By KAREN VELIE Members of the county’s largest and most influential union have mounted an aggressive campaign to divide the Deputies Sheriff’s Association (DSA) into two separate unions. If the action is successful, one union would be comprised of sworn peace officers,... (Continue reading)
By DANIEL BLACKBURN A new state law rigidly defining a public agencies’ ability to blithely pass along inflationary costs to residents is now in place, and its impact on San Luis Obispo County may be swift. The law, signed by the governor... (Continue reading)
By THE EDITORS A scandalous stack of brazen fiscal rip-offs and obscene financial schemes that today imperil the very economic stability of San Luis Obispo County is the most important news story of 2008 – and readers learned of them first... (Continue reading)
By DANIEL BLACKBURN and KAREN VELIE A San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury is probing allegations of sloppy evidence protection by law enforcement and reviewing procedures currently being used by the Sheriff’s Department to protect evidentiary integrity. Sources with detailed knowledge of... (Continue reading)
PART TWO: Offending the offenders By DANIEL BLACKBURN If you’re one of the thousands of people arrested this year and charged with driving while intoxicated in San Luis Obispo County, be encouraged by the knowledge that the entire judicial system and a... (Continue reading)
By DANIEL BLACKBURN PART ONE: Gold in the pockets of boozing drivers While law enforcement prepares the handcuffs, officials are predicting arrests in this county for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol will set new records this holiday season. And as... (Continue reading)
By KAREN VELIE San Luis Obispo County Supervisor Katcho Achadjian occupies a salaried seat on a local bank’s board of directors along with a key developer in the proposed Santa Margarita Ranch project. Achadjian’s vote on plans for the Santa Margarita Ranch... (Continue reading)
By DANIEL BLACKBURN San Luis Obispo County taxpayers are looking down the black hole of a swelling, multi-million-dollar deficit of the county workers’ pension plan that poses a monumental problem with few real solutions, complicated by Monday’s record-breaking 500-point plummet of... (Continue reading)
By DANIEL BLACKBURN and KAREN VELIE San Luis Obispo County may play a significant role in the upcoming presidential election. This summer, two former California Polytechnic State University students, marketing whiz Cliff Branch and film director David Riordan, conceived and executed a... (Continue reading)
By DANIEL BLACKBURN and KAREN VELIE San Luis Obispo County Deputy Sheriff Bryan Goossens was arrested Monday by federal agents as part of a widespread roundup of suspected members of a child pornography ring. Two other county men also have been... (Continue reading)