Daily Briefs


FDA partially overturns ban on gays donating blood

The Food and Drug Administration is doing away with a 32-year-old policy of prohibiting men who have ever had sex with another from donating blood. On Monday, the FDA announced a new policy that allows gay and bisexual men to... (Continue reading)

Man in distress fires shots in Atascadero

An Atascadero man in emotional distress fired shots when police arrived at his home on Sunday. Officers arrested him after an approximately two and a half hour standoff. [KSBY] Early Sunday morning, Atascadero police responded to the man’s apartment on... (Continue reading)

Family of five dies in Bakersfield plane crash

Five members of a Northern California family died Saturday when their small plane crashed in an almond orchard near Bakersfield. Both parents, two daughters and a son died in the crash. [Mercury News] The family was flying from San Jose... (Continue reading)

AG offers water school in place of fines

In the spirit of traffic school, Arroyo Grande gave its first water school class that allows residents to waive a $50 water waster fine. [Tribune] In May, the Arroyo Grande City Council agreed to fine customers who fail to meet... (Continue reading)

Animal abuser released to immigration agents

A man who abused his girlfriend’s puppy so severely it had to be euthanized was released Friday from the Santa Barbara County Jail into the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE). On May 14, 2014, Santa... (Continue reading)

85,000 gallon raw sewage spill at Camp San Luis

An approximately 85,000 gallon raw sewage spill at the California Men’s Colony on Dec. 18 was the result of a blocked sewer line. Shortly before 7 a.m., a clog of plastic and grit blocked the sewer line. Sewage then spilled... (Continue reading)

Drugged wrestling coach choked driver, prosecutors allege

A youth wrestling coach under the influence of prescription pills choked a teen driver and caused a rollover crash in Nipomo that has left a 10-year-old boy hospitalized for the last two months, San Luis Obispo County prosecutors allege. [Tribune]... (Continue reading)

Man who stabbed girlfriend gets three-decade sentence

A man who stabbed his pregnant girlfriend at a home in Cambria has received a prison sentence of 31 years and eight months. Brian Michael Rodriguez, 26, stabbed his pregnant girlfriend multiple times in July 2014 while the couple was... (Continue reading)

Report a SLO arsonist, win $1,000

With financial backing from Crime Stoppers, the San Luis Obispo Police Department is offering a reward of up to $1,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of a serial arsonist or arsonists. San Luis Obispo firefighters and... (Continue reading)

Former neighbor accused of supporting San Bernardino terrorists

A longtime friend of Syed Rizwan Farook, the male shooter in the San Bernardino terrorist attack, was charged Thursday with conspiring with Farook in 2011 and 2012 to commit crimes of terrorism. Enrique Marquez Jr. was also charged with the... (Continue reading)