DEBBIE PETERSON
Adam Hill’s threats play out in public and in private
OPINION by DEBBIE PETERSON I ran for the San Luis Obispo County District 3 supervisor seat because I was deeply troubled by the way Supervisor Adam Hill operates. After several of his attacks on constituents who didn’t share his views hit the headlines, I met with him and told him that I wouldn’t support attacks […]... (Continue Reading)
Was the Diablo desal an election scam?
OPINION by DEBBIE PETERSON About the time that 3rd District Supervisor Adam Hill indicated he would be running for a third term, he and PG&E staff from the Diablo nuclear power plant collaborated over lunch at his home to sell desalinated water to South County. On August 28, 2015, under threat of an emergency, the […]... (Continue Reading)
Debbie Peterson’s priorities for District 3
OPINION by DEBBIE PETERSON San Luis Obispo County faces complex challenges. It will take all of us to make good decisions on development, water, affordable housing, homelessness, oil trains, oil company expansion in Price Canyon, repair to the Avila pier, roads, traffic and parking, a coastal marine sanctuary, head of household jobs, and our long-term […]... (Continue Reading)
Discourse, diversity and democracy
OPINION By DEBBIE PETERSON As the target of criticism over my role on the steering committee of the SLO County chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (a position also held by the fearless publisher of CalCoast News, Karen Velie), I would like to set the record straight. Recently, the SLO League of Women Voters […]... (Continue Reading)
Release the sanitation district audit without interference
OPINION by DEBBIE PETERSON When, as the mayor of Grover Beach in 2012, I joined the board of the South San Luis Obispo Sanitation District, I followed up on claims of malfeasance of several ratepayers by reviewing and analyzing district accounts and investigations and reporting my findings in a red flags report to the board. […]... (Continue Reading)
Don’t sacrifice county farmers in water crisis
OPINION By DEBBIE PETERSON San Luis Obispo County’s billion-dollar agricultural industry – which encompasses everything from strawberries to beef cattle – vies for first place with tourism as the top economic engine of our county. More importantly, it provides our most basic need — second to water – food. It also provides for the livelihood […]... (Continue Reading)
Elected officials need civil discourse
OPINION By DEBBIE PETERSON Disrespect between elected representatives and the public has been a trend statewide. As a planning commissioner, city council member and the first directly-elected female mayor of Grover Beach, and now as a candidate for District 3 supervisor, this has been a major concern to me. As leaders we are held to […]... (Continue Reading)
Lawyers making bank with sanitation district
BY DEBBIE PETTERSON Wednesday night at 6 p.m. in the Arroyo Grande City Hall, 38,000 users of the South San Luis Obispo County Sanitation District serving Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach and Oceano may finally get some answers about the 2010 spill and subsequent $1,100,000 fine. While I was a member of the district board, there […]... (Continue Reading)
Restore public trust, audit the sanitation district
OPINION By DEBBIE PETERSON San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury said, “Board and district exposed to financial, legal, and public trust issues.” Reason enough for an operations audit. In 2010, a major sewage spill in Oceano originated at the Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Oceano and Pismo Beach sewer plant, the South San Luis Obispo County […]... (Continue Reading)
