arizona with ex-boyfriend

The Lompoc man accused of abducting his ex-girlfriend in Solvang was spotted with her Sunday morning at a Starbucks in Arizona, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. After the Lompoc woman sought help from a customer in the... (Continue reading)