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Did illegal ticket quotas hasten Gesell’s exit?

By KAREN VELIE and DANIEL BLACKBURN San Luis Obispo Police Chief Steve Gesell’s command staff initiated an illegal ticket quota scheme with pizza as a reward, emails obtained by CalCoastNews show, an activity that may have contributed to Gesell’s being... (Continue reading)

Is Google causing car crashes in California?

Four of the 48 cars currently driving themselves around California have been in accidents since September. [NBC News] Two of the accidents occurred while the cars were driving themselves, and two took place while a person was in control of... (Continue reading)

SLO police to stake out bicyclists who break rules of the road

San Luis Obipso police will seek out and ticket bicyclists who violate traffic laws, as part of a traffic enforcement operation taking place Monday. Police have mapped out where bicycle crashes and collisions involving pedestrians have have frequently occurred over... (Continue reading)

Newspaper publishers buying up California regions

The Tribune Publishing Company, which owns the Los Angeles Times announced last week that it is purchasing U-T San Diego, a move that is expected to consolidate the news business in Southern California. [LA Times] As newspapers have suffered losses... (Continue reading)

Between a rock and a hard place

OPINION By ROBERT WINSLOW, PE I am astounded by the number of intelligent, educated people who have abandoned all sense of rationality when it comes to the Las Pilitas Quarry project. I challenge anyone with a background in engineering or... (Continue reading)

Munitions firing starts 3 fires near Camp San Luis Obispo

Cal Fire crews extinguished three separate vegetation fires Saturday night at Camp San Luis Obispo suspected to be caused by munitions firing. Shortly after 11 p.m., the first fire broke out, according to Cal Fire. Within the next three hours,... (Continue reading)

Annual Amgen tour returns to Pismo Beach and Avila Beach

The annual Amgen Tour of California bike races have kicked off in Northern California and will arrive in San Luis Obispo County on May 13. The day before, on May 12, celebrate the return of the Amgen tour with the... (Continue reading)

Santa Maria junior high students ill from smoking spice

A handful of students from El Camino Junior High School in Santa Maria became ill after smoking spice on Friday morning. The mother of one of the five students who smoked spice before school, found her son unresponsive at their... (Continue reading)

Man who shot and killed his father takes a plea deal

While the jury deliberated, a Santa Maria man on trial for shooting his parents after learning his father had molested his daughters agreed to serve more than 24 years in prison in a plea deal signed Thursday evening. During a... (Continue reading)

Elderly woman dies after Atascadero house fire

An 80-year-old woman died in the hospital Friday following an early morning house fire in Atascadero. Firefighters responded to the fire at 4510 Rosita Avenue around 4:34 a.m. They found the Shirley Martin, a former Templeton High School teacher, unconscious... (Continue reading)