Firestone Brewery wins six gold medals
Firestone Brewery in Paso Robles was the big winner in the Craft Brewers Conference in Chicago last weekend, bringing home six gold medals. [ChicagoTribune] Enjoying what what was touted as the...
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Author: Karen Velie
Councilman Ed Arnold charged with child pornography
Arroyo Grande police discovered a video of an underage foreign exchange student and photos of what appear to be underage girls during a search of Arroyo Grande City Councilman Ed Arnold’s Pismo Beach residence on Jan. 4, police said.
Police suspect Arnold used a hidden camera during the summer of 2005 to video the then 16-year-old while she showered.
Read MoreMore on Bordonaro’s special favors
(Editor’s Note: This is the third and last in a series about San Luis Obispo County Assessor and Republican politico Tom Bordonaro.)
While San Luis Obispo County Assessor Tom Bordonaro says he is not guilty of any misuse of his office or showing favoritism to political friends, critics are pointing to specific instances where he used his office to cut property taxes for friends and promote his political agency.
Read MoreFun in the sun for Heritage Oaks Bank officials
Less then a month after Heritage Oaks Bancorp raised $60 million through the sale of securities, some members of the Board of Directors and high-ranking bank officials have taken off for the board’s annual trip to the Hawaiian Islands, sources said.
The junket comes on the heels of regulatory action that banned the company from paying dividends or incurring debt as part of a written agreement between the company and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
Read MorePaso couple arrested for human trafficking
By KAREN VELIE A Paso Robles couple was arrested Tuesday morning by FBI agents, charged with smuggling Filipino nationals into the United States and forciing them to work at the four elder care homes the couple owns. According...
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Heritage Oaks Bank reports accounting error
Paso Robles-based Heritage Oaks Bancorp blames accounting errors for a recently discovered additional $1.8 million in losses for the fourth quarter of 2009.
The parent company of Heritage Oaks Bank now reports a fourth quarter net loss of $3.4 million or about .48 cents a share, compared to a previously reported loss of $1.6 million or about .26 cents a
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Details of superintendent’s relationship with student released
Superintendent Dean Smith agreed to resign rather than face termination for an inappropriate relationship with a former student.
An investigation funded by the San Miguel School Board resulted in charges for terminating Smith, 55.
The investigation found that Smith had utilized his position as an administrator to develop a relationship with a former student,
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County tax assessor’s actions under scrutiny
San Luis Obispo County Assessor Tom Bordonaro is arguably the most politically connected officeholder on the Central Coast — and its most controversial.
Bordonaro, 50, of Paso Robles, is a former two-term state assemblyman, failed Congressional candidate, and the current chairman of the Republican Party in San Luis Obispo County. He was appointed by governors of both parties—Republican Pete Wilson and Democrat Gray Davis—to terms on the state Board of Prison Terms and the Adult Parole Board.
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Former city attorney David Hunt arrested
Police arrested a former Pismo Beach and Morro Bay city attorney on suspicion of felony spousal battery Sunday night in Santa Ana. [OrangeCountyRegister] David Hunt has been serving as the Newport...
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Are nonprofit hospitals profiting?
In these tough economic times, French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, which was losing money a few years ago, is now raking in more than $6 million a year in profits, according to a CalCoastNews analysis of data from the Office of Statewide Health Planning.
At the same time, the data shows that about 75 percent of indigent and Medi-Cal patients in San Luis Obispo County are seen at two local for-profit hospitals, Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo and Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton.
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Oceano flooding battle rages on
An Oceano business owner has taken his fight to stop the flooding that plagues his former business to the state appeals court. [NewTimes] In 2006, Bill Bookout sued Caltrans, the Oceano Community...
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County unemployment rate at record high
San Luis Obispo County’s jobless rate hit a record 10.6 percent in January, up from December’s revised rate of 9.8 percent, the state’s Employment Development Department reported Wednesday....
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Body found hours after crash
A 2007 graduate of Nipomo High School, who was attending Allan Hancock College, was found dead early Thursday on the side of Stanton Road near Lyn Road in Arroyo Grande. [SantaMariaTimes] Alicia...
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School secretary arrested for assaulting niece’s romantic rival
A San Miguel school secretary and two of her family members have been arrested for allegedly assaulting a pregnant teen in front of the victim’s two-year-old son, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department said.
All three defendants in the case, stemming from an incident last September, have pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor counts of battery and force and violence against 18-year-old Julia Savage.
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Federal action against Heritage Oaks Bank
Federal regulators have banned the parent company of Paso Robles-based Heritage Oaks Bank from paying dividends or incurring debt as part of a written agreement the company and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco signed on Monday.
As part of Monday’s action, federal regulators have ordered officials of Heritage Oaks Bancorp orders to come up with a plan within 60 days to maintain sufficient capital while taking into account allowances for problematic loans.
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