When policy puts firefighters at risk
OPINION by SHANNON KESSLER The Timber Fire is burning in the steep, rugged country of the Los Padres National Forest and the Ventana Wilderness. Hotshot crews are hiking miles into exceptionally steep terrain with almost no fire roads to support them. That’s not just difficult terrain; it is the predictable...
FBI searching for child molester who fled sentencing in San Luis Obispo in 2003
By JOSH FRIEDMAN The FBI is asking the public for help locating a convicted child molester who has been at large for more than 23 years after failing to appear for sentencing in San Luis Obispo. Erik Kristian Moller, now 59, was entrusted to care for a girl on almost...
Ranger warn visitors at El Chorro Dog Park of rattlesnakes
By KAREN VELIE It is rattlesnake season in San Luis Obispo County. After a bite at El Chorro Dog Park, rangers are warning visitors to beware of rattlesnakes. A ranger was unsure if a rattlesnake bit a dog or a person. Rangers posted several signs warning visitors that rattlesnakes are...
Measles case reported in Santa Barbara County
By KAREN VELIE As measles cases spread throughout the United States, Santa Barbara County recently reported its first measles case since 2019. The woman contracted measles while traveling abroad. In 2025, San Luis Obispo County confirmed its first case of measles since 2018. In that case, the infected party had...
Atascadero woman identified as victim of fatal crash
By JOSH FRIEDMAN The CHP has identified as 58-year-old Atascadero woman as the victim of a fatal crash along Highway 41 on Wednesday as Gemma Salting. Shortly before 7 a.m., Phill Peterson was towing a trailer on Highway 41 between Morro Bay and Atascadero. A large piece of equipment dislodged...
Trump Administration awards Diablo Canyon Power Plant $271 million
By KAREN VELIE The U.S. Department of Energy announced today it has awarded $271 million to help support Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant’s extended operations. Diablo Canyon Power Plant provides nearly ten percent of California’s power. “A win for President Trump’s energy agenda, funding will allow the power plant to...
Taxpayers are doing their part, government needs to deliver
OPINION by ADAM VERDIN What if we could fix more roads, bring home more state and federal transportation dollars, and do it without raising the overall tax burden? On Wednesday, the SLOCOG Board and the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted to remove Measure H from the November...
