Santa Maria police arrest suspect 35 years after murder
By KAREN VELIE Santa Maria police officers on Friday arrested a 57-year-old suspect in a murder that occurred 35 years ago. On Sept. 18, 1988, investigators believe Aloysius Winthrop James killed 30-year-old Ofelia Sandoval at the Town Center Hotel on the 200 block of North Broadway. At the time, detectives...
Plane crashes in Paso Robles, 3 people injured
By KAREN VELIE A small plane crashed off the runway at the Paso Robles Municipal Airport on Friday, injuring three people. Shortly before noon, firefighters arrived at the airport to find an aircraft flipped on its roof about 300 feet off the runway. There were three people trapped in the...
Paavo Ogren quits Oceano Community Services District, no notice
By KAREN VELIE After leading the agency for three and a half months, the head of the Oceano Community Services District quit several hours after showing up for work today. This is the third time Paavo Ogren has suddenly quit a government agency in less than four years. Interim General...
Man leads officers on chase, arrested in Arroyo Grande
By JOSH FRIEDMAN Arroyo Grande police arrested a man on Thursday who led officers on a high-speed chase from northern Santa Barbara County to southern San Luis Obispo County, which then transformed into a manhunt in the Five Cities. The pursuit reportedly began Thursday morning after a Jeep struck another...
Ambulance transporting patient sideswiped on Highway 154, paramedic injured
By JOSH FRIEDMAN A vehicle sideswiped an ambulance that was traveling on Highway 154, transporting a patient to a Central Coast emergency room early Friday morning. Shortly before 4 a.m., a caller reported the collision in the Windy Gap area of Highway 154, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire...
Paso Robles rejects paid parking referendum, claims deficiencies
By KAREN VELIE The Paso Robles city clerk has rejected the petition to put a referendum on the November ballot to repeal an ordinance permitting paid parking in the downtown area. Several signature gatherers met on Wednesday with City Manager Ty Lewis, attorney Elizabeth Hull and City Clerk Melissa Boyer....
Drunk driver crashes into Caltrans yard in SLO, hits dump truck
By JOSH FRIEDMAN An alleged drunk driver crashed a small SUV into the Caltrans yard in San Luis Obispo early Thursday morning and hit a dump truck inside the facility. The driver was traveling westbound on Madonna Road before veering off the roadway. The SUV slammed through the chainlink fence...
