Recent Articles

These are the most recent articles on CalCoastNews.com

Teen arrested after shooting into the sand at Pismo Beach

Written on 2 Aug, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 4 comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN An allegedly intoxicated teen fired a gun into the sand at Pismo Beach on Sunday, according to the city’s police department. Joel Vela, 18, of Hanford was arguing with a woman on the beach at about 11... (Continue Reading)

Secrets to SLO County marijuana mogul’s success, video

Written on 1 Aug, 2021 in Featured, Uncovered SLO | 19 comments


By KAREN VELIE San Luis Obispo County’s marijuana mogul Helios Dayspring, who dreamed of being on the cover of Forbes Magazine as the richest man in California, touts his successes in a short video he created in 2017. Last week,... (Continue Reading)

Teen arrested following shooting in Santa Barbara

Written on 1 Aug, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | One comment


By JOSH FRIEDMAN SWAT team member arrested a 14-year-old boy on Saturday over a shooting that happened a day prior in downtown Santa Barbara. [KSBY] At about 2 p.m. on Friday, 911 callers reported gunshots and a suspect with a... (Continue Reading)

Vehicle exhaust sparks fire along Highway 46 near Paso Robles

Written on 1 Aug, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | No comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN A fire started by exhaust carbon particles burned about 65 acres alongside Highway 46 near Paso Robles Saturday evening, according to Cal Fire. A caller reported the blaze burning at about 5 p.m. by Highway 46 and... (Continue Reading)

A twisted tale of corruption in SLO County

Written on 31 Jul, 2021 in Featured, Uncovered SLO | 28 comments


By KAREN VELIE and JOSH FRIEDMAN Shortly after local officials began crafting recreational marijuana regulations, San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Adam Hill and consultant Cory Black began courting growers who sought the help of a kingmaker. All the growers had... (Continue Reading)

Tree branch spark fire, outage near Paso Robles

Written on 31 Jul, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | No comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN A tree branch or branches fell onto power lines near Paso Robles Friday evening, sparking a fire and causing hundreds of residents to lose power. A caller reported the blaze burning in the 5100 block of Estrella... (Continue Reading)

Former Cal Poly baseball star pitches in Olympics

Written on 30 Jul, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | No comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN Former Cal Poly All-American pitcher Joey Wagman competed in the Olympics Friday, starting for Team Israel against his native United States in an opening round baseball game won by the United States. Wagman pitched a scoreless first... (Continue Reading)

More than $20 million awarded in Grover Beach dog attack case

Written on 30 Jul, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 3 comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN A San Luis Obispo jury on Thursday awarded more than $20 million to the elderly woman injured and the family of a man killed in a 2016 Grover Beach dog attack. On Dec. 12, 2016, the dogs... (Continue Reading)

Gun shots fired at apartment in Santa Maria

Written on 29 Jul, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 3 comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN Santa Maria police officers are searching a gunman who fired shots at an apartment complex Wednesday evening. [KCOY] At about 7:30 p.m., a 9-1-1 caller reported that shots were fired near W. Morrison Avenue and S. Western... (Continue Reading)

SLO County Judge Ginger Garrett suddenly retires

Written on 29 Jul, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 12 comments


By KAREN VELIE San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge Ginger Garrett announced on Monday that she is retiring, and her last day on the bench will be Thursday. Appointed in 2005 by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Garret was reelected... (Continue Reading)

Body found at Lake Nacimiento identified

Written on 29 Jul, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | No comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN The San Luis Obispo County coroner’s unit has confirmed the deceased man found at Lake Nacimiento last month was 29-year-old Jesus Munoz Vargas of Los Banoa, who had previously been reported missing. No foul play is suspected... (Continue Reading)

Marijuana mogul charged with bribing SLO County supervisor

Written on 28 Jul, 2021 in Featured, Uncovered SLO | 61 comments


By KAREN VELIE Prosecutors charged marijuana mogul Helios Dayspring with paying thousands of dollars in bribes to then-San Luis Obispo Supervisor Adam Hill for favorable votes on his cannabis business interests. Prosecutors charged Dayspring, 35, in federal court with one... (Continue Reading)

Gov. Gavin Newsom pulls his kids from camp with no mask enforcement

Written on 28 Jul, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 17 comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN California Gov. Gavin Newsom removed two of his children from a summer basketball camp after photos surfaced showing campers, including one of Newsom’s sons, not wearing masks while indoors. Earlier this month, the state of California released... (Continue Reading)

Investigators search for Kristin Smart’s remains in rural Arroyo Grande

Written on 28 Jul, 2021 in Featured, Uncovered SLO | 11 comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN Investigators searched for the body of murdered Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart in the Huasna area of rural Arroyo Grande on Tuesday morning, several sources said. Since Smart disappeared in 1996, investigators have excavated multiple sites in... (Continue Reading)

SLO County COVID-19 cases nearly double in one week

Written on 28 Jul, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 15 comments


The number of new COVID-19 cases in San Luis Obispo County nearly double last week rising from 3.8 to 6.0 per 100,000 residents, according to California Case statistics. State averages increased from 7.6 to 11.9 confirmed cases per 100,000 residents.... (Continue Reading)

Are SLO County officials targeting Dan DeVaul?

Written on 27 Jul, 2021 in Featured, Opinion | 19 comments


OPINION by OZZIE MILLER A little over a month ago, Dan DeVaul’s Sunny Acres property was visited by a warden and biologist from the State Department of Fish and Wildlife. They accused Dan DeVaul of filling the wetland and ordered... (Continue Reading)

Deputies arrest man for brandishing gun at Central Coast mission

Written on 27 Jul, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 8 comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputies arrested a man Sunday afternoon for brandishing a replica gun at the Santa Ines Mission in Solvang. At about 4:45 p.m., a 911 caller reported a man walking in the garden area... (Continue Reading)

Gunman kills Kern County deputy and three others

Written on 26 Jul, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 7 comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN A gunman shot and killed his two sons and their mother inside a home in Wasco on Sunday, then shot and killed a Kern County Sheriff’s deputy, prior to dying in a firefight. The gunman, a 41-year-old... (Continue Reading)

Morro Bay Councilman Robert ‘Red’ Davis dead at 76

Written on 26 Jul, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 2 comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN Morro Bay City Councilman Robert “Red” Davis died at his home on Saturday at the age of 76. [Tribune] Davis was in the middle of serving his second term on the Morro Bay council. He was first... (Continue Reading)

Gathering political allies as redistricting looms in SLO County

Written on 26 Jul, 2021 in Featured, Uncovered SLO | 15 comments


By KAREN VELIE As San Luis Obispo County prepares to draw new supervisorial district boundaries, leaders in the SLO County Democratic Party are covertly asking allies to promote redistricting plans that appear to support their candidates. Several days before a... (Continue Reading)

Person killed in single vehicle crash in Shandon

Written on 26 Jul, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | No comments


One person was killed in a single vehicle crash in Shandon on Sunday evening, according to Cal Fire. Shortly before 7 p.m., a white sedan drove into a ditch about 10 feet off Highway 41 near Wood Canyon Ranch Road.... (Continue Reading)

Smoker ignites fire at commercial storage yard in Paso Robles

Written on 26 Jul, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 2 comments


A fire that burned a commercial storage yard on Riverside Avenue in Paso Robles on Sunday afternoon was started by discarded smoking material. Shortly after 4 p.m., a caller reported a fire burning vegetation between two commercial properties near Black... (Continue Reading)

CHP officer injured in crash in rural Santa Margarita

Written on 25 Jul, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 4 comments


A California Highway Patrol Officer was injured Saturday morning in a single car collision in rural Santa Margarita, which led to a helicopter transporting the officer to a local hospital. [KSBY] Shortly before 9 a.m., the officer was responding to... (Continue Reading)

Paso Robles removes homeless encampments, deems trash

Written on 24 Jul, 2021 in Featured, Uncovered SLO | 13 comments


By KAREN VELIE The city of Paso Robles removed approximately 19,000 pounds of what the city deemed trash from homeless encampments along the Salinas Riverbed during the past two weeks because of the risk of fires, according to the Paso... (Continue Reading)

Attorney convicted of serial rapes in Santa Barbara County

Written on 23 Jul, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 3 comments


By Josh Friedman An attorney who had been registered to practice law in Nevada, yet showed up in Isla Vista living in his “Mirror Bus” and stalking women, has been convicted of 14 charges related to numerous sexual assaults. On... (Continue Reading)

Concerned citizen assaulted at Mission Plaza in SLO

Written on 23 Jul, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 5 comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN After starting a fight at Mission Plaza in San Luis Obispo on Wednesday, a man allegedly attempted to stab a person who tried to break up the altercation and then punched the individual who intervened in the... (Continue Reading)

Morro Bay teacher sentenced to jail for sex offenses

Written on 23 Jul, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | 11 comments


By JOSH FRIEDMAN A San Luis Obispo judge sentenced a former Morro Bay High School teacher teacher on Wednesday to four months in jail for having sex with a 17-year-old student and sending sexually explicit messages to another underage student.... (Continue Reading)

Body of teen found three years after Montecito mudslides

Written on 22 Jul, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | One comment


After three years, searchers in Montecito found the body of a teen lost during the deadly mudslides on Jan. 9, 2018, putting the number of bodies recovered at 22 with one person still missing. [KCOY] Searchers found the body of... (Continue Reading)

Proposal to end the lawlessness in Los Osos, help the homeless

Written on 22 Jul, 2021 in Featured, Opinion | 22 comments


OPINION by BECKY MCFARLAND and PAT WEST We are all aware of the fact that the homeless crisis in San Luis Obispo County is growing faster than the remedies. While we are fortunate to have created the Motel 6 Project... (Continue Reading)

Vehicle plunges off cliff in Shell Beach, driver missing

Written on 22 Jul, 2021 in Daily Briefs, Featured | One comment


By JOSH FRIEDMAN Investigators are searching for the occupant or occupants who were inside an SUV that plunged off a cliff in Shell Beach Wednesday night and landed on the beach below. At about 10:55 p.m., a 911 caller reported... (Continue Reading)