KSBY News • 13th July 2023

SLO High School teacher, basketball coach on leave after misconduct allegations

A San Luis Obispo High School teacher and boy's basketball coach is on paid administrative leave.

San Luis Coastal Unified School District Superintendent Eric Prater confirmed in an email to KSBY that Jeffrey Brandow was placed on leave in March. KSBY News has learned the administrative action stems from allegations of misconduct involving a student.

Multiple calls to Prater's office were not returned. Prater in the email declined to comment on the allegations as the district does not comment

KSBY News • 29th June 2023

Prescribed burns, satellites and more: 5 things to know from Gov. Newsom's firefighting press conference

The roughly 45-minute press conference was meant to highlight the new innovations and ongoing preparations on behalf of the state of California and partner forces for the upcoming wildfire season — a season projected to be as dangerous and, potentially, destructive as 2017.

That year, fires burned over 1.5 million acres, resulting in the deaths of 47 people and the loss of 11,000 structures.

Here’s what you should know.

Forest management strategies are at the forefront

Following devastating

KSBY News • 16th August 2023

‘This is for everybody’: Swiss-Italian heritage celebration coming to Central Coast

A three-day event celebrating everything Swiss-Italian heritage is coming to the Central Coast this fall. And all are invited, genealogical past notwithstanding.

The first day of festivities kicks off Friday, Sept. 22 in Orcutt, where an informal meet-and-greet will be held at the Far Western Tavern.

Saturday, Sept. 23 will be a day full of Swiss-Italian activities at a private ranch near Los Alamos. It includes wine and cheese tastings, exhibits, alphorns and accordions, lectures on ancestry

KSBY News • 14th August 2023

Cal Poly erects temporary study structures for students as 2-year library renovations continue

Temporary structures have been erected on the campus of Cal Poly to provide students with additional options for studying as the long-awaited renovations of the university’s library continue through the early phases.

The structures, referred to as tents but could be called “tensile structures,” according to a university official, have been placed in two parking lots on campus as the Kennedy Library undergoes extensive renovations.

The structures, located in lots C7 and H11, have doors, power,

KSBY News • 11th August 2023

Full-scale replica tall ship, San Salvador, arrives in Morro Bay: ‘This changed the world’

A piece of history has arrived on the Central Coast.

A full-scale replica of the galleon ship the San Salvador is docked in Morro Bay, and visitors will have the opportunity to take a tour.

It’s a joint partnership between the Maritime Museum of San Diego — which led the design and building of the replica ship — and the Morro Bay Maritime Museum called The Pacific Heritage Tour 2023.

The ship first arrived Tuesday and will be docked at the South T Pier through at least Sunday, Aug. 20, which

KSBY News • 10th August 2023

4.3 magnitude earthquake hits near Parkfield, northeast of Paso Robles

A 4.3 magnitude earthquake struck near Parkfield, Calif., according to the San Luis Obispo County Office of Emergency Services.

The earthquake hit about 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) northwest of Parkfield. It had a depth of about 5.9 miles or 9.5 kilometers, according to the USGS website.

Parkfield is roughly 25 miles northeast of Paso Robles. The unincorporated community in Monterey County is referred to as the earthquake capital of California, due to the frequency of magnitude 6 or greater earth

KSBY News • 9th August 2023

Rep. Carbajal visits Lompoc, promotes local benefits of major infrastructure law

Rep. Salud Carbajal was in Lompoc on Tuesday to celebrate the financial benefits of a landmark infrastructure law and to better understand the potential need for additional funding.

Carbajal, a Democrat of the Central Coast’s 24th District, joined Mayor Jenelle Osborne and city administrator Dean Albro as part of his “Summer of Infrastructure” tour, where Carbajal has been promoting the financial windfall the Central Coast has attained for infrastructure projects.

"From enhancing the local par

KSBY News • 3rd August 2023

Attendance, revenues increase year over year at California Mid-State Fair

Attendance numbers and gross revenue totals for the 77th annual California Mid-State Fair have been released by the organization, showing year-over-year increases for certain sectors, the fair announced Thursday.

The unofficial attendance total for this year’s fair was 334,000, according to a California Mid-State Fair press release breaking down the numbers. The press release said that was a 0.5% increase over last year.

The release said the official count will take “several weeks” to finalize

KSBY News • 3rd August 2023

'The kind of successes we'd like to see': Newsom advisor tours Santa Barbara County homeless services

A senior advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom visited south Santa Barbara County on Wednesday to get a better understanding of how the area is addressing homelessness.

Hafsa Kaka, who is a senior advisor on homelessness for the Office of California Governor Gavin Newsom, toured emergency shelters and homeless housing units in the area as part of her visit, including Hedges House of Hope in Goleta near the UCSB campus.

"I think what's really interesting in the visits that I'm looking at is: what are th

KSBY News • 2nd August 2023

'Big step forward': City of San Luis Obispo welcomes first of 8 all-electric buses

The City of San Luis Obispo held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday for the first of its new electric buses — bringing the city closer to its stated goal of carbon neutrality by 2035.

“This is a big step forward,” Alex Fuchs said, who is the city's mobility services business manager. “A big positive step forward for us with our climate action goals as well as our electrification throughout the entire city.”

It's San Luis Obispo's part in the state's 2018 Innovative Clean Transit (ICT) regulat

KSBY News • 31st July 2023

Santa Barbara man found guilty of second-degree murder stemming from hotel room ‘shootout’

A Santa Barbara man was found guilty of second-degree murder for killing a man in Goleta in February of 2022, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday.

In addition to second-degree murder, Isaiah Ramirez Alexander, 36, was found guilty of other charges including shooting at an inhabited vehicle, residential burglary, commercial burglary and other special allegations and enhancements, according to a press release from the district attorney’s office.

The charges are r

KSBY News • 27th July 2023

32 Central Coast restaurants listed in 2023 MICHELIN Guide. Here's who made the cut.

Thirty-two Central Coast restaurants made the cut in the 2023 edition of the MICHELIN Guide — the century-old prestigious restaurant rating system coveted by chefs around the world.

Four of those 32 received a one-MICHELIN-star rating. (The star rating system only goes up to three.) There are 69 restaurants in California that have one-MICHELIN-star rating.

Editor's Note: View the full list at the bottom of this page.

Eight of the 32 are in SLO County, five of those in Paso Robles.



Twenty

KSBY News • 25th July 2023

Cal Poly SLO one of 34 best universities in nation, finance website says

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo received a 5-star rating in Money magazine’s 2023 Best Colleges rankings, placing it among the 34 best public and private universities in the nation.

Thirty-four colleges in total received a 5-star rating. The rating has Cal Poly alongside universities such as Columbia, the California Institute of Technology, Harvard, MIT, Stanford and Yale.

Factors such as the estimated tuition price, graduation rates, financial aid and graduate earning

KSBY News • 22nd July 2023

'Be strong, persevere': SLO County resident wins lupus inspiration scholarship

Few things are potentially more devastating than being diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder — a likely permanent set of complications to which one must reorient their entire life to adjust.

One San Luis Obispo County resident has for years been dealing with just that.

But she hasn’t just been living; she’s been thriving.

Grace Thayer, a Cal Poly graduate in her early twenties, has been named a winner of the Lupus Inspiration Foundation for Excellence (LIFE) scholarship. It’s a merit-based sc

KSBY News • 21st July 2023

15 Central Coast nominees earn spots in USA Today Readers' Choice Awards, including 7 from Paso Robles

USA Today has released some of its 10Best Readers' Choice Awards and a handful of Central Coast locations not only made the cut, but scored the top positions, beating out locations across the country in some prestigious categories.

The 10Best Readers' Choice Awards nominees are decided initially by a panel of industry experts. Readers then vote for their favorites — once per category, once per day.

View all available categories on the 10Best website.

SLO County's Paso Robles notched the top s

KSBY News • 7th July 2023

Santa Maria man who embezzled from county union fund sentenced to 11 years

A Santa Maria man who pleaded guilty to embezzling over $600,000 from his union’s bank account where he also served as president was sentenced to 11 years in prison, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.

Torres, who served as a deputy probation officer for Santa Barbara County, embezzled roughly $635,000 of public funds from the Santa Barbara County Probation Peace Officer Association (SBCPPOA). Torres was president of the association for over 20 years.

Funds

KSBY News • 23rd June 2023

A new attraction will soon be cruising the waters of Morro Bay: an authentic gondola

A new attraction has made its way to the waters of Morro Bay, and starting June 30, people will have the opportunity to take a relaxing cruise inside it.

Steven Anastasi, owner and founder of Central Coast Gondola, has brought one of his passions to Morro Bay: a 62-year-old authentic wedding gondola.

Yes, the same romantic vessel seen in films and vacation photos alike — like it’s straight out of the canals of Venice, Italy.

“You can come to the gondola for an hour and you bring whoever you w

KSBY News • 15th June 2023

Santa Barbara County District Attorney warns consumers of undisclosed restaurant surcharges

Several restaurants in the Santa Barbara County area are charging mandatory service fees and surcharges without adequately disclosing those fees to customers, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s office announced Wednesday, which places those restaurants in potential violation of consumer-protection laws.

The Consumer and Environmental Protection Unit “has become aware” of “several” restaurants adding service fees and surcharges “without conspicuously disclosing them to customers before

KSBY News • 14th June 2023

Grand jury report critical of safe parking site, other county facilities OK

The San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury in its annual inspection report was critical of the Oklahoma Avenue safe parking site but found county-run jails and detention facilities to be primarily up to standard.

The grand jury visited and inspected — as required by California law — all jails, holding cells, detention facilities and other select spaces within the county from September through December of 2022.

While primarily positive, the report, released June 12, did find “safety hazards” for inm

KSBY News • 13th June 2023

Man pleads guilty to making death threats against Central Coast Planned Parenthood

A Ventura County man pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges of making death threats and bomb threats, including to a Santa Barbara-based Planned Parenthood, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced in a press release.

Nishith Tharaka Vandebona, 34, of Oxnard, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of "threatened forcible intimidation regarding the obtaining and provision of reproductive health services" under the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic

KSBY News • 7th June 2023

SLO City Council votes to move forward with water rate increases

The City of San Luis Obispo voted to move forward with a proposed plan that will increase water service rates for users over the next two years.

The vote was 5-0 in favor.

“You gotta have water,” councilmember Andrea “Andy” Pease said during the meeting prior to voting in favor.

Water rates will increase by 8.5% in 2023-2024 and an additional 7.5% in 2024-2025.

The first rate increase will be effective July 1, 2023.

The rate increases proposed by the Utilities Department of San Luis Obispo

KSBY News • 7th June 2023

San Luis Obispo Police Department releases video of 2021 shooting that killed detective

The San Luis Obispo Police Department on Wednesday released a video depicting body-worn camera footage of the May 2021 officer-involved shooting that killed Det. Luca Benedetti and seriously wounded one other.

The police department released the video, which contains additional information from the subsequent investigation, "in the interest of transparency" and in response to Public Records Act requests, the department said in a press release.

It provides additional context to May 2021 burglary

KSBY News • 3rd June 2023

Photos: See what the Elks Parade looked like in the 1950s

Festivities for the 80th annual Elks Rodeo & Parade kicked off Thursday. If you can't make it to the event in person, you can watch a live broadcast of the parade starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 3 on The CW, channel 6.2. The parade will be rebroadcast at 3 p.m. on KSBY.

As part of the station's 70th-anniversary celebration, KSBY is looking back at what life was like along the Central Coast during 1953 and surrounding years.

While you may recognize some of the groups, schools and even indivi

KSBY News • 1st June 2023

This local company is celebrating 40 years. They want to thank the community for making that possible.

One local company is celebrating 40 years in business, and they want to thank the community for making that happen.

San Luis Sourdough, founded in 1983, has been producing the same classic sourdough bread that lines the shelves of San Luis Obispo County and other West Coast-area grocery stores.

“I think it’s amazing,” Jaime Juarez — who is the company’s longest-standing employee at 27 years and counting — said to KSBY when asked about his feelings regarding the company running hot 40 years lat