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PG&E missing key San Bruno documents

Written on 16 Aug, 2011 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 10 comments

New federal findings, released Monday, report that Pacific Gas & Electric is unable to find key documents about the section of natural gas pipeline that exploded last fall in San Bruno and has depended on faulty or nonexistent data to... (Continue reading)

Cell phone fines for drivers may increase

Written on 16 Aug, 2011 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 33 comments

Legislation that would significantly increase fines for drivers who talk on cell phones or text was approved Monday and needs only Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature. [Chronicle] The bill, SB 28, also prohibits bicyclists from texting or talking on a phone,... (Continue reading)

Salinas will consider ban on polystyrene takeout boxes

Written on 16 Aug, 2011 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 2 comments

The Salinas City Council will consider today whether to ban polystyrene “takeout” boxes, which tend to break up over time and leach out toxic chemicals, and are considered a major source of marine pollution and litter, environmentalists say. [The Salinas... (Continue reading)

Hate crime defendant claims he burned cross to memorialize his father

Written on 16 Aug, 2011 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 26 comments

The defendant in a March 18 Arroyo Grande cross burning who is being charged with a hate crime claims that he was attempting to memorialize the death of his father, not to express racial hatred. [The Tribune] The attorney for... (Continue reading)

Arroyo Grande brothers tied up during home invasion

Written on 15 Aug, 2011 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 25 comments

Deputies are searching for two men who forced their way into a rural Arroyo Grande home on Sunday evening and tied up two brothers before robbing them. Two men wearing bandanas stormed into the house on the 2300 block of... (Continue reading)

Anonymous hacks into Bay Area Rapid Transit website

Written on 15 Aug, 2011 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 13 comments

The amorphous hacker group known as Anonymous attacked a Bay Area Rapid Transit website Sunday in retaliation for BART’s decision to cut cell phone service to prevent a flash mob protest against San Francisco police. [San Francisco Chronicle] BART scrambled... (Continue reading)

League calls for reduced pensions for current city workers

Written on 15 Aug, 2011 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 19 comments

Officials with the League of California Cities are offering a new pension reform plan for struggling California towns, proposing a “detailed legal review”of whether pensions promised current workers can be reduced. [Calpensions] “Pension sustainability cannot be fully achieved without addressing... (Continue reading)

San Luis Obispo County Superior Court to cut $1 million from budget

Written on 15 Aug, 2011 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 7 comments

State budget cuts will leave San Luis Obispo Superior Court about $1 million short of its $19 million 2011 operating budget. [The Tribune] Cuts of $350 million, the largest in state’s history, from judicial the branch’s budget for fiscal year... (Continue reading)

Domestic disturbance shooting in Paso Robles

Written on 13 Aug, 2011 in Daily Briefs, Featured | No comments

Three male residents of a Paso Robles apartment were involved in a disturbance on Friday that included gunfire. Shortly after 5 p.m., officers responding to multiple 911 calls heard two gun shots coming from an apartment building on the 3500... (Continue reading)

Hells Angels president arrested for firebombing business rivals

Written on 13 Aug, 2011 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 17 comments

Federal investigators arrested the former president of the Ventura County Chapter of the “Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle gang” on Friday for firebombing two competing tattoo shops, according to a press release. George Christie Jr., 64, of Ventura, was one of... (Continue reading)