Daniel Blackburn
Daniel Blackburn is editor of KCCN.tv
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Coke sued for alleged unfair practices
By DANIEL BLACKBURN Two former employees have launched a legal challenge to policies and practices of one of America’s leading soft drink manufacturers, claiming they were terminated or forced from their jobs unfairly amid a “good old boy” network and philosophy. Arroyo Grande resident Samantha Caldwell, 43, and Mark Snay, 60, of Santa Maria, filed […]... (Continue Reading)
Medical pot delivery bust denounced
By DANIEL BLACKBURN A driver for a patients’ medical marijuana collective was arrested last week in Oceano after his vehicle was stopped by San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s deputies, reportedly for having a cracked windshield. Following a search of his vehicle, Chance Simmons was taken into custody at about 2:30 p.m. Saturday, and booked into […]... (Continue Reading)
School funds may stymie reform
Approval by California voters of Proposition 30, the school finance measure, may have thrown a monkey-wrench into public education reform, some advocates of change are asserting. But teachers’ union representatives disagree. (San Jose Mercury News) The $6 billion injection may be a precursor to a battle between outspoken advocates of major education reform, and the […]... (Continue Reading)
SLO County hit with $6 billion property rights lawsuit
By DANIEL BLACKBURN Excelaron, the company seeking to drill as many as 12 oil wells in the Huasna Valley near Arroyo Grande, filed a more than $6 billion lawsuit against San Luis Obispo County. In the lawsuit filed Monday, attorney Sophia Treder said the county effected a regulatory taking of Excelaron’s property and failed to […]... (Continue Reading)
Officer and suspect shot in Paso Robles
Article and photos by DANIEL BLACKBURN A high-speed, early-morning car chase in Paso Robles ended Saturday in a fusillade of bullets, leaving a California Highway Patrol officer and a suspected parolee hospitalized with gunshot wounds. At about 5:50 a.m., a CHP officer attempted to pull over a vehicle during a routine traffic stop on Highway […]... (Continue Reading)
Mayoral candidate facing criminal charges
By DANIEL BLACKBURN and KAREN VELIE A longtime Paso Robles business owner making a write-in bid for mayor has an extensive criminal history, was arrested five times in September alone, and faces felony charges for making terrorist threats while brandishing a firearm against a neighbor. Jeffrey Rougeot’s rap sheet includes at least 10 misdemeanors and […]... (Continue Reading)
Steve Kniffen is Cambria’s non-candidate
By DANIEL BLACKBURN Cambrian Steve Kniffen envisions a grand political experiment which he believes could productively alter the way Americans elect their leaders. And he’s shifting his philosophy into action by throwing his name into the hopper as a write-in candidate for two local offices — and he will actively campaign for neither. Nevertheless, Kniffen […]... (Continue Reading)
Follow the rules, forfeit your home
By DANIEL BLACKBURN Campbell (Cam) Carroll came very close to losing his home to foreclosure earlier this month to people he’d never heard of, the forced sale auction halted only by a last-minute restraining order issued by a San Luis Obispo County Superior Court judge. Campbell thought he’d take advantage of a mortgage modification offer […]... (Continue Reading)
Gary Lee, king of Paso Robles’ porn world
By DANIEL BLACKBURN PART ONE: Naughty girls next door Gary Lee knows there are a lot of wild women in north San Luis Obispo County, and he’s got the pictures to prove it. Thousands of photographs. High-definition video. Many of the women are nude. And most are doing a lot more than just posing. Lee […]... (Continue Reading)
Jerry Jones seeks Paso Robles council seat
By DANIEL BLACKBURN With an eye on greater transparency in City Hall, longtime resident Jerry Jones filed Friday as a write-in candidate for Paso Robles city council. He joins two other challengers, Jim Reed and Steve Martin, in the quest for a pair of council seats occupied by incumbents Fred Strong and Nick Gilman, both […]... (Continue Reading)
