Gifford Fire in San Luis Obispo County grows to 5,000 acres
By KAREN VELIE The Gifford Fire burning in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties grew to 5,000 acres by Friday evening, with no containment. The fire is burning primarily in the Los Padres National Forest. Shortly after 2 p.m. on Friday, a caller reported four small fires burning along...
Arroyo Grande man charged with attempted murder
By KAREN VELIE An Arroyo Grande man is charged with attempted murder after he allegedly threatened to kill several people outside a hotel on Friday morning. Shortly after 6 a.m., an employee of the hotel on El Camino Real in Arroyo Grande reported a man armed with a knife had...
Good Samaritans rescue man drowning in pool in San Luis Obispo
By KAREN VELIE Three men rescued a man drowning in San Luis Obispo late Thursday afternoon. A man was swimming in the pool at Laguna Terrace Mobile Home Park on Pefumo Canyon Road with two of his children when he went under water. The man then sunk to the bottom...
Fire burning in SLO and Santa Barbara counties scorches over 800 acres
By KAREN VELIE The fast moving Gifford Fire burning in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties grew to 818 acres in four hours on Friday, with no containment. Shortly after 2 p.m. on Friday, a caller reported four small fires burning along Highway 166 about 30 miles northeast of...
Latest in Paso Robles Groundwater Basin war: New tax rejected
By KAREN VELIE As part of a more than decade-long war over control of the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin, the newly formed joint powers authority’s plan to tax landowners over the basin failed on Friday. During Friday’s meeting that included the ability for the public to attend and comment through...
Man convicted of transporting teen from Nipomo to Mexico for illicit sexual activity
By KAREN VELIE A predator accused of taking an Arizona teen from her grandmother’s home in Nipomo to Mexico for illicit sexual activity has been found guilty on all federal charges he faced at the conclusion of a four-day trial, the FBI announced today. Daniel Navarro, 41, of Victorville, was...
The battle continues between Kristin Smart’s family and Cal Poly
By KAREN VELIE Editors Note: This the second in a four-part series on three civil lawsuits and an appeal related to the investigation, trial and incarceration of Paul Flores. Read part one, “Will Paul Flores return to San Luis Obispo County to testify at trial?” Following a failed attempt at...
