SanLuisObispo.com: Local

John Madden wants higher profile for Poly football

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:17 PDT

By Donovan Aird -- John Madden, a former Super Bowl-winning coach of the Oakland Raiders and the face of pro football on Sunday and Monday nights before he retired from broadcasting in April, is arguably Cal Poly�s most famous alumnus.

He was one of the university�s biggest fundraisers in the history of its sports programs in the early 1980s and remained publicly visible in that capacity into the 1990s.

But though he has touted former Cal Poly stars like Mel Kaufman and Chris Gocong on national TV, he hasn�t attended an official Cal Poly event since 1996.

A resumption of rivalries is complicated for Cal Poly football

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:53 PDT

By Donovan Aird -- John Madden�s deepest desire for the Cal Poly football program has long been to see it return to regularly playing and upsetting well-known California schools � namely Fresno State, San Jose State and San Diego State � like it did when he was a lineman for the Mustangs in 1957 and 1958.

Doing so on an annual basis more than 50 years later, however, is a proposition fraught with complications.

In order to acquire guaranteed games against those teams, Cal Poly would have to move from the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) to the Football Bowl Subdivision (I-A). After that, it would likely have to join either the Western Athletic Conference (in which Fresno State and San Jose State play) or the Mountain West Conference (in which San Diego State competes).

Scientists note slight decrease in local sea otter population

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:42 PDT

By Kathe Tanner -- Scientists report a slight decline in the average number of sea otters living offshore of the Central Coast during the past three years.

The U.S. Geological Survey said this week that 2,654 otters were counted in the 2009 spring survey, representing a 3.8 percent drop since 2008, but just a 0.5 percent decline in a three-year average that dates to 2007.

Threatened southern sea otters, hunted by fur traders beginning in the mid-1700s, were believed to be extinct until a small population was discovered in the Big Sur region in the 1920s. Protected status allowed the population to rebound somewhat, although that seems to have leveled off.

Jesse King, kayaker who died in ocean off Cambria, touched friends' lives

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:39 PDT

By Bill Morem -- At 28, Jesse King was a dynamo and prankster who lit up any room with his entrance. He was a lover of life and mankind and, ironically given his death in a kelp bed off the coast of Cambria on Wednesday, a supreme waterman who surfed, free-dived, fished, kayaked and paddled outriggers.

Born March 14, 1981, to Christopher and Diana King of Susanville, King joined the Coast Guard in 2002 and was deployed to the station in Morro Bay in 2005. Chief Bosun Mate Kirk McKay, the senior officer at Morro Bay, recalled King as someone who was �a free-spirited guy, laid back, not the kind of guy you�d expect in the military, but he was a good people person.�

He added that although King left the service in 2007, it wasn�t like he really left; he simply walked south about 120 feet and became a Morro Bay reserve harbor patrolman and lifeguard.

Biz Buzz: Grover Beach flag makers celebrate 25 years of patriotism

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:40 PDT

American Flag and Gift of Grover Beach recently celebrated its 25th anniversary.

John and Bridgett Solley opened what began as a mail-order flag business in Redondo Beach in 1984 in preparation for the summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

The Solleys moved to the Central Coast in 1989 and continued to operate a mail-order business until 2002, when demand for flags after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks enabled them to open a retail location in Arroyo Grande for a time.

Cmdr. Ben Hall says he�ll run for sheriff

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:40 PDT

By Nick Wilson -- A 34-year veteran of the county Sheriff�s Department has entered the race for the law enforcement agency�s top post.

Cmdr. Ben Hall announced his candidacy late Wednesday evening for sheriff in the June 2010 election.

The county�s top law enforcement position is being vacated by Sheriff Pat Hedges, who will retire at the end of his term.

Phil Dirkx: Life is woven of a million encounters

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:38 PDT

By Phil Dirkx -- There�s a patch of faded red rock next to my driveway. Until last Monday, it was cluttered with logs.

They weren�t big logs, but a few were eight to 10 inches thick. Two or three were more than 3 feet long.

They were the remnants of my recent battle to tame two 27-year-old hedge bushes. Through the years, the bushes had transformed themselves into trees several feet taller than our house.

Cal Poly�s grant money aids medical research

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:36 PDT

By Nick Wilson -- Cal Poly has received more than half a million dollars in funding through the federal stimulus package � money that is currently being used toward various innovative projects that include the potential creation of a new oral vaccine for hepatitis B.

Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, visited the university Thursday to meet with professors and students to learn more about how they�re taking advantage of some of the funding dollars that she voted in support of.

�Investment in health-care research will continue to play a role in curing and preventing disease and providing jobs,� Capps said. �I�m pleased that Cal Poly continues to play an important role in medical and healthcare research.�

Banks to accept the state�s IOUs

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:30 PDT

By Julie Lynem -- Several local financial institutions plan to accept IOUs from the state of California, with the expectation that legislators will soon resolve the budget crisis.

Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Paso Robles-based Heritage Oaks Bank, Rabobank, American Principle Bank in San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo�s Coast National Bank and The Golden 1 Credit Union, based in Sacramento, are among those that intend to take the registered warrants for deposit, many for a limited time.

Chase bank said it would accept IOUs until July 10, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

Morro Bay's laser show 'meant to be experienced,' organizer says

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:42 PDT

By Larissa Puro -- Alan Fuehrer is preparing for his biggest season of the year � the laser show season, that is.

More cities are opting for this less traditional celebration of America�s independence: a 30 minute laser light show, synchronized to patriotic music, and projected onto a 40-to 50-foot screen suspended in the air, said Fuehrer. He�s the production manager of Lightwave International, which is putting on Morro Bay�s futuristic show at dusk Saturday.

Last year, the company hosted about a dozen events � each of which takes about a month to prepare, Fuehrer said.

SLO County Roundup

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:33 PDT

SLO County

County property owners swatted down an attempt for a tax increase to pay for control of mosquitoes and other disease-carrying pests by a two-to-one margin, the county Clerk Recorder�s Office said.

County Clerk-Recorder Julie Rodewald told The Tribune there were 23,631 ballots against the proposal and 15,581 in favor.

4th of July Celebrations around SLO County

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:26 PDT

Here is a listing of 4th of July Celebrations around San Luis Obispo County on Saturday:

� Arroyo Grande. 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Village Band concert, hot dogs, lemonade and ice cream. Rotary Bandstand, Heritage Square Park.

Refreshments for sale. 473-2250.

Independence Day Holiday Closures

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:24 PDT

The following agencies and services will be affected by today�s and Saturday�s observances of Independence Day.

Because July 4 is on Saturday, the legal federal and state holiday is observed today.

� All federal, state, county, city and community-services district offices are closed today.

Man found dead near flipped-over kayak off Cambria's shore

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:45 PDT

By Bill Morem -- A man was found dead Wednesday after his kayak was spotted flipped over in the waters off south Cambria.

Sheriff�s Department spokesman Rob Bryn said a woman called 911 at 1:52 p.m. and said a man was in the water near a kayak offshore.

A nearby resident, Pat Butler, said she called 911 to report that a kayak was flipped over in a kelp bed about 300 to 400 yards out, after seeing the man paddle out earlier.

SLO County code enforcers move too slow on Dan De Vaul's ranch, civil grand jury says

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:59 PDT

By Bob Cuddy -- County code enforcement officers have dawdled in their enforcement efforts at Dan De Vaul�s ranch and the Roandoak of God commune, according to a newly released report from the civil grand jury.

Describing the code enforcement division�s approach as �dilatory,� the grand jury wrote that enforcement against both places was �delayed beyond a reasonable time frame.�

The county�s �willingness � to act in a timely fashion was questionable,� the grand jury wrote.

Biz Buzz: Suit seeks to force bankruptcy of Hurst Financial's Jay Miller

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:53 PDT

Three Hurst Financial creditors have filed a petition with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to force company president Jay Hurst Miller into an involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

Miller, who ran the $100 million lending company in Atascadero until he surrendered his license under allegations of fraud last year, is facing at least 10 lawsuits and a criminal investigation into his business dealings.

The FBI most recently seized hundreds of thousands of dollars from the sale of Miller�s personal residence, alleging that he engaged in racketeering and money laundering.

Longtime SLO Policeman, Dan Blanke, retires

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:23 PDT

By Sally Connell -- Capt. Dan Blanke, who is retiring from his role as public information officer for the San Luis Obispo Police Department, said the city had sharper edges when he arrived back in 1980.

When asked what seems truly different about law enforcement today, Blanke immediately started talking about the bar fights.

In the city of 29 years ago, the bar fights were knock-down, drag-out affairs, he said. Blanke said officers knew everybody on duty had to roll to the scene and would arrive to find bar stools and customers flying.

Paso Robles Councilman Fred Strong to run for Sam Blakeslee's Assembly seat

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:17 PDT

By Tonya Strickland -- Paso Robles City Councilman Fred Strong is the latest Republican to announce an intention to run for the 33rd Assembly District seat next year.

Assemblyman Sam Blakeslee, R-San Luis Obispo, will not be on the ballot because of term-limit rules.

Strong, 72, has been a councilman since December 2004 and now holds the mayor pro tem spot, a position that allows him to act has mayor in the absence of one. If he wins the Assembly race, he said, he would resign from the council.

Closing state parks has federal price

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:48 PDT

By Tribune staff and wire reports -- The federal government has told state lawmakers that if they close state parks as a budget-cutting move, they risk losing key funding meant to support parks.

Six parks, none in San Luis Obispo County, could also revert to the ownership of the federal government, the U.S. officials warn.

Four state parks in San Luis Obispo County have benefitted from federal grants: Hearst San Simeon, Monta�a de Oro, Los Osos Oaks State National Reserve and Pismo State Beach.

SLO County Police Log

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 21:14 PDT

San Luis Obispo

A Paso Robles woman was sentenced Tuesday to nine months in County Jail and four years of probation after pleading no contest to child-endangerment charges, two weeks after her husband was sentenced to 10 years in state prison for child molestation committed on a relative.

Elaine Kullgren was charged with felony child endangerment because she knew the molestation was occurring and didn�t help the girl, said Chief Deputy District Attorney Jerret Gran.