Recent Articles

These are the most recent articles on CalCoastNews.com

Orcutt boy found to have explosives at home, school threat thwarted

Written on 27 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | No comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN Investigators seized two explosive devices that a boy had in his Orcutt area home, thwarting a potential threat to a school, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. The investigation began on Aug. 18, when deputies... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: explosives    Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office    school threat

Man dies after wrong-way DUI driver crashes on Cuesta Grade

Written on 27 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | No comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN A Grover Beach man was killed in a five-vehicle crash allegedly caused by a wrong-way driver on the Cuesta Grade on Wednesday night.  A caller reported the crash shortly after 11 p.m. on southbound Highway 101 by... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: California Highway Patrol (CHP)    car crash    Cuesta Grade    DUI    fatal collisions    Highway 101    wrong-way driver

Socialism? Let’s not

Written on 27 Aug, 2026 in Featured, Opinion | 2 comments


OPINION by STACY KORSGADEN Three months ago, I was traveling the state running for California Insurance Commissioner. I finished a near third out of eleven candidates and first among Republicans. I lost the primary, but I will never stop caring... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: Insurance    Stacy Korsgaden

Former California city councilmen sentenced to federal prison for bribery

Written on 26 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 8 comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN Two former city councilmen in Southern California each received sentences of 18 months in federal prison for committing corrupt acts while they were elected officials. Ricardo Pacheco, 63, of Baldwin Park, and Jacob Galvan, 39, of Compton,... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: bribe    bribery    California    Cannabis    Federal Court

San Luis Obispo police holding DUI checkpoint Friday night

Written on 26 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | No comments


By KAREN VELIE San Luis Obispo police plan to conduct a DUI checkpoint in the city limits on Friday evening from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at an undisclosed location. The department selects the location based on a history of... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: DUI Checkpoint    San Luis Obispo

Under pressure, Templeton advisory group chair resigns

Written on 26 Aug, 2026 in Featured, Uncovered SLO | One comment


By KAREN VELIE Under pressure from every other member of the board, Templeton Area Advisory Group Chair David Leader resigned on Tuesday. “I formally and publicly resigned last night,” Leader emailed the advisory group on Wednesday. “I did so for... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: David Leader    Murray Powell    Templeton

Grover Beach City Council member resigns, appointment planned

Written on 26 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | One comment


BY KAREN VELIE Grover Beach City Councilwoman Kathy McCorry-Driscoll resigned her seat earlier this month because of a change in residency. The City Council voted unanimously on Monday to fill the vacancy through an appointment instead of a special election.... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: appointment    Grover Beach City Council

Driver hits parked car in Atascadero causing injuries, road closure

Written on 26 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | No comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN A driver hit a parked car in Atascadero Wednesday morning injuring the driver and resulting in a partial closure of El Camino Real. The collision occurred at 8115 El Camino Real in front of Country Touch Cafe. ... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: Atascadero    Atascadero Police Department    car crash

Man plotted to kill SLO County district attorney, sentenced to prison

Written on 25 Aug, 2026 in Featured, Uncovered SLO | 8 comments


By KAREN VELIE The man accused of plotting to kill San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow, his wife and two children was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison on Tuesday afternoon in the U.S. District Court for... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: David Platek    District Attorney Dan Dow    San Luis Obispo County    sentencing    Templeton

Cambria teen killed in Highway 1 crash identified

Written on 25 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 3 comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN A 15-year-old Cambria boy killed in a crash on Highway 1 near Harmony earlier this month has been identified as Josue Villanueva Sandoval. Shortly after 11 p.m. on Aug. 14, an 18-year-old Cambria man was driving a... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: Cambria    fatal collisions    fatality    Highway 1

Grover Beach man sentenced to life for abusing three girls, one woman

Written on 25 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 6 comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN A San Luis Obispo County judge on Tuesday sentenced a 74-year-old man to 73 years to life in prison for sexually abusing four females, three of whom were children. During a trial earlier this year, jurors heard... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: child molester    San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office    San Luis Obispo Superior Court    sentencing    sexual abuse

Driver crashes into Ralphs grocery store in San Luis Obispo

Written on 24 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 5 comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN A driver crashed a Buick sedan into a wall of the Ralphs grocery store in San Luis Obispo Monday morning, and was then transported to a local hospital. Shortly after 11 a.m. , a caller reported the... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: crash    San Luis Obispo    San Luis Obispo Police Department

Manipulation, hype and floating offshore windmills

Written on 24 Aug, 2026 in Featured, Opinion | 10 comments


OPINION by MANDY DAVIS Sad to say, we are living in a time of incessant manipulation, subterfuge and downright hype at the hands of our politicians and their favorite corporate donors and glad-hand buddies. Here, in the land of “energy... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: Central Coast    Mandy Davis    Offshore wind

Arroyo Grande Police Department plans to integrate artificial intelligence

Written on 24 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 6 comments


By KAREN VELIE The Arroyo Grande City Council is scheduled to review the police department’s plan to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into daily operations at its meeting on Tuesday. Police departments throughout the world are using AI to review surveillance... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: Arroyo Grande Police Department    rtificial intelligence

CHP helicopter airlifts two climbers from cliff by Big Sur

Written on 24 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | One comment


  By JOSH FRIEDMAN A CHP helicopter airlifted two climbers off a cliff just north of Big Sur on Saturday evening. Shortly before 6:30 p.m., Big Sur fire personnel requested the Paso Robles CHP Air Unit to assist with a... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: Big Sur    California Highway Patrol (CHP)    Helicopter Rescues    rescue

Firefighters extinguish blaze at rural Atascadero home

Written on 24 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | No comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN Firefighters extinguished a small fire at a home south of Atascadero on Sunday night. Shortly after 10: 30 p.m., crews responded to a structure fire on Walnut Avenue near El Camino Real. Firefighters quickly extinguished a small... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: Atascadero    Cal Fire    house fire

San Luis Obispo County deals on dining, lodging, happy hours

Written on 23 Aug, 2026 in Featured, Sales and deals | No comments


Find great local sales and deals on dining, happy hours, lodging, golf and more while supporting San Luis Obispo County businesses and the local economy. Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort in Avila Beach Sycamore loves locals Calling all residents from: Kern... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: sales and deals    San Luis Obispo County

Templeton advisory group members support felon, mock victims

Written on 23 Aug, 2026 in Featured, Uncovered SLO | 12 comments


By KAREN VELIE All but one Templeton Area Advisory Group board member voiced support for David Leader, chair of the board and recently convicted felon. The board members mocked Leader’s victims during a contentious meeting on Thursday. A day earlier,... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: Convicted felon    David Leader    Templeton Area Advisory Group

Gas prices increase in San Luis Obispo County, find lowest costs

Written on 23 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 2 comments


By KAREN VELIE Amid continued instability in the Strait of Hormuz, the average price for a gallon of gas in San Luis Obispo County increased three cents last week to $5.86, according to AAA. At $5.66, the average price for... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: gas prices    San Luis Obispo County

Driver suffers major injuries in Highway 101 crash in rural Arroyo Grande

Written on 22 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | No comments


By KAREN VELIE A single vehicle crash on Highway 101 in rural Arroyo Grande left one person suffering from major injuries on Saturday afternoon, according to the California Highway Patrol. Shortly after 4 p.m., a caller driving southbound on Highway... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: Arroyo Grande    crash

Fire burns hundreds of acres along Highway 166

Written on 22 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 2 comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN A fire that started Saturday morning is burning along Highway 166 south of the Carrizo Plain. The blaze, dubbed the Carrizo Fire, has burned 268 acres, according to Cal Fire. Shortly after 11 a.m., a caller reported... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: brush fire    Cal Fire    Highway 166    San Luis Obispo County    Santa Barbara County Fire Department

Company can pump oil off Santa Barbara coast, judge rules

Written on 22 Aug, 2026 in Featured, Uncovered SLO | 10 comments


By KAREN VELIE A federal judge ruled this week that Sable Offshore can continue extracting oil off the coast of Santa Barbara, and pumping it through a pipeline, under a Trump administration emergency order. The ruling removed state oversight, which... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: offshore oil    Sable Offshore    Santa Barbara    Trump administration

Officers seek witnesses to fatal crash near Harmony

Written on 21 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | No comments


By KAREN VELIE CHP officers are seeking witnesses to a crash on Highway 1 near Harmony on Aug. 14, which killed a 15-year-old Morro Bay boy and injured three other teens. Shortly after 11 p.m., an 18-year-old Cambria man was driving... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: California Highway Patrol (CHP)    fatal crash    Morro Bay

SLO County unemployment rate increases

Written on 21 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 4 comments


By KAREN VELIE For a second month in a row, unemployment rates increased in San Luis Obispo County, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday. The county unemployment rate rose from 4.3% in June to 4.5% in July. During July,... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: San Luis Obispo County    Unemployment

Mobile home fire in San Luis Obispo displaces one person

Written on 20 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | No comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN A fire damaged a mobile home in San Luis Obispo on Thursday, leaving one resident displaced. Shortly before 1:30 p.m., the fire started at a mobile home on South Street. Firefighters arrived at the scene and contained... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: house fire    mobile home    San Luis Obispo    San Luis Obispo Fire Department

Police searching for bicyclist who robbed Central Coast bank

Written on 20 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 5 comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN Authorities are searching for a man who robbed a Bank of America in Montecito on Wednesday, then fled on a bicycle. Shortly before 3 p.m., a masked suspect entered the Bank of America at 1096 Coast Village... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: bank robbery    Montecito    police search    Santa Barbara County

Estate planning for family protection

Written on 20 Aug, 2026 in Discovered, Featured | 4 comments


By  Attorney David Duringer Most estate plans fail. I say that because almost all of my clients (my practice is limited to estate planning) have family protection as their primary, overarching objective, yet very few estate plans are designed comprehensively... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: David Duringer    Family trust

San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara county wineries win awards

Written on 20 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 3 comments


By KAREN VELIE A prestigious group of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara wineries were recently awarded top 10 rankings by USA Today. Contests include best wine tasting rooms, best winery restaurants, best wine clubs and best winery tours. Best... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: San Luis Obispo County    Santa Barbara County    USA Today    Wine

Increase in burglary, theft crimes in Grover Beach

Written on 20 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 4 comments


By KAREN VELIE The Grover Beach Police Department is reporting an increase in both burglary and theft crimes during the first half of 2026, compared to the first half of 2025 In a report to the residents regarding crime rates... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: Burglary    Grover Beach Police Department

Smoking related fire damages duplex in Paso Robles

Written on 19 Aug, 2026 in Daily Briefs, Featured | No comments


By KAREN VELIE A smoking related fire damaged a duplex in Paso Robles on Wednesday afternoon. Shortly before 2 p.m., a caller reported a residential fire burning at a structure at 324 Vine Street. Firefighters arrived to find light smoke... (Continue Reading)

• Tagged with: Fire    Paso Robles