SanLuisObispo.com: Breaking News

Abel Maldonado's bid for lieutenant governor moves forward

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 18:34 PST

By Dan Walters -- Following a two-hour-plus hearing, the Assembly Rules Committee on Tuesday sent the nomination of state Sen. Abel Maldonado to the floor, setting up confirmation votes in both legislative houses within a few days.

The unanimous committee vote was, as expected, on a motion to send the nomination to the Assembly floor without a recommendation.

Maldonado, a Santa Maria Republican, underwent sharp questioning from Democratic members of the committee on issues ranging from raising taxes to the military�s don't-ask, don�t-tell policy on gay soldiers and abortion rights.

Grover Beach-based tax preparer is accused of identity theft, forgery

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:19 PST

By Cynthia Lambert -- The Arroyo Grande Police Department issued a crime alert Tuesday after a local resident learned that fraudulent amended tax returns had been filed in his name from 2005-07.

The resident, who was not identified, had used a Grover Beach-based tax preparer called Exact Tax during those years. Arroyo Grande detectives found that amended tax returns, as well as a request for a refund and a change of address, had been filed without the resident�s knowledge.

Arroyo Grande detectives tracked the owner of Exact Tax to an address in the Los Angeles area, where they found Internal Revenue Service documents and personal identification information about at least eight different individuals. They also discovered documents suggesting that the account holder had opened a joint account with the Arroyo Grande resident without his knowledge.

Feinstein calls for stop of waste dump expansion

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:06 PST

California's senior senator wants to halt any expansions of the West's largest toxic waste dump while the state investigates reports about a rash of birth defects in a nearby town.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein said in a statement Tuesday that she was "very concerned about the surge in birth defects occurring in Kettleman City."

Feinstein says the Chemical Waste Management Inc. facility should not be allowed to expand until more is known about the cause.

UPDATE: Man who died after off-road crash on Carrizo Plain identified

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:22 PST

UPDATE:

The motorcyclist who was killed in an off-road crash in a remote area of eastern San Luis Obispo County on Friday has been identified as Matthew Drake, age 38, of Fresno.

Drake was one of four people riding on a dirt service road located about 1.6 miles west of Soda Lake Road in the Carrizo Plain National Monument, said Officer Bill Irons of the California Highway Patrol's Templeton office.

Case proceeds for bank robbery suspect

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:14 PST

By Nick Wilson -- A Santa Barbara man who allegedly robbed four San Luis Obispo County banks last year had sufficient evidence presented against him in a preliminary hearing, Judge Barry LaBarbera ruled Monday.

Anthony William Frisco, 44, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of robbery and four counts of burglary of Wells Fargo and Chase banks in San Luis Obispo, as well as a Rabobank in Pismo Beach and a Wells Fargo branch in Nipomo.

Authorities initially gave Frisco the nickname �Red Sharpie Bandit� because of a red magic marker he allegedly used during heists.

Man who killed Richard May, a police officer from San Luis Obispo, is sentenced to death

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:12 PST

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. � A judge has sentenced to death a 26-year-old man convicted of fatally shooting an East Palo Alto police officer in 2006.

San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Craig Parsons affirmed a jury�s decision to recommend the death sentence for Alberto Alvarez, who was convicted of murder in November.

Authorities say Alvarez killed Officer Richard May as he was responding to reports of fighting at a taqueria. May was born and raised in San Luis Obispo and previously worked as a Lompoc police officer.

Abel Maldonado criticized by Democratic Assembly members

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 18:09 PST

By Cathy Bussewitz -- SACRAMENTO, Calif. � Democratic members of the Assembly on Monday called on their colleagues to reject the confirmation of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger�s nominee for lieutenant governor, saying the Santa Maria lawmaker is out of step with the needs of average Californians.

They referenced Republican Sen. Abel Maldonado�s voting history on labor, immigration, health care and other issues, and urged lawmakers to leave the office vacant until voters choose a new lieutenant governor later this year.

�If you look at his voting record, there�s a clear disconnect between the everyday lives of working men and women in this state,� Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, told reporters during a news conference at the Capitol. �There�s 121 days until a June primary, and my sense is, why don�t we let the voters of this state make a decision on who they want to see on the ballot for this office?�

Farmers' Market Association expected to regain control of produce section of Thursday market

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:45 PST

The Farmers' Market Association will likely regain control of the produce section of Thursday Night Farmers Market.

The board of directors of the Downtown Association and the Farmers� Market Association met over the weekend to discus the issues that evolved when the Downtown Association assumed control the produce vendors in late January, according to a press release issued Monday by the Downtown Association.

The two boards will meet Tuesday to formalize the agreement with an annual contract, according to the press release.

Lane closed on Highway 1 in Big Sur

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 13:20 PST

The southbound lane of Highway 1 south of Lucia on Big Sur�s south coast is closed, but the road remains open, Caltrans announced today.

About 200 feet of the lane has been blocked off due to storm-related damage to the shoulder of the highway, the agency reports, but the northbound lane remains open and stop signs have been put up at both ends to allow motorists to take turns using the single lane.

Lucia is about 49 miles north of Cambria.

Weyrich's Paso Robles jet center ignores eviction notice

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:47 PST

By Melanie Cleveland --

Read the full story at David Weyrich�s jet center gets notice of eviction

The city of Paso Robles has given a notice of eviction to David Weyrich, the operator of the Paso Robles Jet Center at the city�s airport.

But the Paso Robles business has refused to budge and continues to provide fuel services to the airport.

Schwarzenegger promotes job bills during SLO visit

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:53 PST

On a visit to a San Luis Obispo solar firm Monday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger championed a set of bills that he says will create more jobs by helping California businesses expand by hiring and training qualified employees.

Schwarzenegger, joined by Lt. Gov.-designate and state Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, toured REC Solar before discussing the legislative package designed to create or preserve at least 100,000 jobs.

�Here is the perfect example of what is good for the economy and the environment,� said Schwarzenegger.

Trio of Democratic Assembly members oppose Maldonado as lieutenant governor

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:00 PST

A group of Democratic members of the Assembly are announcing their opposition to the appointment of Abel Maldonado as California�s next lieutenant governor.

Maldonado, the Republican from Santa Maria who represents San Luis Obispo County in the state Senate, has been appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to replace John Garamendi, who won a congressional seat in a special election.

But Pedro Nava, a Democrat from Santa Barbara and the chairman of the Assembly Banking and Finance Committee, said this morning that Maldonado is �out of step on issues of great significance to most Californians.�

Proposition 14: Campaign for open primaries rolls out of the gate

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:31 PST

By Kurtis Alexander -- The fight over June�s marquee ballot measure, whether California should institute open primaries, has begun with a trickle of campaign spending and promotion that�s already bringing slick mailers to county doorsteps.

Proposition 14, which eludes the typical red-blue divide and has Democrats siding against Democrats and Republicans against Republicans, would allow anyone to vote for anyone in primary elections, regardless of party, and advance the top two vote-getters to the general race.

Supporters say the change would put more middle-of-the-road candidates in office and reduce the partisanship that causes gridlock. Opponents say the move would limit choice in general elections, putting two Democrats in competition sometimes, or two Republicans, and eliminating third-party candidates altogether.

County announces seven clinics for free swine-flu shots

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:17 PST

By Antonio A. Prado -- County public health officials have announced seven free H1N1 swine-flu vaccination clinics this week.

The county Public Health Department is conducting three of them at agency offices from 2 to 7 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday.

Those are at:
� 286 S. 16th St., Grover Beach;
� 2191 Johnson Ave., San Luis Obispo; and
� 723 Walnut Drive, Paso Robles.

Schwarzenegger to visit SLO for jobs program announcement

Sun, 07 Feb 2010 20:12 PST

By Antonio A. Prado -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will visit a San Luis Obispo solar firm Monday to promote a legislative package designed to create or preserve at least 100,000 jobs.

He�ll visit REC Solar � a San Luis Obispo firm that installs solar panels � to announce training and hiring incentives and other policies that would be designed to make it easier for businesses to grow and expand in California.

Lt. Gov.-designate and state Sen. Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, will join him for the 10 a.m. visit, which will be shown live online.

Part of North County rattled by small quake

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 20:39 PST

By Antonio A. Prado -- A 3.4-magnitude earthquake just after 6 p.m. saturday was centered between Parkfield and Cholame, about four miles northwest of the Y-split of Highways 41 and 46, according to the U.S. Geological Service.

The quake � about 22 miles east of Paso Robles � originally was reported as a magnitude 3.9, but was later downgraded.

The most shaking occured near Cholame and Parkfield, but was light near Paso Robles, the USGS said.

Customer trips alarm at closed Cambria bank after door was left open

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 19:18 PST

By Kathe Tanner -- A customer set off an alarm after walking into the Cambria branch of Bank of America on Saturday morning only to find it was closed, the Sheriff�s Department confirmed.

At 9:15 a.m., the customer � whose identity was not disclosed � triggered an interior motion alarm after entering the branch, department spokesman Rob Bryn said.

Deputies � who observers said arrived with guns drawn, surrounding the bank � confirmed that the door was left open, but there no damage or crime, he added.

Avila Beach bar spat leads to throat-slashing, Atascadero pair jailed

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 17:56 PST

By Antonio A. Prado -- An Atascadero couple was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a Friday bar altercation in Avila Beach led to a box-cutter slashing, according to the county Sheriff�s Department.

Michael Darrien Simmons, 43, and Janet Ella Simmons, 50, were arrested after the former allegedly slashed a man with a box cutter after an argument at Mr. Rick�s on Front Street about 10:30 p.m.

The man, whose identity was not disclosed, suffered a serious neck wound, according to a Sheriff�s Department report.

Latest storms drop 1 to 2 inches of rain on SLO County

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:38 PST

By Tribune staff report -- John Lindsey, a local weather forecaster, reports that the storms that rolled through on Friday and today produced between 1 and 2 inches of rain in the coastal valleys with lesser amounts in the interior.

He notes that during the month of February, San Luis Obispo normally receives a total of nearly 5 inches of rain.

As reported by Lindsey, here are some of the area's 48 hour rain totals as of 3 p.m. on Saturday:

SLO police arrest five on drug, stolen-property charges

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:14 PST

By Amy Dempsey -- Detectives arrested five people after a San Luis Obispo traffic stop Friday led to the discovery of drugs, plus a vehicle and other property allegedly stolen, according to police.

About 10 a.m., San Luis Obispo police pulled over a vehicle occupied by local resident Jacob Walter Kiser, 27, and William Michael Soto, 19, of Arroyo Grande at Madonna Road and El Mercado. Police arrested Kiser and Soto.

Detectives investigating thefts in the city discovered the vehicle had been reported stolen, according to the Police Department.