Cover Story
The Masters of Black Mountain
Bob Stone steps out of his half-ton Ford pickup, slides his hands in his pockets, and surveys the mud with apprehension. “They were here last night,â€? he says, looking for tracks. “Well, we’ll go out to the east and see.â€? Yesterday, when Stone had been here in the hilly backcountry roughly 20 miles northeast of…
These roosters aren’t chicken
Sheriff’s deputies have stumbled across an enormous fighting cock breeding operation in Nipomo. Deputies were tipped off February 7 after receiving a call from PG&E workers at 550 Joshua Road, who reported hearing gunfire and being rained on by buckshot. Deputies followed what appeared to be the path of the gunshots to 696 Joshua Road,…
Going back to jail
 An unrepentant Kenneth Walter Freitas, 35-year-old son of a high-ranking county official, prepares to return to jail next week after being rebuffed in an appeal of his conviction for vehicular manslaughter. Freitas was behind the wheel of a sports utility vehicle that struck and killed Sarah Marcella Scruggs, 17, as she crossed Grand Avenue in Grover…
Look what the cat drug in
Hey, did you miss me? Aw, what am I saying? Of course you did. Everyone misses me when I’m gone. Even me. I miss myself. Sometimes I miss myself so bad, I find an old shirt of mine and sleep with it next to me, just so I can wake up to the smell of…
Letters
Editor’s note: The normal New Times letters policy requiring full name and city or town is being waived again this week in the interest of publishing as much correspondence as possible in response to “Meth Made Easyâ€? (February 2) and last week’s letters section and editor’s column. Here you go — finally a letter from…
The cost of hoarding animals
An Edna Valley woman accused of keeping more than 100 animals, a number of them dead, could face more than jail time — she may owe more than $114,000 to the county.  #Cynthia Walsh, 56, has been charged with six counts of felony animal cruelty plus misdemeanor charges. An anonymous tip led authorities to her…
Letters
Editor’s note: The normal New Times letters policy requiring full name and city or town is being waived again this week in the interest of publishing as much correspondence as possible in response to “Meth Made Easyâ€? (February 2) and last week’s letters section and editor’s column. Here you go — finally a letter from…
FAST FACTS
Looking for cutting-edge, state-of-the-art cancer care? San Luis Diagnostic Center is now offers the Discovery ST, a redesigned PET/CT system that optimizes the diagnosis and treatment of cancer. The system not only provides doctors with more accuracy when making a diagnosis, but it also shortens the total scan time— from 60 minutes to under 30.…
