New Times - San Luis Obispo

what's news
County officials urge residents to ask for help

On Monday, Dec. 29, County Emergency Services Official Ron Alsop called the prospect of receiving federal monies “borderline.”

So, in an effort to convince federal officials of declaring the area a federal disaster, county officials urged residents to write their state and federal representatives and let them know how badly the Dec. 22 earthquake affected the county.

Without the federal distinction, the county could lose out on millions of dollars in aid to both to private individuals and local government agencies.

Homeowners and business owners could be eligible for grants of up to $25,000 in an addition to a variety of low-interest loan programs.

Also, through a combination of federal and state aid, local governments that need to repair roads, buildings, water tanks, and other infrastructure could have up to 90 percent of their costs reimbursed with the designation. Without the designation, the level of reimbursement drops to 75 percent.

Sulfur stinks, but not a health threat

The wake of last week’s earthquake has left Paso Robles City Hall smelling like either a romantic evening at the hot springs or stinking rotten eggs. The smell is due to a ruptured hot springs aquifer that’s leaking as much as 1,000 gallons of sulfurous water per minute out of the City Hall parking lot, and city officials have not yet figured out a way to stop it.

The water is being pumped into a storm drain that will eventually flow into the Salinas River, which state water officials said may be harmful to the river’s ecosystem. Besides the sulfur, the river’s delicate ecosystem could be disrupted by either other minerals or the temperature of the sulfurous water. State water officials said the water does not pose a public health threat.

Supes to look into Nacimiento water

The County Board of Supervisors is expected to consider several milestone actions regarding the Nacimiento Water Project at the Board’s next meeting on Jan. 6. The Board is expected to consider certifying the project’s Final Environmental Impact Report, approving a raw water project, and adopting the California Environmental Quality Act findings.

The project entails 66 miles of pipeline, extending from Lake Nacimiento along the Salinas/Highway 101 corridor south of San Luis Obispo. Fifteen water agencies, including San Miguel, Paso Robles, Templeton, Atascadero, and Santa Margarita to SLO, as well as other surrounding areas, seek supplemental water from the lake.

To learn more about the project, log on to www.nacimientoproject.org or call Christine Ferrara at 781-5272.

Third soldier with SLO connections dies in Iraq

Eighteen-year-old camp San Luis Obispo National Guardsmen Michael Mihalakis died in Iraq on Friday, Dec. 26 when the Humvee he was riding in hit an embankment and overturned at Baghdad International Airport. He was two weeks away from being sent home to his family in San Jose.

Mihalakis signed up for the National Guard when he was attending Cuesta College as a 17-year-old. His family is holding off any funeral arraignments until their son’s body is returned to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Mihalakis is the second Camp San Luis soldier to die in Iraq. Staff Sgt. Davis Perry of Bakersfield was killed Aug. 10 when a package he was inspecting exploded in Baqouba.

Cal Poly 2001 graduate Osbaldo Orozco died in April in northern Iraq when his Bradley fighting vehicle rolled over while en route to help other American soldiers under attack. ³

This week’s What’s News was compiled by Staff Writer Matt McBride and intern Dylan Price.