Home  »  Archives

Articles Tagged With ‘Atascadero’




A message for the birds: Avoid this no-fly zone

Written on 2 Oct, 2008 in Uncovered SLO | 3 comments

Pigeons are dropping from the Atascadero skies, bleeding from the eyes and dying after allegedly being drugged by pest control workers ... (Continue reading)

DUMPSTER CHRONICLES: Law, disorder, and the DA

Written on 27 Sep, 2008 in Uncovered SLO | 4 comments

SECOND IN A SERIES By KAREN VELIE and DANIEL BLACKBURN A disengaged and reticent district attorney failed to investigate numerous complaints targeting fraudulent hard money lenders and big-name developers during the past 18 months, even as new and unsuspecting investors were being... (Continue reading)

Brennler, Luna won’t run again

Written on 1 Aug, 2008 in Uncovered SLO | 57 comments

By KAREN VELIE Atascadero Mayor Mike Brennler won’t seek a second term on the Atascadero City Council because of health concerns. And council member George Luna said he will also retire from the council after two decades of public service.... (Continue reading)

Sheriff’s deputy slams four parked cars

Written on 30 Jul, 2008 in Uncovered SLO | 16 comments

By KAREN VELIE and DANIEL BLACKBURN A San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s deputy on administrative leave drove into four parked vehicles before flipping and rolling his pickup truck in a July 19 mishap. Deputy Bryan Goossens was northbound on Traffic Way in... (Continue reading)

Where did Hurst’s Beacon Road money go?

Written on 9 Jul, 2008 in Uncovered SLO | 9 comments

By DANIEL BLACKBURN and KAREN VELIE Investors wooed by Atascadero hard money lender Hurst Financial’s owner Jay Miller raised $414,000 of an apparent $485,000 loan to help fund a new North County commercial park, but learned within four months that only... (Continue reading)

COMMENTARY: Try not to irritate Lon Allan

Written on 17 Jun, 2008 in Uncovered SLO | 12 comments

By DANIEL BLACKBURN I have a recurring dream in which the local media crowd works in concert to slay the dragons of government corruption and to cultivate an environment of informed citizens. And then I open my eyes, and my... (Continue reading)

O’Malley threatens mayor with alley brawl

Written on 23 May, 2008 in Uncovered SLO | 62 comments

By KAREN VELIE Atascadero City Council member Tom O’Malley challenged Mayor Mike Brennler to handle a dispute regarding council procedures his way, man-to-man out in the parking lot, said numerous attendees of Thursday’s “public trust and campaign reform workshop.” During the conciliatory-turned-contentious... (Continue reading)

Banks on thin ice after risky loans to developer

Written on 17 May, 2008 in Uncovered SLO | 29 comments

By KAREN VELIE and DANIEL BLACKBURN Bank loans which appear inadequately secured made to a well known North County developer -- as well as an accompanying tangled web of loan transfers -- may have created significant problems for some San Luis... (Continue reading)

INSIDE EFI: Under The Microscope

Written on 4 May, 2008 in Uncovered SLO | 80 comments

Part 3: The good times are gone (Editors’ note: This is the third and final article in a series examining the high-rolling, multi-million-dollar Paso Robles financial lender, EFI, and its current problems.) By DANIEL BLACKBURN One of the down sides of divorce is... (Continue reading)

INSIDE EFI: The Long Fall

Written on 3 May, 2008 in Uncovered SLO | 15 comments

Part 2: Maybe money does grow on trees By DANIEL BLACKBURN (Editors' note: This is the second in a series examining the high-rolling, multi-million-dollar Paso Robles financial lender, EFI, and the fascinating reasons for its current critical condition.) When Karen Guth angrily ordered... (Continue reading)