San Luis Obispo

Two adults, child found dead at home

A San Luis Obispo man, woman and one of the couple's children is dead following an apparent murder-suicide Wednesday morning at a home in the 1700 block of Frambuesa Drive.

San Luis Obispo police identified the dead as John Michael Rivard, 48, Barbara Rivard, 44, and Olivia Rivard, 7, all of San Luis Obispo. All three died of gunshot wounds, police reported.

The San Luis Obispo Police Department received a 9-1-1 call at 6:53 a.m. Wednesday from a man who identified himself as a resident of the home and said that a shooting had taken place there.

When police arrived, they found the three bodies. The gun believed to be the weapon used in the shootings was found at the scene.

Two other children of John and Barbara Rivard, a 5-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy, were found uninjured at the home. They were taken into protective custody by officers.

Advertisement

Investigators are still working to determine the sequence of events, who was responsible for each shooting and the motive.

Autopsies were scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

---

Nipomo

Park plan document up for comment

San Luis Obispo County has released a draft negative declaration for the proposed Nipomo Community Park master plan project that evaluates potential environmental impacts associated with adding new recreational facilities to the park.

The public can comment in two ways on the proposed negative declaration, which is an official statement that the project would have no significant environmental impacts requiring further study: people may file a county request for review - an appeal - by 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, or simply provide comments on the document. Comments are due by 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 29.

A request for appeal or comments should be delivered in writing to: Ellen Carroll, Environmental Coordinator, Department of Planning and Building, 976 Osos St., Room 300, San Luis Obispo, CA 93408-2040.

Copies of the Nipomo Community Park master plan draft negative declaration are available for review at www.slocountyparks.

org, by calling Jeff Oliveira at 781-4167 or visiting the Planning and Building Department.

---

Grover Beach

City OKS two more card tables at casino

The Grover Beach City Council approved two additional card table licenses for Central Coast Casino, allowing the business to legally operate four card tables.

In February, casino owner David Stearns obtained approval from the California Gambling Control Commission to operate two additional card tables at the casino, but he never completed the city's process to legally operate the tables, according to city staff.

Even though the Gambling Control Commission approved operation of the two additional tables, Grover Beach requires that new or added tables be authorized by the City Council at the end of the commission process.

The City Council approved operation of the two additional tables during a public hearing Monday night.

---

Santa Barbara County

Coastal Cleanup Day: 2,600 lbs. of trash

More than 500 volunteers picked up roughly 2,600 pounds of trash and recyclables from Santa Barbara County beaches as part of the annual California Coastal Cleanup Day, according to county staff.

Hundreds of county residents turned out on Sept. 15 to clean 17 beaches, officials said. The day saw 100 more volunteers than last year and they collected 250 pounds more than in 2006.

California Coastal Cleanup Day is organized by the California Coastal Commission and sponsored by various businesses, nonprofit groups and local governments. The event occurs each year on the third Saturday of September.

---

Oceano

OCSD turns down AG's water request

The Community Services Board won't agree to increase the amount of water allocated to the city of Arroyo Grande through the two agencies' Gentleman's Agreement.

The board recently discussed a request by the city to increase its annual allocation of groundwater by nine acre-feet a year to serve two mobile home parks outside Arroyo Grande city limits, according to OCSD General Manager Patrick O'Reilly.

O'Reilly said the board denied the city's request because they felt there were other ways to get the additional water needed to serve the two the mobile home parks.

“We feel it's not an appropriate use” under the Gentleman's Agreement, O'Reilly said.

The Gentleman's Agreement allocates specific annual amounts of groundwater to Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Pismo Beach and Oceano to keep the groundwater basin from going into overdraft.

Arroyo Grande entered into a five-year, temporary agreement with the mobile home parks five years ago to provide water service to the parks' residents because of issues with the sites' wells, according to City Manager Steve Adams.

Adams said the city may consider extending the water service agreement on a short-term basis if Arroyo Grande can get credit for the groundwater not being used by the mobile home parks.

- From staff reports