Daily Briefs


Helicopter rescues sailor from boat crash by Piedras Blancas

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter rescued a sailor who crashed his boat into rocks near Piedras Blancas Lighthouse early Thursday morning. [Tribune] The sailor was a middle-aged man sailing alone from the Bay Area to Morro Bay in a 32-foot... (Continue reading)

Man with machete stands off Santa Barbara SWAT team for eight hours

A SWAT team standoff with a Santa Barbara man in possession of a machete lasted more than eight hours Wednesday night and Thursday morning. [KSBY] Investigators obtained a search warrant Wednesday for the home of a 39-year-old man who is... (Continue reading)

Mayor Debbie Peterson elected as Coastal Commission nominee

The San Luis Obispo County City Selection Committee elected Grover Beach Mayor Debbie Peterson on Jan. 3 as its nominee for an open seat on the California Coastal Commission. Less than two weeks after the Grover Beach Council removed Peterson... (Continue reading)

Trial begins for man accused of causing shootout in Paso Robles

Opening statements began Wednesday in the trial of San Diego resident Clifford Scott, whom prosecutors accuse of starting a shootout with a California Highway Patrol officer in Paso Robles in 2012. [Tribune] On Oct. 27, 2012, a CHP officer pulled... (Continue reading)

Arroyo Grande broker running for supervisor

Arroyo Grande real estate broker Mike Byrd announced Wednesday that he intends to run for the District 4 San Luis Obispo County Supervisor seat. Byrd applied for the vacant District 4 seat following the death of Supervisor Paul Teixeira last... (Continue reading)

Recalled Los Osos board member wins election in Iowa

Former Los Osos Community Services District board member Stan Gustafson, whom voters recalled in 2005, won a special election Tuesday for an Iowa House of Representatives seat. [Des Moines Register] Los Osos voters recalled Gustafson in September 2005 after contractors... (Continue reading)

Los Osos woman killed in car crash identified

Officers have identified the woman killed in a car crash on Avila Beach Road Sunday as Denise Snider, of Los Osos. [Tribune] Snider, 44, drove her pickup truck off the road shortly after midnight Sunday and traveled down an embankment,... (Continue reading)

SLO County clerk-recorder to retire

San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder Julie Rodewald announced Tuesday that she will retire at the end of her term in January 2015. [Tribune] Rodewald has worked for the county for 33 years and spent the last 20 as clerk-recorder. She... (Continue reading)

California farmers removing grape vines

California farmers are ripping up grape vines and switching to higher yielding crops to cope with an ongoing drought, according to a report by San Rafael wine broker Ciatti Co. [Mercury News] The report estimates that California vintners will remove... (Continue reading)

Two men arrested for stealing SLO firefighting equipment

San Luis Obispo police arrested two men Monday for stealing firefighting equipment from a fireman’s car. Around 7:48 a.m., police received a report of theft of San Luis Obispo Fire Department equipment from a firefighter’s car parked in the downtown... (Continue reading)