Contra Costa County is more than 200 miles away from San Luis Obispo County. By and large, the two counties don’t have much in common. Recently, though, three lawsuits filed in Contra Costa County highlighted at least one important similarity. Namely, oil giant Phillips 66 operates a refinery in each county, and a proprietary pipeline […]
RHYS HEYDEN
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Local refinery workers show solidarity with strikers
Starting on Feb. 1, thousands of union refinery workers across the country walked away from their jobs, and shockwaves from that strike have registered in Nipomo. Since Jan. 28, a rotating group of members of the Grover Beach-based United Steelworkers (USW) Local 534 chapter have been picketing at the gates of the Phillips 66 Santa […]
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To rail, or to rail against?: As decision time approaches, the Sun examines the pros and cons of a controversial Phillips 66 oil-by-rail project
When viewed from the proper angle, the central conflict here bears a peculiar type of poetic symmetry: A local refinery would like to transport much of its crude oil into San Luis Obispo County via train, while opponents would prefer such plans to be driven out of the county on a rail. Many stakeholders adamantly […]
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Road warriors: You’ve seen the signs, but what is adopting a road or highway all about?
By all accounts, picking up litter on the side of a road or a highway isn’t the sexiest of vocations, but hundreds of local volunteers donate their time to do just that every single year. “All I can say is that a lot of people get hooked and end up really loving it,” said Julia […]
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Sports: Not just for jocks
If you’ll permit me to do so, I’d like to share an athletic secret with you. OK? Even though I love sports, I was never very good at playing them. Whether it was the back and forth of the soccer field, the stop and go of the baseball diamond, or the pant and wheeze of […]
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Grover Beach man killed in Oceano Dunes crash
At approximately 5:30 p.m. on Dec. 28, a 52-year-old Grover Beach man who was attending to his vehicle parked on the sand of the Oceano Dunes was struck and killed by an oncoming vehicle. According to Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area District Superintendant Brent Marshall, the man was pinned between the two vehicles and […]
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Water rate hike approved in Nipomo
After a lengthy study and discussion process, the Nipomo Community Services District (NCSD) Board of Directors approved a substantial rate increase at its Nov. 21 meeting in order to pay for the NCSD’s Supplemental Water Project. According to NCSD calculations, “average” residential water ratepayers using 36 units per month will see their overall water rate […]
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Pipeline crunch-time: A Nov. 21 hearing looms as Nipomo stakeholders consider key water decisions
In water-challenged South San Luis Obispo County, the concept of the Nipomo Supplemental Water Project has been around for decades. Day by day, though, the project is becoming more and more real. While the actual construction of a supplemental water pipeline between Santa Maria and Nipomo has been underway for more than a year now, […]
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Field worker sexual harassment bill becomes law
On Sept. 28, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 1087 into law. The bill seeks to curb what some people say is an epidemic of sexual harassment and violence among the state’s field workers. SB 1087 was penned by state Sen. Bill Monning (D-Concord), whose district runs from Santa Clara County to the San Luis […]
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A basin situation: Nipomo water issues are coming to a boil
As water becomes scarcer every day in dried-up San Luis Obispo County, the cracks are starting to show—literally and metaphorically. As the water level steadily drops in reservoirs, wells, and various groundwater basins, the political rhetoric is much harsher, conservation measures are more stringent, and everyone’s patience is growing thin. In particular, preexisting tensions over […]
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South SLO County’s water conservation plans are kicking into high gear
Seeing as the emergency in the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin and the dire water situations in coastal Cambria and Morro Bay have drawn a lot of attention, some locals might be surprised to learn that Southern San Luis Obispo County has water issues of its own. While California’s historically awful statewide drought is hardly breaking […]
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Projectile goes through window at SLO Supervisor Caren Ray’s home
Sometime on the evening of June 29, an unknown perpetrator shot through a window in the Arroyo Grande home of San Luis Obispo County District 4 Supervisor Caren Ray. Details about the incident are still scarce, but Ray told the Sun that she and her family are safe and were completely unharmed. Ray discovered the […]