Daily Briefs


Drunken driver flees officer with kids in car

A 21-year-old man was arrested after a stop for failing to have his children in seat belts turned into a high-speed chase through Shandon shortly before 10 a.m. on Monday. Jose Cabrera sped through Shandon neighborhoods running stop signs and... (Continue reading)

Lawmakers won’t decide canal plan

One of the state’s most enduringly controversial public works projects, the Peripheral Canal, took a subtle step forward last week after rejection of a proposal to put its future in the hands of the legislature. An Assembly committee killed a... (Continue reading)

Man hit by train in Oceano survives

A man hit by a train in Oceano on Friday had to have his arm amputated. At about 5:15 p.m., an Amtrak train hit the man who was walking along the tracks. Officials with Union Pacific said the man was... (Continue reading)

Single-payer insurance plan moves ahead

A Democrat-sponsored effort to initiate single-payer health coverage in California is under the legislative microscope next week in Sacramento hearings. Coauthored by 29 members of the Senate, the measure, SB 810, by Sen Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), would create the... (Continue reading)

Second homeless person found dead in SLO County

A second homeless person was found dead in San Luis Obispo County, but authorities do not believe foul play is involved, Paso Robles Police said. Police found no obvious signs of foul play on the body they found Thursday in... (Continue reading)

Red wine researcher besmirched

Red wine’s benefits to cardiovascular health have been extolled for years, and now an East Coast researcher known for his research on the issue is being accused of falsifying data. [SF Chronicle] Behavior of Dipak Das of the University of... (Continue reading)

Deputy rescues kidnapped teenager

During a routine traffic stop, a deputy discovered a teenage passenger who had been forcibly kidnapped from her Vandenberg Village home late Saturday evening and then arrested her kidnapper. Early Sunday morning, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff deputy stopped a... (Continue reading)

Breathe easy… fire up a joint

Light to moderate smoking of marijuana might not have any injurious effects on lung health, and may actually improve lung capacity, a new study by scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham contends. [Reuters] Dr. Stefan Kertesz, who worked... (Continue reading)

SLO County votes in plastic bag ban

Following impassioned arguments for and against the use of plastic bags, the San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority’s board voted Wednesday to ban single-use plastic bags countywide in most stores, beginning in October, and to mandate stores charge... (Continue reading)

Non-profit administrator sentenced to jail

A woman accused of embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from two local non-profits was sentenced to six months in San Luis Obispo County Jail and three years probation on Friday. In November, Morgan Rafferty, 48, pleaded no contest to... (Continue reading)