By Aaron Ochs, on May 7th, 2012%
 Pulitzer to Cuddy: Nope The politics in San Luis Obispo County has never been pretty. The choice between District 3 Supervisor and incumbent Adam Hill and Pismo Beach city councilman Ed Waage has electrified the political debate in this county. There have been many wild twists and turns during the course of their campaigns, including but not limited to: prank calls, tampering with online newspaper polls, bizarre diatribes on racism and birtherism by the Tea Party, and kindergarten-grade character attacks from a newspaper that prints opinion columns as actual front-page news. This is clearly anarchy, and that reflects poorly on everyone who is involved in the mudslinging.
Continue reading SLO Politics: Guilty By Association →
By Aaron Ochs, on November 7th, 2011%
 The evil engineers of division Razor Online has an exclusive report, detailing a large-scale operation by County officials to discredit Los Osos wastewater project dissent in never-before-seen detail.
When San Luis Obispo County Public Works Director Paavo Ogren attended a town hall meeting on June 19, 2007, he was asked by a resident about working with Dana Ripley of Ripley Pacific Company and the STEP/STEG collection system. He calmly told the resident, “Personally, I’m not a fan of that technology. Besides, [Ripley] and his project is more or less absurd. I don’t want to work with him, and… so what’s the point in complaining, right? We just follow the process. I just do what I’m told.
“It’s part of the game.”
Continue reading Inside The County Sewer ‘Game’ →
By Aaron Ochs, on October 18th, 2011%
Chairman Hill,
I’ve written several articles about your conduct, and I strongly suspect that you’ve read them all. There’s no need to rehash the subject matter. It’s already been ingrained into your consciousness — so let’s cut to the chase.
You broke the law.
Continue reading An Open Letter to Adam Hill →
By Aaron Ochs, on October 14th, 2011%
 But did he read the book? UPDATE (10/16): Adam Hill issued a response to Los Osos resident Bo Cooper, which read, “Certainly Linde can make her comments without resorting to ugly personal statements about staff and their personal lives. Mostly she is able to avoid that sort of thing, as are most of her fellow speakers. I don’t think this a matter of legalistic retreat; I think it’s a matter of decency and civility. Of course so many vile things can be defended under the hazy banner of what’s democratic. To each his or her own.” Naturally, this earned a response from Cooper. Read it here (PDF).
SLO County Board of Supervisors chairman Adam Hill cut Los Osos resident Linde Owen‘s microphone during her public comment at last Tuesday’s meeting, creating an uproar in the community that has led to investigations against Hill for constitutional violations. Following the outcry, the New Times’ “Shredder” took the opportunity to tell residents to “shut up.”
Continue reading Hill, New Times’ Shameful “Shut Up Los Osos!” Campaign →
By Aaron Ochs, on September 19th, 2011%
 Is anybody home? On October 13, 2010, I wrote an article titled “Get The Facts: Ring Paavo’s Doorbell,” which was understandably controversial. The controversy reached a fever pitch when I took on local radio host Dave Congalton, who wrote an article about it. Since then, I spent time objectively analyzing the overall job performance of the County, and their responsiveness to concerns surrounding the Los Osos wastewater project.
Continue reading ‘Ring Paavo’s Doorbell’ — One Year Later →
By Aaron Ochs, on July 10th, 2011%
 Shhhhhh! The County of San Luis Obispo is unlike most counties in California — and across the nation — because of its distinct preference for silence as a general response to public inquiry. Many inquiries and concerns are raised and have been raised by citizens who demand transparency and accountability. However, many of those inquiries and concerns are swept under the rug without recourse. This is the culture of silence, and it’s rudely counter-intuitive to making progress and uncovering the truth about highly questionable governmental practices that have become standard operating procedure in the County.
Continue reading The Culture of Silence →
By Aaron Ochs, on April 8th, 2011%
Apparently, MWH Americas has not left the building. County Public Works’ John Waddell wrote to a Los Osos resident on March 22, “The pre-qualified short-list for the treatment facility under a design-build process includes MWH, CDM, and Auburn Construction.”
Then, the plot twist. Public Works Director Paavo Ogren wrote in an e-mail to another Los Osos resident on April 5 that MWH has not been excluded from bidding on the design and construction of the treatment facility and construction of the collection system. Didn’t MWH already exclude themselves from bidding on the design of the collection for the “overall controversy in Los Osos”?
Continue reading MWH, Get Out of The Bay →
By Aaron Ochs, on February 27th, 2011%
 Will he meet his Waste-Waterloo? At last Tuesday’s SLO County Board of Supervisors meeting, many Los Osos speakers commented on the fact that the police were present during general public comment. Two weeks after my previous article was published, there was an increased presence of police inside the chambers. Newly elected San Luis Obispo County Sheriff Ian Parkinson was present, as was the Under-Sheriff Martin Basti — formerly Chief Deputy when he physically assaulted Alan Martyn, an elderly resident of Los Osos, in 2005 — and an unnamed sheriff deputy.
How can one maintain decorum with cops that don’t know what decorum is?
Continue reading Napoleon Hill →
By Aaron Ochs, on February 22nd, 2011%
 This is where revolutions start. UPDATE (3:16 PM PST): Sources have stated that there were three policemen at the meeting: one deputy, the undersheriff, and the sheriff himself (Ian Parkinson).
UPDATE (2/22 at 1:25 PM PST): Even more Sheriff’s deputies were in the back of the room during public comment at Tuesday’s SLO County Board of Supervisors meeting.
For nearly 10 years, law enforcement has been dispatched to meetings that addressed — or had public comment speakers that addressed — issues pertaining to the Los Osos wastewater project. Typically, it’s been presumed that the police were summoned to deal with the allegedly unruly Los Osos residents, most of whom maintain a reasonable, measured tone without elevating the vitriol beyond “We’re getting screwed.”
Continue reading The Cop in the Back of the Room →
By Ed Ochs, on January 13th, 2011%
 Adam Hill's hair is on fire over sewer activists “The beatings will continue until morale improves.”
—WWII Japanese Submarine Force Commander
New-term Board of Supervisors Chairman Adam Hill, a former Cal Poly English professor, is one of those teachers who teaches scared.
Continue reading Hill the Boor →
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