Public Safety · San Luis Obispo County
More than 4,400 PG&E customers across San Luis Obispo County lost power during a Public Safety Power Shutoff on Thursday morning, October 15, 2026, with outages spanning from San Simeon along Highway 1 to Morro Bay, and along Highway 101 through Santa Margarita into San Luis Obispo near Cal Poly. The county Office of Emergency Services activated its Emergency Operations Center, and at least one traffic signal at Highway 1 and Education Drive went dark, prompting officials to urge drivers to treat affected intersections as all-way stops. Community resource centers opened in Morro Bay and Cambria Thursday and Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., offering charging stations, WiFi, water, and restrooms. Cuesta College shifted its SLO campus to remote classes through Saturday afternoon, while Cal Poly reported no major impact to its campus core but some effects on agricultural operations. Power restoration was estimated for Saturday.
Public Safety · San Luis Obispo, CA
Bryan Eugene Fox, 65, a registered sex offender in San Luis Obispo, was arrested on Oct. 14 after police traced suspected child abuse material uploads to his residence in the 3000 block of Higuera Street. The investigation began when SLO Police received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in early October. Fox was booked into SLO County Jail on felony charges including failure to register as a sex offender, possession of child pornography by a registered sex offender, possession of a controlled substance, and committing a felony while out on bail. Police say the investigation remains ongoing and are asking residents with information to contact smarques@slocity.org or call 805-594-8060.
Crime · San Luis Obispo, CA
A San Luis Obispo County judge denied bail for David Worthington Ross, 47, who is charged with murder and DUI following a fatal wrong-way crash on Highway 101. The August collision in San Luis Obispo killed a 55-year-old Grover Beach resident. The judge cited the severity of the crash and continued risk to the public as factors in the decision. Ross has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to return to court on November 18.
Crime · San Luis Obispo County
A San Luis Obispo County jury convicted Genaro Santana Avalos, 42, on Oct. 14, 2026, on all four counts stemming from a Dec. 12, 2024, online contact with a minor and meeting attempt at a San Luis Obispo park. The case resulted from a multi-agency SLO County Sheriff's Office operation in which a detective posed as a 15-year-old girl on a dating website; Santana Avalos drove from Paso Robles to the park and was arrested at approximately 9:47 p.m. He faces sentencing Thursday, Nov. 19, before Judge Michael S. Frye in Department 6 of SLO County Superior Court, with a maximum penalty of five years six months in state prison and mandatory sex-offender registration. DA Dan Dow urged parents to monitor children's online communications and report suspected exploitation.
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Local Politics · Templeton, CA
Former Templeton Area Advisory Group Chair David Leader, 71, began serving a 30-day jail sentence at San Luis Obispo County Jail on Oct. 8 after admitting to two felony probation violations in San Luis Obispo Superior Court. Leader was originally sentenced Aug. 19 following guilty pleas to one felony vandalism count and seven misdemeanor counts of disobeying court orders tied to a neighbor dispute along a private road in Templeton. Prosecutors also filed two new misdemeanor charges alleging he violated a civil harassment restraining order on Oct. 1 and 3. Meanwhile, TAAG faces dissolution at the county Board of Supervisors' Oct. 20 meeting after resignations left only two members on its seven-seat board, below the four-member quorum required to conduct business. The group has already closed its bank account and transferred remaining funds to the county.
Community News · Morro Bay, CA
Since Sept. 1, more than 765 starving common murres have arrived at Pacific Wildlife Care's rehabilitation clinic in Morro Bay, with 68 admitted on Oct. 10 marking the clinic's highest single-day total on record. The nonprofit has treated over 3,800 animals this year, surpassing its previous annual record of roughly 3,100 set in 2025. Kelley Boland, the clinic's development coordinator, attributed the surge to warm ocean temperatures pushing prey deeper, combined with post-breeding timing and adult murres' annual flightless molt. Residents encountering stranded seabirds are urged to keep pets away and call Pacific Wildlife Care at (805) 543-9453. The clinic is nearing completion of a new 10-acre facility off Buckley Road in San Luis Obispo, expected to be operational by early 2027.
Crime · San Luis Obispo, CA
Vanessa Rose Noblitt, 45, was sentenced Tuesday by Superior Court Judge Rita Federman to nine years and eight months in state prison for vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated in the July 23, 2024, hit-and-run death of 86-year-old cyclist Saul Goldberg of Avila Beach. Noblitt, whose blood alcohol concentration was .31 percent—nearly four times the legal limit—drifted into a bike lane on South Higuera Street in San Luis Obispo around noon, striking Goldberg and his riding companion Martin Suits before fleeing the scene. She pleaded guilty Sept. 15 to vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI causing great bodily injury (a strike offense), and hit-and-run. A restitution status hearing is set for Jan. 12.
Public Safety · San Luis Obispo County
On Thursday, Oct. 15, a resident of Creston noticed Penfolds Magill Estate Winery (formerly Camatta Hills Vineyard) burning vegetation piles across Ryan Road while PG&E implemented Public Safety Power Shutoffs affecting roughly 9,000 customers from San Simeon to Morro Bay due to heat advisory and high wind warnings. SLO County Air Pollution Control District executive director Karl Tupper confirmed Oct. 15 was an approved agricultural burn day, as the red-flag warning did not go into effect until Friday at 3 a.m., but emphasized that the burner remains responsible if conditions become unsafe. Cal Fire PIO Ryan Grebe said the department monitors burns via ALERTCalifornia cameras and can order stops if winds pose a safety threat. Residents can check PG&E shutoff status at pgealerts.alerts.pge.com/psps-updates.
Community News · San Luis Obispo County
The San Luis Obispo County Elections Office is recruiting poll workers for polling locations in the North County communities of Shandon and San Miguel, where each site needs at least five workers and still requires two to three additional clerks. Early voting began Oct. 5, and the office has already received more than 11,000 ballots through in-person returns, mail, and drop boxes. Poll worker training sessions were held this week in San Luis Obispo, with additional sessions planned in Arroyo Grande and Paso Robles. The county is also seeking backup workers to cover last-minute call-outs.
Public Safety · San Luis Obispo County
San Luis Obispo County Emergency Manager Joe Little urges residents to sign up for AlertSLO at ReadySLO.org, noting that only about 12,000 of the county's roughly 280,000 residents are enrolled. Two separate systems exist—AlertSLO and Reverse 911, managed by the SLO County Sheriff's Office—and officials recommend subscribing to both while a long-term merger is pursued. A recent example involved an evacuation order for Higuera Street between Chorro and Broad in downtown San Luis Obispo due to a natural gas leak. Alerts are tied to a resident's address, so those who move within the same city should update their profiles.
Education · San Luis Obispo County
On Oct. 6, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to send a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Administration for Children and Families Assistant Secretary Alex Adams opposing proposed federal changes to Head Start standards. The county's concerns centered on requirements for English-only instruction that would affect dual-language learners, removal of self-attestation enrollment options for families experiencing homelessness or domestic violence, and changes to services for children with disabilities. CAPSLO, which runs Head Start locally, serves more than 300 children in SLO County. First District Supervisor John Peschong was the sole dissenter; Fifth District Supervisor Heather Moreno initially opposed but changed her vote after a local Head Start provider clarified that bilingual instruction does not segregate students.
Public Safety · San Luis Obispo County
A collision between a 77,000-pound semi-truck hauling cauliflower and a Kia Sportage SUV was reported shortly after 10:10 p.m. Wednesday at the southbound Highway 101 off-ramp at Vineyard Drive in Templeton, California. Two people were transported to Sierra Vista Adventist Health hospital, with one requiring extrication from a vehicle. Southbound lanes were closed and traffic diverted toward Las Tablas Road while crews cleared debris and gravel across both lanes. The California Highway Patrol had not released the cause of the crash or the extent of injuries as of late Wednesday night.
