SLO County supervisors approve flex-time, telecommuting policies

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• London Olympic travel plan: Be patient, drink beer

  London Olympic travel plan: Be patient, drink beer

  Olympic organizers have some travel advice for the millions of people who work and live in London: Be patient. Have a beer. Work from home.

• County plan to cut greenhouse gases locally is up to supervisors

  County plan to cut greenhouse gases locally is up to supervisors

  Supervisors are set to vote Tuesday on a plan that maps out how the county would reduce its contribution to global climate change.

  The EnergyWise Plan focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ways to prepare for the anticipated effects of climate change. Greenhouse gases are emissions such as carbon dioxide that tend to trap the heat from the sun near the Earth’s surface.

  In San Luis Obispo County, the bulk of these emissions comes from vehicles, industry and homes. The plan calls for emissions in the county to be cut to 15 percent below the level of those emissions in 2006.

• County pension plan getting on track

  County pension plan getting on track

  As other governments around the state struggle with pensions and their frightening fiscal implications, San Luis Obispo County leaders and their employees continue their long, steady march toward making employer-employee financial relations as painless as possible.

  Ninety percent of county employees have now agreed to two-tier pension plans, Human Resources Director Tami Douglas-Schatz told the Board of Supervisors this week, and all county workers have taken a pay cut in one form or another, generally by increasing their contribution to retirement plans.

  The county has 2,314 employees. Of those, 2,083 are now in a bargaining unit that includes a second tier, where new employees receive generally lesser benefits than veteran employees.

• Prison realignment is showing its stripes

  Prison realignment is showing its stripes

  In the first week of October, six men were sentenced in San Luis Obispo Superior Court.

  Their crimes included receiving stolen property, grand theft and possession of a controlled substance. Their sentences varied from 16 months to four years.

  But they all have one thing in common: Before Oct. 1, they would have served their sentences in state prison. Now, because of a new state policy that took effect 11 days ago, they’ll spend that time in County Jail instead.

• SLO County economy gets new attention

  SLO County economy gets new attention

  Imagine a county where so many businesses want to open or expand that they fight for office space, high-paying jobs are plentiful and government officials have more than enough tax revenue to pay for essential services.

  With the economy still struggling to regain its footing, that scenario may seem like fiction. But a group of local business and government leaders who helped craft an economic strategy for the region hope someday that can be a reality for San Luis Obispo County.

  To be sure, they acknowledge, there will be challenges to overcome.