Public Safety · San Luis Obispo County
PG&E's planned Public Safety Power Shutoffs in San Luis Obispo County ended by Sunday morning, Oct. 18, restoring electricity to thousands of customers after three days of outages triggered by wildfire-risk weather. The shutoffs began Thursday affecting about 4,600 county customers and expanded Friday to communities including Cambria, Morro Bay, Atascadero, Santa Margarita, Arroyo Grande and Nipomo. Restoration progressed through Saturday as crews inspected lines for equipment and vegetation hazards; at 7:55 a.m. Saturday, 8,615 customers remained without power, dropping to 2,747 by 3:55 p.m. The outages disrupted businesses, school campuses, traffic signals, and left rural residents relying on generators for well pumps and refrigeration.
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 · San Luis Obispo County
A Santa Ana wind event brought hot temperatures and dangerous fire weather to San Luis Obispo County through Saturday, but a low-pressure trough will bring cooler onshore winds, marine layer fog, and scattered rain showers (under a quarter inch) to the Central Coast by Wednesday. Daytime highs in Paso Robles are forecast for the mid-to-upper 60s with lows in the mid-40s, while coastal areas including San Luis Obispo will see low-to-mid 60s. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center indicates an 83% chance the current El Niño could surpass the 1982-83 event, potentially increasing storm winds and rainfall for the Central Coast this winter. A free public presentation, "El Niño: What It Means for the Central Coast," by retired PG&E marine meteorologist John Lindsey is scheduled for Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Cayucos Landing/Veterans Building, with complimentary tickets at my805tix.com/e/john-lindsey.
