https://calcoastnews.com San Luis Obispo County’s on-line independent news source producing in-depth investigative news in the public interest. Thu, 25 Jun 2026 17:30:14 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 https://calcoastnews.com/images/2022/10/cropped-largetile-32x32.jpg https://calcoastnews.com 32 32 59345941 https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/paso-robles-police-identify-bank-robbery-suspect/ https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/paso-robles-police-identify-bank-robbery-suspect/#respond Thu, 25 Jun 2026 17:30:14 +0000 https://calcoastnews.com/?p=134495 By KAREN VELIE Paso Robles police officers identified the man they suspect robbed a bank on Wednesday afternoon as Ernesto Noriega Cisneros. He remains on the run. Shortly before 3 p.m., Cisneros entered the Wells Fargo Bank on Spring Street and claimed to be armed with a firearm. He then demanding money from a bank […]]]> https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/paso-robles-police-identify-bank-robbery-suspect/feed/ 0 134495 https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/paso-robles-drops-legal-argument-over-water-rights/ https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/paso-robles-drops-legal-argument-over-water-rights/#comments Thu, 25 Jun 2026 16:54:17 +0000 https://calcoastnews.com/?p=134483 OPINION by GREG GREWAL The quiet title litigation over groundwater rights was a poker game. After five trials and numerous stipulations, the city of Paso Robles finally folded its hand. Their last two legal arguments were pueblo and treaty rights, which they withdrew on June 17.  A 2019 court order on the quantification of the […]]]> https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/paso-robles-drops-legal-argument-over-water-rights/feed/ 1 134483 https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/central-coast-teen-dies-in-river-accident-at-sequoia-national-park/ https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/central-coast-teen-dies-in-river-accident-at-sequoia-national-park/#respond Thu, 25 Jun 2026 16:53:00 +0000 https://calcoastnews.com/?p=134484 By JOSH FRIEDMAN A 17-year-old Santa Maria girl drowned after falling into a river at Sequoia National Park last week. Andrea Diaz Mondragon was visiting Sequoia with her brother and a group of friends. It was her first time at the national park. During the trip, Mondragon slipped into a river, according to a GoFundMe […]]]> https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/central-coast-teen-dies-in-river-accident-at-sequoia-national-park/feed/ 0 134484 https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/car-crashes-overturns-by-highway-101-in-san-luis-obispo/ https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/car-crashes-overturns-by-highway-101-in-san-luis-obispo/#respond Thu, 25 Jun 2026 16:31:32 +0000 https://calcoastnews.com/?p=134477 By JOSH FRIEDMAN A two-car crash by a Highway 101 onramp in San Luis Obispo resulted in one of the vehicles overturning and landing on its roof early Thursday morning. Just before 5 a.m., a driver ran a red light while turning left onto northbound Highway 101 from Madonna Road. The driver collided with another […]]]> https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/car-crashes-overturns-by-highway-101-in-san-luis-obispo/feed/ 0 134477 https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/californians-need-transparency-help-stop-ab-1821/ https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/californians-need-transparency-help-stop-ab-1821/#respond Thu, 25 Jun 2026 15:47:40 +0000 https://calcoastnews.com/?p=134476 Opinion from the First Amendment Coalition We wrote last week to sound alarms about California Assembly Bill 1821, which would have disastrous effects on transparency, accountability, and our democracy. Well, it’s crunchtime. The bill, which was amended at the proverbial 11th hour in a transformation that a local watchdog group called “a virtual horror show […]]]> https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/californians-need-transparency-help-stop-ab-1821/feed/ 0 134476 https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/police-looking-for-paso-robles-bank-robbery-suspect/ https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/police-looking-for-paso-robles-bank-robbery-suspect/#respond Thu, 25 Jun 2026 03:44:01 +0000 https://calcoastnews.com/?p=134471 By KAREN VELIE Paso Robles police officers are looking for the man who robbed a bank on Wednesday afternoon. The suspect entered the Wells Fargo Bank on Spring Street, said he had a weapon and handed a note to the teller. After receiving an unknown amount of cash, the man fled the bank. It is […]]]> https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/police-looking-for-paso-robles-bank-robbery-suspect/feed/ 0 134471 https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/california-threatens-to-sue-trump-administration-over-wind-project-off-morro-bay-coast/ https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/california-threatens-to-sue-trump-administration-over-wind-project-off-morro-bay-coast/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2026 18:44:36 +0000 https://calcoastnews.com/?p=134463 By KAREN VELIE California filed an intent to sue the Trump administration over an agreement with a wind energy company to forego a lease off the coast of Morro Bay in exchange for a partial return of their payment, which is required to be invested in other domestic fuel sources. California Attorney General Rob Bonta […]]]> https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/california-threatens-to-sue-trump-administration-over-wind-project-off-morro-bay-coast/feed/ 10 134463 https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/san-simeon-community-services-district-the-zombie-organization/ https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/san-simeon-community-services-district-the-zombie-organization/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2026 17:55:31 +0000 https://calcoastnews.com/?p=134461 OPINION by HANK KRZCIUK San Simeon Community Services District perfectly fits the definition of a “zombie” organization. As of mid-2025, the San Simeon district has effectively been functioning as a shell entity, kept alive by external support, while it awaits formal dissolution. This assessment matches the current reality in three specific ways: It is on […]]]> https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/san-simeon-community-services-district-the-zombie-organization/feed/ 1 134461 https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/feds-arrest-alleged-santa-maria-child-porn-producer/ https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/feds-arrest-alleged-santa-maria-child-porn-producer/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2026 17:22:09 +0000 https://calcoastnews.com/?p=134457 By JOSH FRIEDMAN Following a joint investigation by the FBI and Santa Maria Police Department, a registered sex offender is facing federal charges in a child pornography case. Authorities arrested Brandon Johnson, 31, for allegedly producing and distributing child sexual abuse material, according to the FBI Los Angeles Field Office. Johnson will appear in federal […]]]> https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/feds-arrest-alleged-santa-maria-child-porn-producer/feed/ 5 134457 https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/firefighters-battle-house-fire-near-paso-robles/ https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/firefighters-battle-house-fire-near-paso-robles/#respond Wed, 24 Jun 2026 16:10:47 +0000 https://calcoastnews.com/?p=134449 By JOSH FRIEDMAN A fire damaged a house near Paso Robles early Wednesday morning before firefighters extinguished it, according to Cal Fire. Shortly before 4 a.m., a caller reporter the blaze burning at a residence in the 1100 block of Ladera Lane. Cal Fire personnel, as well as Paso Robles and Templeton firefighters arrived at the […]]]> https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/firefighters-battle-house-fire-near-paso-robles/feed/ 0 134449 https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/on-person-killed-in-highway-101-crash-near-avila-beach/ https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/on-person-killed-in-highway-101-crash-near-avila-beach/#respond Wed, 24 Jun 2026 15:55:09 +0000 https://calcoastnews.com/?p=134454 By KAREN VELIE One person was killed and another injured in a two-vehicle crash on Highway 101 near Avila Beach on Tuesday evening, according to the CHP. Shortly after 11 p.m., a driver in a Toyota truck was headed southbound near San Luis Bay Drive when the truck veered up an embankment before rolling down and […]]]> https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/on-person-killed-in-highway-101-crash-near-avila-beach/feed/ 0 134454 https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/cambria-businessman-arrested-for-possession-of-child-porn/ https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/cambria-businessman-arrested-for-possession-of-child-porn/#comments Wed, 24 Jun 2026 01:44:34 +0000 https://calcoastnews.com/?p=134445 By JOSH FRIEDMAN San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s deputies in June arrested a Cambria businessman for possession of child sexual abuse material. In April, the sheriff’s office, as well as the San Luis Obispo Police Department, received multiple tips about possession of child pornography. An investigation ensued, and authorities eventually identified the suspect as Roberto […]]]> https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/cambria-businessman-arrested-for-possession-of-child-porn/feed/ 5 134445 https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/this-aint-california-regulators-first-rodeo/ https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/this-aint-california-regulators-first-rodeo/#comments Tue, 23 Jun 2026 23:05:21 +0000 https://calcoastnews.com/?p=134443 OPINION by ANDY CALDWELL Sometimes, it is hard to imagine just how stupid California legislators and regulators can be. If you recall, for 68 years there was an oil facility in Nipomo, known as the Santa Maria Refinery, that treated oil produced from the Santa Maria Valley received by pipeline. After treatment there, another pipeline […]]]> https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/this-aint-california-regulators-first-rodeo/feed/ 5 134443 https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/san-luis-obispo-county-offering-500-reward-for-reporting-fireworks/ https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/san-luis-obispo-county-offering-500-reward-for-reporting-fireworks/#comments Tue, 23 Jun 2026 17:26:08 +0000 https://calcoastnews.com/?p=134436 By JOSH FRIEDMAN The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office has announced a program offering a reward of up to $500 for reporting illegal fireworks sales. Ahead of Fourth of July, the sheriff’s office is partnering with San Luis Obispo County Crime Stoppers to help prevent the possession, sale and use of illegal fireworks. Crime […]]]> https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/san-luis-obispo-county-offering-500-reward-for-reporting-fireworks/feed/ 5 134436 https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/you-cant-pay-me-to-watch-soccer/ https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/you-cant-pay-me-to-watch-soccer/#comments Tue, 23 Jun 2026 17:03:18 +0000 https://calcoastnews.com/?p=134434 By DELL FRANKLIN Editor’s Note: The following series, “Life in Radically Gentrifying Cayucos by the Sea,” to be posted biweekly includes the notes, thoughts, and opinions of an original American voice: author Dell Franklin.  Franklin’s memoir, “The ballplayer’s Son” and “Life on The Mississippi, 1969” are currently on Amazon. One of the people I hang […]]]> https://calcoastnews.com/2026/06/you-cant-pay-me-to-watch-soccer/feed/ 7 134434