Uncovered SLO


San Luis Obispo cites self for derelict property

Story and photos by DANIEL BLACKBURN Weeds as tall as a human, torn window screens, crumbling chimney bricks and a collapsed fence and arbor made the ramshackle house at 466 Dana Street a prime candidate for a visit from San... (Continue reading)

South County administrator left district uninsured

By KAREN VELIE South County sanitation district administrator John Wallace’s failure to maintain errors and omissions insurance during a 2010 sewage spill could leave him financially responsible for a proposed $1.4 million fine. In late 2009, following reports of environmental... (Continue reading)

Dietrick slams judge’s ruling as judicial misinterpretation

By KAREN VELIE Frustrated by a judge’s ruling that bars San Luis Obispo police from ticketing homeless people sleeping in their vehicles, the city council Tuesday will consider an emergency ordinance seeking a way to continue the practice. City Attorney... (Continue reading)

Gearhart indicted, facing 300 years in federal prison

Update: Under the original story. Onetime Atascadero “Person of the Year” and prominent North County land developer Kelly Gearhart has been indicted by a federal grand jury and faces 16 charges of mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. Investigators... (Continue reading)

Mesa land sale offer on table

By DANIEL BLACKBURN A 17-acre parcel atop the Nipomo Mesa would make an ideal site to augment the region’s future water supply, perhaps with a desalting plant, says a prominent local businessman, but water officials appear lukewarm to the idea.... (Continue reading)

Oceano board squelches public comment

By KAREN VELIE The public comment period during last week’s Oceano Community Services District Board meeting was squelched after the board inaccurately determined rules barring elected officials from speaking about personnel issues also extended to members of the public. Public... (Continue reading)

SLO County battling trustees over Gearhart properties

Following an announcement in early June by the San Luis Obispo County tax collector’s office that several of former North County developer Kelly Gearhart’s tax-defaulted properties were to be sold at auction on July 1, an Ohio court trustee filed... (Continue reading)

Tribe losing permission to climb Morro Rock after news of reburials of unidentified remains

By KAREN VELIE Two sets of human remains, thought to be Native American, have been buried atop Morro Rock by a Salinian Tribal Council member, Salinian tribal members say. Amid news of the reburials of the unidentified bones, discovered near... (Continue reading)

Sanitation district smacked with $1.4 million proposed fine

By KAREN VELIE Ratepayers in the communities of  Arroyo Grande, Oceano, and Grover Beach are facing increased utility bills to cover a $1,383,007 proposed fine for a raw sewage spill that occurred because of alleged mismanagement of the South San... (Continue reading)

Paso Robles police safe mode scrapped

By DANIEL BLACKBURN A controversial limited response program initiated by the Paso Robles Police Department called “safe mode” has been discontinued. “The ‘safety and service response level policy’ is no longer in effect,” acting Chief Robert Burton told CalCoastNews in... (Continue reading)