Karen Velie
Karen Velie lives in San Luis Obispo County.
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Adam Hill predisposed to not being deposed
By DANIEL BLACKBURN and KAREN VELIE San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Adam Hill was scheduled to be deposed Friday in a case involving CCN, but the deposition is on hold while Hill mounts a legal battle to stop his requirement to testify under oath. Charles Tenborg filed a lawsuit against CalCoastNews in 2013, claiming libel. […]... (Continue Reading)
Petetit and Belsher’s money woes widen
By KAREN VELIE John Belsher and Ryan Petetit have lost water rights key to their plans to build an assisted living and Alzheimer’s care facility in Templeton. Their failure to fund the purchase of the property could cost the pair hundreds of thousands of dollars. The San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission voted on Jan. […]... (Continue Reading)
Porters threaten Tina Swithin with a lawsuit
By KAREN VELIE The parents of a man facing 23 charges related to the sexual abuse of children took the first step toward legal action against their former daughter-in-law Tina Swithin, following Swithin’s public disclosures about her divorce and visitation battles. On Sept. 7, attorney Dennis Balsamo sent a letter demanding Swithin stop making “slanderous […]... (Continue Reading)
Is SLO County seeking to profit from heroin addicts?
By JOSH FRIEDMAN and KAREN VELIE Amid a growing opioid problem, San Luis Obispo County has announced plans to expand its substance abuse treatment programs. However, critics say the plans are inadequate in that they focus on providing replacement medication rather than full detoxification. The county’s plans to promote drug replacement therapy as opposed to residential […]... (Continue Reading)
Grover Beach mayor fined for concealing campaign donations
By KAREN VELIE California’s political watchdog levied a fine against Grover Beach Mayor John Shoals during a hearing on Aug. 18, because he failed to file five campaign reports as required by the government code during his successful bid for office two years ago. The Fair Political Practices Commission said Shoals’ campaign failed to submit […]... (Continue Reading)
County employees say whistleblower complaints mishandled
By KAREN VELIE For years, San Luis Obispo County employees have lodged complaints about missing medications and conditions at the jail that they say endanger inmates and nurses. More than four years ago, several medical staffers at the county jail began asking County Health Agency Director Jeff Hamm, Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein and Division […]... (Continue Reading)
Bond rating for Los Osos is suspended
By KAREN VELIE The financial bad news for the Los Osos Community Services District continues; earlier this summer the Standard & Poor’s suspended its rating for district bonds. The credit rating service said it could not continue to rate the district’s fiscal integrity because a promised outside audit of the 2014-2015 books was not submitted […]... (Continue Reading)
SLO County’s great cake caper
By KAREN VELIE It turned out to be sort of a half-baked plan. On June 7, Susan Cameron, a nursing supervisor in charge of medical staff at the San Luis Obispo County Jail, brought a cake in for her co-workers to enjoy. “While all the employees were in another room eating cake,” Cameron was allegedly […]... (Continue Reading)
Recycling center closures cost communities millions each year
By KAREN VELIE Throughout San Luis Obispo County, numerous recycling centers have closed leaving some local communities without a place to redeem their beverage deposits. These closures have cost local businesses and residents millions of dollars. California charges a fee for most beverage containers with a mandated minimum refund value of 5 cents to 10 […]... (Continue Reading)
Hill pressures recipients of county funds for donations
By KAREN VELIE In an email San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Adam Hill sent to a group of people affiliated with a local program that receives county monies, Hill ties the county’s financial support to donations to his reelection campaign. Hill notes in his email that $99 donations are “not going to cut it.” Hill […]... (Continue Reading)
