Daily Briefs


Solomon costs taxpayers more than $300,000

Paso Robles city officials have already spent about $330,000 dealing with allegations of sexual and managerial misconduct by former police Chief Lisa Solomon. [Tribune] A cost that is likely to increase as the city battles lawsuits already filed or in... (Continue reading)

Scolari’s to close California stores

Scolari’s Markets announced Thursday they plan to close all four Central Coast locations in the next 60 days. On Thursday after lunch, managers informed employees at the San Luis Obispo, Paso Robles, Pismo Beach and Santa Barbara stores that the... (Continue reading)

Workers’ comp premiums may rise

A proposal Thursday by a state insurance rating agency may cost employers more for their employees’ work-related injury and illness premiums. The planned rate of increase, 4.1 percent, is smaller than in previous years but is expected to ignite yet... (Continue reading)

Big-box stores abet hate groups?

Walmart, the biggest of the big-box stores, creates some big problems for communities, including a surge in the formation of hate groups, a major university study suggests. [San Francisco Chronicle] The study’s lead author, Dr. Stephan Goetz of Penn State,... (Continue reading)

New plans for Sunny Acres

After years of battling over code requirements, Dan De Vaul, community members, public officials, and a group of students are working together to makeover Sunny Acres, a sober living facility that sets north of San Luis Obispo on Los Osos... (Continue reading)

Popular teacher arrested for criminal threats

Police arrested a popular San Luis Obispo High School teacher on March 29 after he sent threatening emails and then created a ruckus when he refused to leave the district’s continuation campus. Brian Sanford Miller, 55, had been on voluntary... (Continue reading)

Deputy Sheriff’s Association endorses Debbie Arnold and Adam Hill

Supervisor candidates Debbie Arnold and Adam Hill collected endorsements from the San Luis Obispo Deputy Sheriff’s Association on Tuesday. In March, members of the employee union group, which represents correctional officers and dispatchers, interviewed candidates from both the 5th and... (Continue reading)

Atascadero man gets 26 years for homophobic murder

An Atascadero man who murdered his 66-year-old wife for allegedly accepting a gay relative was sentenced to 26 years to life in state prison on Tuesday in San Luis Obispo Superior Court. [Tribune] Police arrested Kenneth Leroy Cockrell, 60, on... (Continue reading)

Cal Poly students cleaning up Sunny Acres

A group of Cal Poly students is working to bring Dan De Vaul’s 72-acre ranch and sober living facility   north of San Luis Obispo up to code. [Tribune] After years of the county battling De Vaul over code requirements, in... (Continue reading)

American Perspective Bank selling for $45 million

San Luis Obispo headquartered American Perspective Bank announced today that it has signed a definitive agreement for sale to Portland-based Umpqua Bank for approximately $44.7 million. Umpqua, the largest Oregon-based bank, expects to finalize the transaction in mid-2012, pending regulatory... (Continue reading)