Daniel Blackburn
Daniel Blackburn is editor of KCCN.tv
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Water crisis dividing friends, neighbors
By DANIEL BLACKBURN Ken Currell gazed forlornly at vegetation surrounding the five-acre ranch he and his wife, Lynn, operate on the southeastern edge of Paso Robles, and responded to a visitor’s comments about the property’s beauty: “It was,” he said. Currell’s well, which had been delivering fresh water for decades, went dry in June. In […]... (Continue Reading)
Groundwater ordinance bubbling in controversy
By DANIEL BLACKBURN County supervisors will take their first look Tuesday at a wide range of options for a controversial emergency ordinance aimed at curtailing demand on the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin. (See full staff report here.) “The discussion will be solely to consider options for an ordinance to regulate demand,” wrote County Administrative Officer […]... (Continue Reading)
Video fame, misfortune for burglary suspect
By DANIEL BLACKBURN When Joseph Oliver Godfrey stopped by Paso Robles’ most popular delicatessen Tuesday, he got an unexpectedly cold reception — handcuffs and a brisk walk to the back seat of Officer Jeremy Petlachi’s police car. (See video of Godfrey’s questioning and arrest here.) Godfrey was booked into county jail on charges of vehicular […]... (Continue Reading)
Water bankers purchase Paso Robles’ Hardham Ranch
By DANIEL BLACKBURN One of the nation’s most controversial and wealthiest farm operators has quietly acquired a sprawling 742-acre parcel of prime ranch and agricultural property adjacent to the southeast edge of the Paso Robles city limits — causing some locals to question the objective. Beverly Hills billionaires Stewart and Lynda Resnick, owners of agribusiness […]... (Continue Reading)
Oceano does background checks on activists
UPDATE: An attorney from the law firm of Hall, Hieatt & Connely explains why his firm ran a check through Westlaw’s PeopleMap at the bottom of this story. By KAREN VELIE and DANIEL BLACKBURN Oceano Community Services District’s former manager Tom Gealsen ordered background checks on several people who questioned his management of the district. […]... (Continue Reading)
Tax filings show CAPSLO does not report sales of donated goods
By DANIEL BLACKBURN, KAREN VELIE and JOSH FRIEDMAN They’re small items: razors, socks, sometimes tampons. Community Action Partners of San Luis Obispo (CAPSLO) sells those goods, donated by local and national businesses, to the homeless people it serves, current and former employees say. But CAPSLO hasn’t accounted for those sales, either internally, or on its […]... (Continue Reading)
Jilted lover arrested for Paso Robles man’s murder
By DANIEL BLACKBURN An angry, spurned woman may be tied to the murder of a Paso Robles man earlier this year. Paso Robles Police have named five people believed to have been involved in robbing and assaulting Victor Hugo Sanchez, who later was shot to death as he stood in the driveway of his apartment […]... (Continue Reading)
San Luis Obispo’s homeless barred from services
By JOSH FRIEDMAN, KAREN VELIE and DANIEL BLACKBURN Scores of homeless, barred from Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo’s homeless services, spend their days begging for food, looking for shelter and avoiding city police who target them. CAPSLO receives more than $60 million in government funding and support each year to provide services to […]... (Continue Reading)
Accused killer changes plea, won’t testify
BULLETIN: A key witness in the trial of alleged murderers Jacob York and his mother, Rhonda Wisto, surprised prosecutors and a courtroom full of spectators Monday morning by reneging on an earlier promise to testify. Cody Lane Miller invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination as he sat on the witness stand shackled and dressed […]... (Continue Reading)
Homeless director accused of pocketing donations
KEEPING THEM HOMELESS By KAREN VELIE, JOSH FRIEDMAN and DANIEL BLACKBURN (Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series about San Luis Obispo County Homeless Services and the nonprofits managing the program.) Homeless Services Coordinator Dee Torres routinely took gift cards intended for the needy and homeless for her own use, a number of […]... (Continue Reading)
