Daily Briefs


Vehicle started the Chimney Fire, investigators say

Cal Fire investigators have determined a vehicle started last summer’s Chimney Fire that burned more than 46,000 acres near Lake Nacimiento and destroyed about 50 homes. A vehicle driving on a dirt road south of the lake near Running Deer... (Continue reading)

Pair of SLO County men accused of sexually abusing girls

A Nipomo man and a Paso Robles man are both sitting in San Luis Obispo County Jail on a host of child molestation charges. William Martinez Perez, 56, and Gustavo Perez-Medina, 40, are facing charges in separate cases. Perez, of... (Continue reading)

California city finance employee arrested for embezzlement

FBI agents arrested the former deputy city treasurer for the City of Compton today for allegedly embezzling  more than $3.7 million of city funds. Salvador Galvan, 47, faces federal charges stemming from allegations that he stole $3,721,924 from May 2010... (Continue reading)

SLO police seeking another counterfeiter

In what appears to be part of a trend, a woman tried to spend a counterfeit $50 bill at a San Luis Obispo beauty store on Friday. The woman did not succeed in making the purchase, but she did managed... (Continue reading)

SLO burglar caught on pawn shop cam

A Costa Mesa man tried to pawn several pieces of unique jewelry that disappeared in a San Luis Obispo home burglary earlier this month, according to SLOPD. San Luis Obispo police officers did not catch the man, but he has... (Continue reading)

Victim in Templeton crash identified as Shandon man

The California Highway Patrol has identified a 21-year-old Shandon man as the person who was found dead in an overturned truck at the bottom of a ravine near Templeton on Monday. Shortly before noon, a driver spotted Wacey Stockdale’s 1998... (Continue reading)

California opposes sanctuary cities, Berkeley poll suggests

Californians are overwhelmingly opposed to sanctuary city immigration policies, according to a poll commissioned by UC Berkeley Institute for Governmental Studies (IGS). As a caveat, the director of IGS notes 99.5 percent of participants in the poll were citizens, and... (Continue reading)

Study warns of mass beach erosion in Southern California

A study published in a United States geophysics journal warns 31 to 67 percent of Southern California beaches could disappear by the year 2100 as a result of climate change. The study uses a newly-developed computer model called Coastal Storm... (Continue reading)

Person killed in pickup crash in Templeton

One person died in a single-vehicle crash in Templeton Monday afternoon at the intersection of Santa Rita and Indian Camp roads, according to the CHP. Shortly before noon, the driver of a Ford F-150 pickup truck apparently drove down a... (Continue reading)

High lead poisoning rates found in California communities

Though not typically associated with California communities, childhood lead poisoning is prevalent in several areas of the state, particularly Fresno County. At least 29 California communities have childhood lead poisoning rate that are at least as high as in Flint,... (Continue reading)