Uncovered SLO


Santa Barbara County seeking community discounts for their employees

By KAREN VELIE After asking business owners to offer discounts to Santa Barbara County’s 4,600 employees, county staffers apologized for their “ill-conceived, ill-judged and poorly timed” request. In early January, Elizabeth Muro, the county’s health wellness partner, sent out a... (Continue reading)

SLO County doctor accused of negligence in prescribing narcotics

By KAREN VELIE State prosecutors filed an accusation against Russ Levitan M.D., an anesthesiologist with offices in San Luis Obispo, Atascadero and Santa Maria, for negligence in his prescribing of narcotics, according to an accusation from the Attorney General of... (Continue reading)

Can Paavo Ogren get San Simeon out of hot water?

By KAREN VELIE Under investigation for sole-sourcing large contracting jobs, conflicts of interest and applying for grants they were not qualified for, San Simeon Community Services District staffers selected Paavo Ogren to respond to the investigator. However, Ogren used to... (Continue reading)

SLO Mayor Heidi Harmon accused of stomping on freedom of speech

By KAREN VELIE Under fire for blocking just about anybody who disagrees with her, San Luis Obispo Mayor Heidi Harmon took her Instagram page down, put it back up with everyone unblocked, and is now taking it down again. After... (Continue reading)

SLO doctor on probation following accusations of gross negligence

By KAREN VELIE A San Luis Obispo based physician who was accused of gross negligence has been placed on five years probation by the Medical Board of California. In 2019, the California Attorney General’s Office accused Laleh Shaban M.D. of... (Continue reading)

State appeals ruling disqualifying the SLO County District Attorney’s Office

By KAREN VELIE The California Attorney General’s Office on Friday appealed a recent court ruling that disqualified the entire San Luis Obispo District Attorney’s Office from prosecuting local Black Lives Matter organizer Tiana Arrata and six others defendants involved in... (Continue reading)

SLO County Sheriff’s deputy sideswiped a parked car before crash

By KAREN VELIE A San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s deputy sideswiped a parked car before crashing into a tree in Grover Beach on Tuesday. The deputy was driving on Oak Park Boulevard towards Capistrano Court when he sideswiped a parked... (Continue reading)

Orcutt’s Old Town Market could still become a pot shop

By KAREN VELIE The Fidel brothers bought Orcutt’s iconic Old Town Market from marijuana mogul Helios Dayspring in October with plans to continue selling groceries while also providing a food court. Plans that delighted locals concerned with the closure of... (Continue reading)

A look back at the top stories of 2020 in SLO County

By CCN STAFF It is without doubt, the pandemic was the top story of 2020, locally, nationally and globally. The first case in San Luis Obispo County was confirmed on March 13, and quickly the numbers exploded. A week later,... (Continue reading)

SLO County found nothing wrong, now forced to investigate

By KAREN VELIE San Luis Obispo County spent years dismissing allegations the San Simeon Community Services District violated competitive bidding rules related to government grants. Now, the state of California has ordered the county to investigate because it serves as... (Continue reading)