SanLuisObispo.com: Breaking News

CHP identifies Templeton man who died in wreck near Highway 46

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:13 PST

By Nick Wilson -- The man who died Thursday afternoon after a single-vehicle collision near Highway 46 has been identified.

William Richard Holt, 48, of Templeton, died after a crash that happened about 4:40 p.m. on Old Creek Road south of Highway 46, according to the California Highway Patrol.

For unknown reasons, his pickup veered off the main roadway and overturned as it dropped 140 feet from the roadway edge.

Dry weather, gusty winds could bring heightened risk of wildfire

Fri, 09 Jan 2009 12:40 PST

Fast-blowing Santa Ana winds are expected across many parts of Southern California, bringing with them a heightened risk of wildfire.

The National Weather Service says high pressure is building over the Great Basin and will increase offshore flow of air across Ventura and Los Angeles counties. The winds are expected to last from Friday through Sunday.

Forecasters predict strong northeast winds over the mountains, though a heavy marine layer may delay the winds’ onset.

Soldier with ties to A.G. dies after New Year’s Day fight in Colorado

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:03 PST

San Luis Obispo County native and Arroyo Grande High alumnus Sgt. 1st Class Richard Lopez died Monday in Colorado after he was injured in a New Year’s Day fight, according to the Steamboat Springs Pilot .

Lopez, 37, was reportedly visiting Steamboat Springs, Colo., after a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

The newspaper reports the decorated Army Special Forces soldier died of head trauma, according to autopsy results, stemming from a fight that occurred outside a local sports bar.

UPDATE: Still no suspect named in Pismo Beach Golf Course murder case

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:30 PST

By Nick Wilson -- A man questioned during the investigation of the suspected murder of 19-year-old Roman Nicholas Bickford whose body was found Wednesday at Pismo State Beach Golf Course now has a new charge against him and remains in jail on $500,000 bail.

During questioning by detectives of acquaintances of Bickford’s, Michael Scott Recio was arrested and booked in County Jail on suspicion of possession of marijuana for sale unrelated to the death of Bickford.

An additional charge of threatening a crime with the intent to terrorize has been added to Recio’s booking. He remains in custody today with bail set at $500,000, according to jail officials.

Runway at SLO airport shuts down after plane skids to stop

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:59 PST

By Bob Cuddy -- A runway at the county airport was shut down for an hour and a half Thursday afternoon when the pilot of a small plane forgot to put down his landing gear and skidded to a stop.

The pilot, who was alone in the plane, was unhurt, according to Richard Howell, manager of the San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport.

Howell said the A-36 Bonanza was approaching runway 29 and slid 1,000 feet. He added that it is not unprecedented for a pilot to neglect the landing gear. “It happens.”

One man killed in single-vehicle wreck near Highway 46

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:02 PST

By Stephen Curran -- One man was killed this evening after a single-vehicle collision near Highway 46.

The crash occurred about 4:40 p.m. on Old Creek Road south of Highway 46, sheriff’s officials said.

Officials said his vehicle traveled about 60 feet off the road and that no other vehicles were involved. They refused to release additional details — including the man’s age or hometown — pending notification of next of kin.

UPDATE: Cal Poly expected to announce Tim Walsh as next football coach

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:57 PST

By Joshua D. Scroggin -- Cal Poly is expected to announce the hiring of former Army offensive coordinator Tim Walsh as its next head football coach, sources close to the search told The Tribune on Thursday.

The Portland Tribune is also reporting the hiring of Walsh, who was the head coach at Portland State from 1993 to 2006.

Walsh would replace former Cal Poly coach Rich Ellerson, who left the Mustangs after eight seasons to take over at Army.

Rally at Poly turns heated over fighting in Gaza

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:06 PST

By Nick Wilson -- Two opposing groups of about 40 protestors each gathered at Cal Poly today to voice their opinions and hoist signs about the ongoing conflict on the Gaza Strip –a rally that turned heated at times, resulting in intense arguments between members of both sides.

The rally initially announced by Students for Justice and Peace in the Middle East also was attended by a large contingent of students from the Cal Poly Israelites organization.

Both sides support peace in the Middle East and denounced civilian deaths. About 750 Palestinians and 12 Israelis have died in the 13 days of fighting in Gaza, an assault launched by Israel in an attempt to halt rocket fire from the territory, which is controlled by Hamas, a militant Islamic group.

Water, sewer rate increase in Cambria expected to be reversed

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:58 PST

By Kathe Tanner -- A protracted battle to turn back a rate increase is expected to succeed when the Cambria Community Services District board holds a special meeting today, Jan. 8.

For many ratepayers, the problem isn’t whether CCSD customers should be paying more for the district to provide water and treat sewage, but whether letters officially protesting the increase were properly handled, verified and counted.

If the board cancels the current 12-percent rate increase and starts over, it might be the first time in the history of California’s Proposition 218, the “Right to Vote on Taxes Act,” that customers had twice successfully used that provision to defeat a public agency’s higher utility rates.

Collectors discover rare 1869 baseball card in Fresno

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:12 PST

By Mike Osegueda -- Bernice Gallego sat down one day this summer, as she does pretty much every day, and began listing items on eBay.

She dug into a box and pulled out a baseball card. She stopped for a moment and admired the picture. "Red Stocking B.B. Club of Cincinnati," the card read, under a sepia tone photo of 10 men with their socks pulled up to their knees. The card itself was dirty and wrinkled in a few places.

It was definitely old, Gallego thought. As a collector and seller, it's her job to spot old items that might have value today, to find the gems among the junk.

Cambria Dog Park trashed by vandals

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 13:38 PST

Dog lovers are up in arms over ongoing vandalism at the Cambria Dog Park area near the intersection of Main Street and Santa Rosa Creek Road.

Late Saturday or early Sunday, Jan. 2 or 3, some shade-producing canopies were damaged. Chairs and benches were overturned. Trash cans and a storage bin were tossed on their sides, with the contents spilling out onto the ground.

Cambria Community Services District owns the park site, but dog owners created the facility themselves so they’d have a place to exercise their dogs off leash.

Los Osos man pleads not guilty in embezzlement case

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:32 PST

By Leslie Parrilla -- A Los Osos businessman charged with defrauding investors of nearly $3 million pleaded not guilty Thursday in a San Luis Obispo court.

Leonard Adolph Delk, 80, who owns LAD Management Co., pleaded not guilty to eight felony charges related to embezzlement and theft, and illegal business practices, according to court records.

Some of the nearly 30 investors - mostly from San Luis Obispo County, with some in Simi Valley and Danville and three in Nevada - sat in court to watch the proceedings. Delk was in custody in lieu of posting $750,000 bail, and through his public defender agreed to a pretrial hearing set for Jan. 22.

SLO County weekend forecast: Beautiful weather expected

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 12:07 PST

By Tad Weber -- Any outdoor projects you might have planned this weekend will benefit from the forecast for clear, dry and warmer weather. John Lindsey, a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. meteorologist based at Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, says offshore winds will develop Friday as high pressure builds over the Central Coast. Those winds will be gusty during the morning hours on Saturday and Sunday, particularly on the eastside of San Luis Obispo, where the canyons tend to funnel the winds down across town. The winds will shift later next week to a more onshore direction, which will bring more humid air across our region. But the storm track will stay far to the north and no rain is expected, said Lindsey. While everyone enjoys clear, sunny days, we need the rain: San Luis Obispo is nearly three inches below normal rainfall for this rain season.

$5,000 reward being offered for capture of El Camino Real Bandit

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:46 PST

By Tad Weber -- A $5,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the so-called El Camino Real Bandit, the man believed to have committed a string of local bank robberies. Six banks have been robbed in the last three months in San Luis Obispo County, and authorities think the same white man is responsible for all of them. He is described as being in his 40s, weighing about 180 pounds. The reward is specific to information about the local robberies. Anyone with information can call Crime Stoppers at 549-STOP.

Free webinar for business owners to learn about 2009 employment and labor laws

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:56 PST

A local employment law firm, on behalf of the Economic Vitality Corporation, is hosting a free Webinar on new employment laws in 2009.

The session is being hosted by San Luis Obispo-based firm Sinsheimer Juhnke Lebens & McIvor LLP and will cover topics including wages, new posting requirements, handling employee layoffs, and the possible impact of the new presidential cabinet on labor laws.

A Q and A session will follow the presentation.

Congresswoman Lois Capps to push for affordable health insurance as 111th Congress opens

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 10:12 PST

By Michael Collins -- WASHINGTON — The one thing Rep. Lois Capps hears time and again whenever she talks to residents of her congressional district is that something must be done to fix the ailing economy.

"It’s the No. 1 priority," the Santa Barbara Democrat said.

The recession — the country’s worst economic crisis in generations — tops the agenda for the new Congress, which opened Tuesday with the swearing-in of lawmakers and other ceremonial duties.

UPDATE: Man found dead in Grover Beach near Pismo State Beach golf course identified

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:55 PST

County sheriff’s homicide detectives are investigating the death of Roman Nicholas Bickford, 19, who was found stabbed to death near the entrance to Pismo State Beach Golf Course in Grover Beach on Wednesday morning.

An autopsy conducted Wednesday afternoon confirmed the suspicions of investigators that Bickford was killed after being stabbed, according to an evening update by county Sheriff’s Department spokesman Rob Bryn.

Bickford’s body was found just after 5 a.m. Wednesday near the golf course entrance at the end of Grand Avenue near the beach, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

UC Santa Barbara students get Dalai Lama book

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:50 PST

SANTA BARBARA — Thousands of UC Santa Barbara students are getting copies of the Dalai Lama’s book “Ethics for the New Millennium” before his April visit to the university.

Some 2,500 copies of the book will be given to students starting Jan. 21. The Dalai Lama makes his fourth visit to the University of California, Santa Barbara, on April 24.

The 14th Dalai Lama Professorship in Tibetan Buddhism and cultural studies was established at the university in 2001.

Salinas home may have been found for sexual predator

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:32 PST

By Associated Press -- SALINAS — A Monterey County home may have been found for a sexual predator who molested more than 50 kids.

It’s been 18 months since a judge ordered 51-year-old James Vincent Lamb’s release under the state’s Sexually Violent Predator program. He is now at Coalinga State Hospital.

Superior Court Judge Richard Curtis said Wednesday that a site in the county may “work out as placement for Mr. Lamb.” There are no details on the site.

Sewage spill reported in Pismo Beach

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 08:57 PST

By David Sneed -- A grease-clogged sewer line caused from 500 to 1,000 gallons of sewage to spill in Pismo Beach this morning.

At 9 a.m., raw sewage was reported flowing out of a sewer manhole at Morro Avenue and Ocean Boulevard in Pismo Beach. All but 125 to 250 gallons of the sewage was contained by city crews, according to the county public health department.

The remainder flowed into the city’s storm drains which empty into the beach north of Morro Avenue in the Eldwayen Ocean Park area. City officials say the sewage did not reach the ocean but the beach in the Morro Avenue area has been closed as a public health precaution.