Single-payer insurance plan moves ahead
A Democrat-sponsored effort to initiate single-payer health coverage in California is under the legislative microscope next week in Sacramento hearings. Coauthored by 29 members of the Senate, the...
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Author: Karen Velie
Second homeless person found dead in SLO County
A second homeless person was found dead in San Luis Obispo County, but authorities do not believe foul play is involved, Paso Robles Police said. Police found no obvious signs of foul play on the...
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Red wine researcher besmirched
Red wine’s benefits to cardiovascular health have been extolled for years, and now an East Coast researcher known for his research on the issue is being accused of falsifying data. [SF Chronicle]...
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Deputy rescues kidnapped teenager
During a routine traffic stop, a deputy discovered a teenage passenger who had been forcibly kidnapped from her Vandenberg Village home late Saturday evening and then arrested her kidnapper. Early...
Read MoreBreathe easy… fire up a joint
Light to moderate smoking of marijuana might not have any injurious effects on lung health, and may actually improve lung capacity, a new study by scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham contends. [Reuters] Dr....
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SLO County votes in plastic bag ban
Following impassioned arguments for and against the use of plastic bags, the San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority’s board voted Wednesday to ban single-use plastic bags...
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Non-profit administrator sentenced to jail
A woman accused of embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from two local non-profits was sentenced to six months in San Luis Obispo County Jail and three years probation on Friday. In November,...
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Pills recalled after potential mix-up
The Food and Drug Administration is warning the public to watch for the potential mix-up of several over the counter medicines and prescription pain killers. [WallStreetJournal] “Novartis is...
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SLO County plastic bag ban vote set
The San Luis Obispo County Integrated Waste Management Authority’s board is slated to vote today on a proposed law to ban single-use plastic bags countywide in most stores, beginning in October. If...
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Sierra Club loses Oceano Dunes case on appeal
The local chapter of the Sierra Club lost its appeal on Monday to force off-road vehicles from a portion of the Oceano Dunes that the state rents from San Luis Obispo County.
In 2008, the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit claiming vehicles should be banned from the state’s vehicular recreation area’s 584-acre La Grande Tract. The club argued that the County’s Coastal Plan Map lists it as a buffer zone which means vehicles are banned. Superior Court Judge Charles Crandall ruled that it was too late for the Sierra Club to mount a challenge.
Not only did the Second Appellate Court uphold Crandall’s decision that it is to late to fight the state’s 1982 Coastal Development Permit, the appellate court also determined that having the area dubbed a buffer zone does not mean that off-road vehicles should be prohibited.
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SLO faces fines, arrest of workers over toxic dumping
San Luis Obispo is looking at possible civil and administrative fines as well as the arrests of city workers following the dumping of toxic chemicals in a city facility, City Attorney Christine Dietrick told council members and managers Thursday.
The news from Dietrick is a reversal of the position that the city has taken for almost a year that the dumping of the toxic chemicals was neither serious, nor a violation of California’s toxic substances laws. As recently as Dec. 16, the city attorney’s office was reassuring the city council that the dumping did not violate any state regulations.
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), and other state agencies, started to investigate the deliberate dumping of the chemicals following an exclusive CalCoastNews story on the incident. The state agencies have been interviewing city workers in the wake of the story.
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Brown’s tax plan falls short
A tax hike that Gov. Jerry Brown plans to put before voters in November will raise less than he hoped, according to the Legislative Analyst, which probably will require much deeper budget cuts than...
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Search for Pedro Garcia fizzles
For a guy who doesn’t seem to exist, Pedro Garcia is the talk of the town in Cambria.
That’s the name printed at the bottom of a Dec. 15 letter faxed to the editor of the local newspaper, The Cambrian, a letter which simultaneously praises Chris Adams, superintendent of Coast Unified School District, and excoriates a parent and student.
But despite the best efforts of many in the small oceanside community of 6,000 — including those of a private investigator, and a parallel probe by CalCoastNews — “Pedro Garcia” is nowhere to be found.
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Atascadero lender’s sentencing delayed
An Atascadero man awaiting sentencing on federal fraud charges was given a few more months of freedom after a judge delayed his sentencing hearing from March 26 to June 25, according to a court...
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Fight against Dream Act fails
The attempt to block a controversial California law that makes funds available for undocumented immigrant college students has failed to collect enough signatures to make it on the ballot. Opponents...
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