Josh Friedman
Writer Josh Friedman may or may not live in San Luis Obispo County.
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SLO approves conservation-punishing water rate hike
By JOSH FRIEDMAN The San Luis Obispo City Council approved sewer rate increases Tuesday night, as well as restructured water rates that will hit hardest those who conserve the most. The council voted 3-1 in favor of both the sewer and water rate increases, with Councilman Dan Carpenter dissenting on each. The 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 […]... (Continue Reading)
SLO considering a pension obligation bond
By JOSH FRIEDMAN The city of San Luis Obispo may turn to debt financing to address its growing pension liabilities. During a two-year budgeting meeting Monday, interim finance director Wayne Padilla said city management is considering recommending that the council approve the issuance of a pension obligation bond. If approved, the pension obligation bond would […]... (Continue Reading)
SLO pension liabilities skyrocketing
By JOSH FRIEDMAN In a span of ten years, the city of San Luis Obispo has gone from having no pension debt to becoming more than $100 million in the red in its retirement benefit plans. Between fiscal years 2001-2002 and 2010-2011, San Luis Obispo’s annual pension costs rose from $0 to approximately $8 million. […]... (Continue Reading)
Cal Poly postseason run ends in Los Angeles
By JOSH FRIEDMAN The Cal Poly baseball squad notched its first 40-win season and NCAA Tournament victory at the Divison 1 level in 2013, but the Mustangs failed to break a postseason slide that began Saturday night and continued Sunday. After squandering a four-run lead in a regional-swinging matchup against UCLA Saturday, Cal Poly dropped […]... (Continue Reading)
Cal Poly loses fly ball, lead and game to UCLA
By JOSH FRIEDMAN The lights shined brightly upon Cal Poly Saturday night at Jackie Robinson Stadium. Through the first five innings, the Mustangs handled all the pressure that came with a regional matchup against UCLA at the Bruins’ ballpark. Cal Poly held a 4-0 lead, and Mustang starter Matt Imhof had not even allowed a […]... (Continue Reading)
Mustangs take game two and the series against Northridge
By JOSH FRIEDMAN The wind blew throughout Saturday’s Big West Conference contest at Bagget Stadium, with Cal State Northridge bats generating much of the breeze. Cal Poly pitchers followed a 15-strikeout performance Friday night with a 17-strikeout game Saturday afternoon to lead the Mustangs to a 6-2 series clinching victory over Cal State Northridge, boosting […]... (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)
SLO councilman asks candidate to resign from planning post
By JOSH FRIEDMAN A San Luis Obispo city councilman is asking a council candidate to resign from her seat on a land use planning task force because of a concern that her campaign is interfering with matters of city policy. At a Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) task force meeting Tuesday, Councilman Dan Carpenter […]... (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)
APCD skews report on Nipomo Mesa air quality
By JOSH FRIEDMAN A member of the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District Board discovered last week that district staff used incomplete data sets to compile a report which inaccurately portrays escalating pollution levels on the Nipomo Mesa. Prior to the March 27 presentation of the APCD report on county air quality trends […]... (Continue Reading)
