A San Luis Obispo Superior Court judge let stand hate crime charges against four defendants who are accused of burning a cross outside of a black woman’s Arroyo Grande home. Defense lawyers argued the hate crime allegations should be dropped because, in this case, the cross burning was symbolic speech. The cross was burned on […]
ROBERT A. McDONALD
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Digital afterlife
The dead are the newest group to gain followers online
Peggy was dying. She had battled cancer for years, but at the age of 45 she was losing her fight. A wife and stay-at-home mother of three children in Ventura, Peggy had caught the online bug and couldn’t stop writing about what was happening to her and the effect the disease had on her family. […]
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Suspects charged in Arroyo Grande cross burning
Four suspects were charged in connection with a cross burning outside the house of a black woman in Arroyo Grande on July 22. All four were charged with arson, cross burning, terrorism, and conspiracy to commit a cross burning. Jeremiah Leo Hernandez, 32; Jason Wayne Kahn, 36; Sara Kay Matheny, 24; and William Michael Soto, […]
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Improper appointment costs Oceano big bucks
The Oceano Community Services District suffered yet another financial setback when a San Luis Obispo County Superior Court judge tentatively awarded a former board member $74,441 in legal fees stemming from a 2010 lawsuit. The former board member, Pamela Dean, sued the district after she claimed Lori Angelo was illegally appointed to the board in […]
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Lucia Mar dreams
The school district shoots for the stars, but may need luck and a local tax hike to pay for them
Jim Hogeboom, superintendent of the Lucia Mar Unified School District, is an ambitious man. Hogeboom is in charge of a school district that stretches north from the Santa Barbara County line to Shell Beach. The largest district in San Luis Obispo County consists of 11 elementary schools, three middle schools, and three high schools. Though […]
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Oceano CSD general manager ousted
Oceano Community Services District General Manager Raffaele Montemurro got the boot. The district’s Board of Directors took more than four hours to decide at a closed meeting May 31 to give Montemurro the ax. The vote was unanimous, and Montemurro handed over the keys immediately after the meeting. It’s unclear what the specific terms of […]
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Cross burning mystery
Hate incidents and arson linger two months after an unsolved hate crime
It happened right there,” said the woman, pointing to a burned patch of grass in an unkempt plot of land in Arroyo Grande. The burned grass, now faded after two months of spring storms, and a few bits of wood scattered around the yard are all that remain of a hate crime that shocked the […]
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Arroyo Grande cross burning is being investigated as a hate crime
In the early morning hours of March 18, an 11-foot-cross was set ablaze outside the window of a 19-year-old African American woman in Arroyo Grande, according to police reports. The Arroyo Grande Police Department is investigating the cross burning as arson and a hate crime. Arroyo Grande Police Chief Steve Annibali said two FBI agents […]
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Newly sworn-in Gov. Brown’s budget proposal upsets nearly everyone
Gov. Jerry Brown has managed to accomplish something in his first few weeks in office that took his predecessor years to accomplish: He’s infuriated many of the state’s Republicans and Democrats at the same time. Brown released his budget proposal on Jan. 10, and it was a doozy. It calls for $12.5 billion in cuts […]
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Get to know the new laws
From weed smokers to ammo buyers, there’s something for everyone
Hey, you dope-smoking hipster wannabe anarchists, I’ve got some good news for you. Starting this year in California, when you get caught smoking an ounce or less of Mary Jane, the penalty is a mere ticket. It’s an expensive ticket at $100, but still: no court appearances, no arrest, and nothing on your record. Undoubtedly, […]
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Welcome the new ducks
Those people we elected into office a while back will soon officially step up�
It was a long, miserable, and drawn-out election season. Local mayors and other officials have mostly been sworn in. Assemblyman Katcho Achadjian has stepped up from his San Luis Obispo County supervisor seat. The state and national changes, however, are yet to come. Liberals and progressives are glad the horror of the national election results […]
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Blakeslee votes against Republican budget
During the frantic last days of the 2010 legislative session, State Senator Sam Blakeslee did something unusual for a freshman Republican: He voted against his party’s spending plan. To be fair, he also voted against the Democratic budget proposal. Blakeslee sent this explanation in an e-mail statement to New Times, the Sun’s sister paper to […]