Santa Maria
Sentencing delayed for church shooting
A Santa Maria man convicted of attempting to kill two people has had his sentencing delayed until June 9.
Ivan Moreno Hernandez, 27, chose not to appear in court for a hearing in his case Thursday in Santa Maria, but his attorney, David Bixby, was there along with the prosecutor, Deputy District Attorney Megan Baldwin.
Bixby had said that his client told him he was incompetent.
Judge Zel Canter said that he saw no reason to declare a doubt as to Hernandez's mental competency, and set sentencing for early next month.
Hernandez was convicted of attempted murder and other charges in April by a Santa Maria jury in connection with a shooting outside a church dance in February 2007.
He shot Santa Maria residents Kevin Lopez and Rafael Lainez in front of St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Santa Maria.
Oceano
Manslaughter suspects make court appearance
Three men accused of involuntary manslaughter in connection with a 53-year-old female transient's death at the Oceano Dunes May 14 made their first court appearance Wednesday.
James Lee Proffer, 52, David Wesley Cartwright, 60, and Kelly Marvin Johnson, 42, are accused of piling sand on Patricia Ann Kalbskopf after she allegedly passed out from drinking. The four were camping at the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area.
Kalbskopf died from asphyxiation caused by inhaling sand, according to autopsy results.
The men, who are in custody at San Luis Obispo County Jail, all entered not guilty pleas to the felony involuntary manslaughter charge, which carries a maximum sentence of four years in state prison.
Their next court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday in Superior Court for a pretrial hearing.
Santa Maria
City Council backs Measure A
The City Council unanimously threw its support behind the latest attempt to renew a countywide transportation sales tax that is slated to go before voters in November.
Officials from the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments appeared before the council Tuesday to present the final investment plan for Measure A 2008, a countywide half-cent sales tax. The proceeds would be earmarked for transportation projects throughout the county.
This renewal effort comes as the current half-cent sales tax, which is earmarked for transportation, is set to expire. That levy, called Measure D, was approved by county voters in 1989 and will expire in 2010.
The city's share of the money generated by Measure D has gone to street maintenance and other projects such as sidewalk repair, handicapped-access curb ramp installations and street-light installations.
City officials expect to use the local share of Measure A funds in much the same way. As for regional projects, Measure A would pay for major construction such as interchanges at Union Valley Parkway and McCoy Lane, and widening the Santa Maria River Bridge.
Cayucos
Group creates hillside memorial
Anyone traveling north of Cayucos on Highway 1 in northern rural San Luis Obispo County will see a large white, undulating shape created on a hill as a memorial commemorating more than 4,000 deaths of U.S. military members in Iraq.
For Memorial Day, Blowin' In The Wind, a Central Coast group whose members are anonymous, created the inverted v-shape with more than 4,000 white flags aligned row upon row, shimmering in the wind.
The design refers to the shape of the Vietnam War Memorial and echoes the ceremony of Tibetan prayer flags, organizers said. Each flag has the name, age, and date of death of a U.S. soldier killed in Iraq.
For more information, go to
BlowinInTheWind.org.
Central Coast
Cell scam targets Rabobank customers
Cell phones across the Central Coast have been receiving scam text messages claiming that the user's Rabobank account has been closed due to unusual activity.
The text messages, which were mostly sent out May 16 with a couple more on Monday, instructed the recipients to call an 800 number, said Steven Harding, regional president for Rabobank. Once the person called the number, they were told to give their debit card number and expiration date on the card, he said.
The scammers disconnected the number on Friday, Harding said.
The texts were sent out to both Rabobank customers and non-customers, he said.
Harding said that Rabobank would never ask for such personal information through electronic means.
He urged anyone who receives the scam text message to ignore it.
“As long as they don't respond, there's no issues at all,” Harding said.
If someone should fall prey to the scam and give the culprits their debit card information, they should contact their bank and notify the institution of what happened.
Santa Maria
Pre-rodeo concert scheduled May 30
Country singer Mark Chesnutt will give a concert before the Friday night, May 30, performance of the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo.
A ticket to the May 30 rodeo also provides admission to the 5:30 p.m. show.
That night's rodeo action kicks off at 7 p.m. Both will be at the Santa Maria Elks/Unocal Event Center.
For rodeo tickets call 922-6006. For other information, call 925-4125.
Santa Maria
Hospital building to be demolished
In preparation to build the new 188-bed patient tower, Marian Medical Center is planning to demolish a portion of the original hospital.
On Tuesday, starting at 9 a.m. crews are expected to bring down the building that was originally built in 1967 and housed the Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity. The building was most recently used for the Human Resources Department and conference rooms, officials said.
The demolition is the final phase of prep work needed before the patient tower can be built. The new tower is expected to be completed in 2011.
“At Marian, we hold fast to the Sisters' original mission of providing excellent care to those in need,” Charles Cova, president of Marian Medical Center, said in a written statement. “This is a milestone in our history of expanding to meet the needs of the growing community.”
SLO County
Grand jury backs hospital closure
A recently released report by the 2007-08 San Luis Obispo County Grand Jury concluded that the Board of Supervisors made the right decision in 2003 to close General Hospital and the county's primary health-care clinics.
The grand jury investigated how the closures have affected the county Medical Services Program, which is a program for medically indigent residents.
The seven-page report that was released early last week concludes that since the closures of the hospital and clinics, “patient care has improved and the county has saved significant resources.”
The closure of General Hospital and the primary health-care clinics has saved the county
$3.5 million annually. The county contracted with Community Health Centers of the Central Coast to provide the services and medical care that were discontinued when the clinics closed.
The entire report can be viewed online at:
www.slocourts.net/grandjury.
Santa Maria
Council approves land-use changes
Land-use changes for a 1.36-acre triangular piece of land in northeastern Santa Maria were approved by the City Council, paving the way for the construction of a new fire station.
The city plans to relocate Fire Station No. 3 from its site on North College Drive to the vacant lot at 1670 E. Donovan Road.
It is estimated to cost $2.5 million to build the new station. City officials hope to include the cost of construction in the 2009-10 budget.
- From staff reports
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