Daily Briefs


County prevails again in COLAB smart growth suit

A state appellate court upheld an earlier ruling Tuesday that San Luis Obispo County did not need to prepare an environmental impact report when adopting its smart-growth policies. [SLO Tribune] The 2nd District Court of Appeals ruled against the Coalition... (Continue reading)

Central Coast is fungi heaven

The nation’s second-biggest (legal) mushroom producing area can be found on the Central Coast. (San Francisco Chronicle) Only Pennsylvania, where mushroom farming was pioneered, puts to market the volume and variety of edible fungus that can be found in the... (Continue reading)

Supervisors request PG&E meet more conditions on seismic testing

The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors decided Tuesday to write a letter to the California Coastal Commission asking the agency to address several concerns relating to PG&E’s proposed seismic testing before approving the project. Members of the community... (Continue reading)

Local lawmakers on maverick list

Two Republican state lawmakers from San Luis Obispo County are among the party’s most independent members, according to an analysis of voting records by the Sacramento Bee. Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian (33rd District) and Sen. Sam Blakeslee (15th District) were on... (Continue reading)

Opponent requests another Ashbaugh investigation

San Luis Obispo City Councilman John Ashbaugh is facing another accusation of financial misconduct in his bid for reelection. Ashbaugh, who received a $252 fine Friday for accepting a campaign contribution above the $200 limit, filed a campaign disclosure Thursday... (Continue reading)

California textbooks drop pro-plastic bag messages

The California Environmental Protection Agency revised a controversial K-12 curriculum, removing some positive messages about plastic bags that an interest group lobbied to include. [California Watch] In August 2011, school officials rewrote part of a new environmental curriculum to include... (Continue reading)

Online poker effort fails

Infighting between diverse factions of an online poker advocates group has resulted in dissolution of the two-year lobbying effort mounted by the California Online Poker Association. [Sacramento Bee] The group has spent nearly $2 million in its heretofore failed quest... (Continue reading)

Higher water fees set for Paso Robles

Paso Robles’ steadily rising water rates are set to spurt again. Under a “user pay” formula, the new increases, scheduled to begin Jan. 1, will apply only to higher uses of water, according to a statement issued by the city’s... (Continue reading)

4.2 earthquake strikes the Central Coast

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake occurred Sunday five miles northwest of Pinnacles and 13 miles northeast of Soledad on California’s Central Coast. [LATimes] The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the temblor occurred at 9:25 p.m. on the San Andreas Fault in... (Continue reading)

Salinas boy kills dog by hanging

A 12-year-old Salinas boy allegedly hung and killed his terrier-mix dog on Friday. [TheCalifornian] Police said he told them he was angry at the 12-pound dog and wanted to see it die. Shortly after 4 p.m., a 911 caller hung... (Continue reading)