California approves State Farm’s 17% home insurance rate hike
By KAREN VELIE Starting next month, State Farm can raise homeowner and other insurance rates by 17%. A judge ruled Monday that State Farm provided evidence of “extraordinary financial distress” following the Los Angeles-area wildfires. State Farm, the state’s largest insurer, is the first company permitted to raise insurance rates...
Poachers charged with road hunting in rural Paso Robles
By KAREN VELIE As part of a crackdown on poaching, California Fish and Wildlife officers arrested multiple people for shooting at wild animals from vehicles in rural Paso Robles. Several weeks ago, a wildlife officer on patrol pulled over a Honda Civic moving slowly through a rural area with blood...
Did social workers fail to protect 6-year-old Paso Robles boy?
By KAREN VELIE Despite receiving multiple calls reporting the neglect of a young boy, San Luis Obispo County social workers appear to have failed to protect the 6-year-old child who allegedly died after being left in a car while his father went to work on Saturday. Briant Reyes Estrada, a...
Goleta coach arrested for child sex crimes, deputies seeking witnesses
By KAREN VELIE Deputies recently arrested a Goleta man for child sex crimes and are asking the public to help them identify additional survivors. Last month, detectives launched an investigation into lewd images of children and identified the suspect as 42-year-old Shaun Donald Hertlein of Goleta. Detectives also learned that...
Central Coast Planned Parenthood workers vote to strike
By KAREN VELIE Healthcare workers at Planned Parenthood California Central Coast voted to authorize a strike over alleged unfair labor practices and over refusals to address a short-staffing crisis. The workers overwhelmingly approved the strike with a 100% vote following months of failed negotiations. The workers accuse Planned Parenthood’s management...
Helping Arroyo Grande High School students soar
OPINION by ADAM VERDIN I wanted to take a moment to share a very positive and exciting development that I am proud to be part of. The County of San Luis Obispo Department of Airports and the Lucia Mar Unified School District have partnered to launch a new Aviation Career...
Child dies in hot car while dad is at work in Paso Robles
By KAREN VELIE A father is in jail and his child is dead from heat exhaustion after being left in a vehicle while the 27-year-old man went to work at the Paso Robles Inn on Saturday. While the man worked from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., the 6 or 7-year-old...
