Court opens nuke commission to
public
As a result of a lawsuit filed by two groups, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ruled that the public has the right to comment on security regulations at nuclear power plants.
The two groups - Public Citizen and the local environmental activist group Mothers for Peace - sued the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) earlier this year, accusing the agency of violating federal law on rulemaking procedures when it issued new security rules without first notifying the public and allowing an opportunity for comment.
Rochelle Becker, spokeswoman for the San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, is quick to point out that, in the event of a disaster, radioactive release will travel many thousands of miles. "This is not just a local issue," she said.
The court has given the NRC 120 days to comply by scheduling a date certain for hearings. If the NRC fails to fulfill that commitment, the case will be brought back and the court will order a public hearing.
Although she remains anxious to see whether the commission cooperates with the court ruling, Becker called the decision "a major win for people concerned about the safety of nuclear power plants."
Juvenile runaways back home
Four San Luis Obispo county juveniles have returned home after a three-day disappearing act.
The runaways - two females ages 12 and 13 and two 16-year-old males - were last seen in the Nipomo area in the early morning hours of Sept. 13. Later that same day, their vehicle, a red Mercury Sable belonging to one of their families, was found abandoned along the freeway in Ventura.
The juveniles sent a text message on the morning of Sept. 14, notifying a family member that they were safe, but offering no indication of their whereabouts.
On Sept. 15, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department released names and photographs of the missing youths, enlisting public assistance in locating the runaways. The next morning, one of the boys was located in the Santa Clarita area by the Los Angles County Sheriff's Department.
That same afternoon, the other missing male and two females were located in the same area by the L.A. County Sheriff's Deputies in cooperation with San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Detectives.
Because of their status as juveniles, Sergeant Ron Hastie declined to speculate on the mindset or motivation of the runaways, conveying only the relief he shared with the youngsters' parents.
SLO city selects seismic czar
On Oct. 4, Claire Clark will begin her contract with the city of San Luis Obispo as the new seismic coordinator - a position the City Council created last month in an effort to help the unsettling process of seismic retrofitting run more smoothly.
With more than 70 buildings in downtown San Luis Obispo made of unreinforced masonry - or what architects and bureaucrats like to call URM - the retrofitting makeover is certain to disrupt or dislocate some 50 percent of businesses. Bearing that in mind, the city wanted a staff member devoted to assisting business owners and property owners with the daunting process.
Shelly Stanwyck, economic development manager for the city, describes the position as a "liaison between the city and the businesses."
One of Clark's primary tasks will involve assisting the property owners in obtaining the appropriate construction permits, which they must have no later than Jan. 1, 2006. The city has authorized the temporary position of seismic coordinator only through June 2006.
Clark's background in estate planning, complex real estate projects, and regulatory compliance issues convinced the city that she was the right woman for the job. Before moving to the Central Coast in the early 1990s, Clark practiced law in Massachusetts.
More recently she served on the board of directors of the Mozart Festival and worked as a teacher in local schools.
Quick arrest in vineyard embezzlement case
Less than three weeks after North County's Carrasco Vineyards reported a case of payroll embezzlement, one of its employees, Gustavo Solorio Luna, was arrested for embezzlement, forgery, falsification of records, and making false financial statements.
Sergeant Ron Hastie of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department, who is investigating the case, described the Sept. 17 arrest as "short-timed."
Luna, a 45-year-old Paso Robles resident, was responsible for providing payroll information to a labor contracting company, and the contractor somehow lost oversight, Hastie said.
The suspect reportedly fabricated names and included them among actual ime sheets. Once Carrasco Vineyards delivered its payroll, the suspect simply cashed the bogus checks and kept the money.
Sheriff's detectives continue to investigate, but they estimate losses at approximately $9,000 in payroll funds.
Math lesson clarification
New Times has received multiple calls regarding the scoring system Staff Writer Abraham Hyatt used when he gave a quiz to local Assembly candidates in last week's cover story, "Some assembly required."
For those who were confused: There were 10 main questions and many of them were worth several points. For instance, one question asked what the Assembly district's smallest and largest cities were and the names of those city's mayors. That one question was worth four points - one for each correct answer.
In all, the quiz was worth 20 points.
However, there were also three possible extra credit points - one for each city name the candidates could translate from the Chumash language.
That's why New Times gave candidate Sam Blakeslee 20 out of 20 points: While he missed one point in one question - he answered that the district was 80 percent white when it's only 64 percent - he still knew that Pismo means "tar."
Staff Writer Abraham Hyatt and Freelancer Jeff Hornaday reported this week's news.
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