Cal Coast News will continue to operate, owner says after $1.1 million libel verdict

The owner of Cal Coast News said on a local radio program Friday that the website will continue to operate and that attorneys are considering appealing a $1.1 million libel verdict against her and the site’s former co-owner.

The judgment, rendered Thursday, found that Karen Velie and Daniel Blackburn libeled a hazardous waste contractor when they accused him of illegal activity in a 2012 article.

Velie appeared on Dave Congalton’s radio show on KVEC-AM. She said that she removed the libelous article from the website on Friday, that the verdict was “quite a shock” and that she was “very unhappy.”

Neither Velie nor Blackburn responded to requests for comment from The Tribune on Thursday.

This story was originally published March 17, 2017 at 7:14 PM with the headline "Cal Coast News will continue to operate, owner says after $1.1 million libel verdict."