Daniel Blackburn
Daniel Blackburn is editor of KCCN.tv
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AG council considers speech restraint
By DANIEL BLACKBURN A verbal joust over the limits of individual free speech looms Tuesday when the Arroyo Grande City Council meets at 6 p.m. A recent request by one council member to place on a future agenda a discussion about “council communications” suddenly has morphed into a resolution for adoption prepared by City Manager […]... (Continue Reading)
Media collusion cultivates corruption
OPINION by DANIEL BLACKBURN Let’s not parse words: the local daily newspaper is the leading cause of widespread governmental corruption so widely associated with San Luis Obispo County. This truism was driven home Sunday morning when The Tribune’s editorial board cheerily backed Adam Hill for another District 3 supervisor’s term, ignoring an ever-growing accumulation of […]... (Continue Reading)
The supervisor, his toadies, and the Internet
OPINION by DANIEL BLACKBURN Karen Velie’s adult daughter Autumn died two years ago after suffering a seizure in her bathtub. In the aftermath and in the midst of family grief, a rumor was floated that Karen, co-founder of CalCoastNews, was being sought by investigators as a suspect in her daughter’s death. The rumor was widely […]... (Continue Reading)
Marketing phone poll targets Arnold campaign
By DANIEL BLACKBURN An expensive and anonymous telephone poll aimed at voters in San Luis Obispo County’s District 5 attempts to discredit incumbent Supervisor Debbie Arnold with a series of carefully-crafted questions. Arnold’s opponent, Eric Michielssen, told radio station KPRL that he had no knowledge of sponsors of the so-called “push poll.” Arnold had no […]... (Continue Reading)
Who win$ if state controls Paso Robles water basin?
Editor’s Note: This is first in a two-part series examining economic rewards tied to North County water. Cindy Steinbeck’s letter is at the bottom of this article. By DANIEL BLACKBURN A quiet but frenetic land rush in the North County fueled by rich and generous investors suggests that underground water, not wine, may be the […]... (Continue Reading)
How would state seize Paso Robles water basin?
By DANIEL BLACKBURN What would it mean if the state should ever assume responsibility for and control over the Paso Robles water basin? State officials have authority of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 (SGMA) to act in cases of over-drafting of any of California’s numerous water basins. With two of this county’s supervisors […]... (Continue Reading)
Gibson attempts to turn Paso basin over to the state
Editor’s Note: A video of San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Bruce Gibson asking to give the state control of the Paso Robles basin follows the article. By DANIEL BLACKBURN One of the most outspoken advocates of a failed North County water district plan, San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Bruce Gibson, said Tuesday he believes control […]... (Continue Reading)
Subterfuge stalked Paso Robles water district plan
OPINION by DANIEL BLACKBURN Any post-mortem of the failed effort to form a water district in the North County needs to start with Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian and his resounding snub to thousands of the regions’ residents. Achadjian (R-San Luis Obispo) sponsored legislation enabling the million-dollar election, despite clear indications that the district proposal was immensely […]... (Continue Reading)
Big money backing Paso’s water district plan
By DANIEL BLACKBURN A North County electorate widely divided by a proposed water district plan will decide the issue in just two weeks amid a flurry of last-minute campaigning by both sides. The proposal has been a contentious one since it blossomed in 2014. Like many water resource-related matters, it is somewhat complicated and vulnerable […]... (Continue Reading)
Who benefits from a water district?
More than two years ago, CalCoastNews published the first of a three-part series, “Eyes on Your Water,” examining the people, the politics, and the provable prevarications behind the proposed Paso Robles Basin water district. The series, written by Senior Correspondent Daniel Blackburn, reported on the movers and shakers promoting the district plan — some of […]... (Continue Reading)
