TIMELINE

After removing its long-time city attorney in September—by providing a lump sump severance payment of $163,235—the Morro Bay City Council terminated the employment of its city manager, Andrea Lueker, a city employee since 1987 when she started as a lifeguard. Her last paycheck was made out for $153,322. The terminations, led by Mayor Jamie Irons, prompted a citizen recall effort to remove him, which eventually fell short as not enough signatures were collected. Citing employee confidentiality, no reasons were provided by the council for the firings. It’s official, 2013 will go down as the driest year on record in San Luis Obispo County. In the City of SLO, only 4.5 inches of rain fell all year, which shatters the previous record low of 7 inches recorded in 1898. Paso Robles received just 1.9 inches or approximately 15% of normal. Santa Maria had 3 inches, their driest year on record. The effects of the drought are magnified as they come on the heels of subpar rain years and leave municipal water supplies around the Central Coast in precarious positions. As local officials begin doing rain dances, the 2014 season is off to a slow start. At the time of this writing, no rain has fallen on the Central Coast since January 1st.

The Grover Beach City Council elected to remove Mayor Debbie Peterson as its representative on the Air Pollution Control District Board (APCD) after she wrote a petition that had not been authorized urging the repeal of the dust rule. In response, Peterson called a special meeting where representatives from Friends of Oceano Dunes, a non-profit pro-off road vehicle advocacy group whose members reside primarily out of San Luis Obispo County, tell the council essentially, “Reinstate Peterson or we will appeal the lodge and conference center project.” The 150-room hotel and 11,000 square-foot conference center has been slated for construction on about 13-acres near the intersection of West Grand Avenue and Highway 1. The Milken Institute Index of Best Performing Cities reports that San Luis Obispo County is on the upswing when it ranks it 25th nationally. The report noted that it was “the largest gain of any large metro in the Top 25.” The Milken Institute ranks the entire county together, as opposed to individual cities, which puts its population at 274,000 thereby classifying it as a “large city.” The wine industry and growth in the technology sector are said to have driven the ranking. Incidentally, the rankings have varied dramatically over the past ten years: in 2003 SLO County ranked #6 and in 2009 it ranked #130 suggesting that the researchers at the Milken Institute may have been mixing wine with technology when putting together the report.

A report conducted by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development ranks SLO County as the 3rd worst in the nation for sheltering its homeless residents. The study estimates the homeless population to be 2,300 and suggests that 90% of those individuals are without shelter. Although local leaders continue to debate the causes and solutions, the fact remains that that the Central Coast, for whatever reason, continues to face major challenges with homelessness. Fighting back tears on the steps of Santa Maria City Hall, Abel Maldonado announced that he was dropping out of the race to become California’s next governor. The republican, who had previously served in the state senate and as lieutenant governor, oversaw a campaign that never gained any significant momentum. Although he stated that “Now is my time to step away and stay home,” it is widely expected that Maldonado, a rising star within his party, will soon find another office to run for despite his recent 0-2 losing streak.

In what has become a familiar scene on the shores of the Central Coast, yet another drug trafficking panga boat washed up on Estero Bluffs beach near Cayucos. This vessel—the largest one to date, complete with powerful dual V-8 outboard engines and sophisticated communications equipment—was called a “super panga” by the sheriff’s department. It was the 11th panga found along the county shoreline since May 2012 and it contained 4,440 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of $6 million to $8 million. Authorities believe that the traffickers were interrupted while unloading their cargo onto the beach, which caused them to scatter and abandon the boat and its remaining bags labeled “Salvado,” or “bran.” No arrests were made at the time of the finding.

The race to represent District 4—Nipomo, Oceano, and parts of Arroyo Grande—on the SLO County Board of Supervisors is shaping up to be a hotly contested affair as another hat is tossed into the ring. AG-based real estate broker, Mike Byrd, announced that he will compete against Nipomo businesswoman Lynn Comptom and recently appointed Caren Ray [learn more about Ray on page 20] in the upcoming contest in June. If no candidate receives a majority of the vote at that time, there will be a run-off in Novemeber. In a mind-boggling coup d’état, Gary Eberle was removed from his leadership role at the winery he founded over thirty years ago. With his half-brother ailing in an Alzheimer’s care facility, Eberle’s sister-in-law assumed voting rights of her incapacitated husband’s shares. With control of the Eberle Winery board of directors, Jeanne Giacobine was able to push Eberle—who is often to referred to as “The Godfather” of the Paso Robles wine region—out of the general partner role. Although Giacobine offered no reason for the move, Eberle cited the board’s desire for more profits as the motivation and suggested that product quality would suffer with an expansion.