YOUR COMMUNITY IN YOUR HANDS
Volume 9
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Issue 20
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March 23 - April 5, 2017
SLOCityNews.com
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The SLO County Board of Supervisors turned down a request by Phillips 66 Co. to build a rail spur line to their Nipomo refinery. See story below with more on page 8. Photo by Camas Frank
Better Busses on SLO Streets Page 11
Zombie Invasion Page 34
SLO BOS Backs Planners Denies Phillips 66
Violent Crime Down; Thefts Up in SLO
Story and Photos By Camas Frank
T
W
he San Luis Obispo County Planning Commission held eight hearings last year to consider the application by Phillips 66 to build a rail depot for up to 150 tanker car trains through the county each year. On March 13 and 14 this year the SLO Board of Supervisors was called upon for an appeal hearing of the Planning Commission’s 3-2 denial of that plan, and many of the same local residents, anti-oil protestors and elected officials from the rail corridor North and South, including Los Angeles, Sacramento, Davis, Berkeley, Oakland, and San Jose came out to repeat their concerns. This time the BOS voted 3-1, to uphold their Planning Commission’s decision.
hile violent crimes in San Luis Obispo dropped slightly last year, SLO police chief said they’ve struggled with a wave of thefts. “Violent crime was down 7% in the City last year,” Police Chief Deanna Cantrell said in a news release. “But property crime — particularly thefts — remains a challenge for the department and the community.” Chief Cantrell recently issued a report to the City Council laying out “some of the public awareness efforts and policing strategies the department has used to combat crime, which has increased 11% over last year, reflecting a statewide trend. While crime rose, the rate of growth slowed from the previous year, when crime increased by 21%.”
See Phillips 66, page 8
See Crime, page 33
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