Arroyo Grande bank employee rips off customer accounts

An Arroyo Grande woman was arrested this morning for allegedly stealing nearly 100,000 from two elderly customer’s bank accounts and another $10,000 from the U.S Bank’s vault. FBI special agents took Brenda Bautista Hurtado, 25, into custody without incident after... (Continue reading)

Paso Robles Wine festival, event photos

Wine lovers gathered for the 29th annual Paso Robles Wine Festival to submerge themselves in the wines, music and expression of this one of a kind wine event on Saturday. The Paso Robles alliance celebrated wine country by bringing nearly... (Continue reading)

Weather forecast for Monday May 23

Batten down the hatches. A 1,031-millibar Eastern Pacific High will move gradually southeastward towards the Southern California while a 1,001-millibar thermal low develops over the desert southwest. This condition will produce moderate gale- to fresh gale-force (32 mph to 46 mph)... (Continue reading)

SLO Chamber of Commerce mixer showcase, event photos

The San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce’s annual mixer showcase featured more than 150 booths from area businesses. Attendees packed the Alex Madonna Expo Center to enjoy giveaways, samples, prices and refreshments on May 19. Find local events as at... (Continue reading)

Movie Review: Pirates of the Caribbean 4

BY MIRANDA FORESMAN Johnny Depp may never play anyone else as well as he does Jack Sparrow. Captain Jack Sparrow, to be precise. In Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, he does what only Depp can do: make a... (Continue reading)

Kristin Smart still missing 15 years later

Cal Poly officials seek to confront the latest wave of problems arising from alcohol abuse and sexual assaults as Wednesday marks the 15th anniversary of the greatest unsolved mystery on campus: Whatever happened to Kristin Smart? Smart, a native of... (Continue reading)

SLO County man considered for medical parole

A San Luis Obispo County man serving a 157 years-to-life sentence for kidnapping, beating and raping a woman he ran down as she left a San Diego Club is being considered for an early medical release. [MercuryNews] A stabbing behind... (Continue reading)

Blogger wins free speech battle, Cal Poly dean loses

The former Cal Poly College of Engineering dean who filed a defamation lawsuit against numerous defendants and the university loses round one and is ordered to pay a defending San Luis Obispo blogger nearly $17,000 on the grounds of freedom... (Continue reading)

Chihuahua killer facing life sentence

A Gilroy man is facing life in prison for allegedly killing his wife’s 6-week-old Chihuahua if he is convicted under California’s “three strikes” law. [MercuryNews] Police arrested Bud Wally Ruiz, 53, and formally charged him on Wednesday with two felony... (Continue reading)

Is there a way to predict earthquakes?

A team of NASA and Russian space and physical scientists, in the days before the March 11 Tohoku earthquake in Japan, said the atmosphere directly above the epicenter rapidly heated up possibly providing a way to predict earthquakes in the... (Continue reading)