Borjon passes baton at fair
Mark Borjon, a Paso Robles truck dealer, resigned his position July 8 as a board member of the California Mid-State Fair.
Borjon, a member of the board since 1999, owns horses that compete in local and national events. That posed a conflict of interest for Borjon, because state law prohibits fair board members from taking prizes in judged equestrian events.
The conflict issue was raised in 2000, when several Mid-State Fair board members were forced by state officials to return cash and other valuable prizes they had won at the local fair.
Borjon said Tuesday he and his wife "have a lot of money invested" in several champion horses and he "can't afford not to show them."
The governor appoints board members, and the fair is administered by the California Department of Agriculture.
No prison blues for Sullivan
Nelson Sullivan, an 80-year-old retired fisherman from Morro Bay, has learned that he no longer is considered an outlaw by the district attorney.
Sullivan was slated to face trial Monday for trespass, but District Attorney's Deputy Sandra Mitchell said the charge has been dropped "in the interest of justice."
San Luis Obispo attorney Jeff Stein volunteered his successful representation of Sullivan.
Sullivan was handing out petitions on the steps of the Morro Bay post office when the postmaster, Frank Tucay, placed Sullivan under citizens' arrest.
His October 2003 arrest "was politically motivated," said Sullivan, noting that he was working on a controversial redistricting plan for the city that was opposed by Tucay and a variety of city officials.
The district attorney offered recently to drop the charge if Sullivan would sign a statement agreeing that there had been "probable cause" for the arrest. Sullivan refused and demanded the case go to trial.
"The lesson to be learned from my experience is that citizens should not back down in the face of attempts to infringe on rights granted them under the U.S. Constitution," said Sullivan. "We should stand up to intimidation for the good of all citizens who seek to exercise free speech rights."
Hearst deal finally revealed
A long-awaited plan to stem development of the Hearst Ranch near San Simeon has been unveiled, but criticism of the proposal has only increased.
A public forum on the proposal will be held tonight (July 15) at Cayucos' Veterans' Memorial Building, 10 Cayucos Drive, at 6:30 p.m. The event will be televised on Charter Cable channel 22 at a later date. No live television coverage is planned.
The formal plan scarcely differs from preliminary details that have been public for more than a year.
Under terms of the deal, most of 18 miles of coastline will remain accessible to the public. The Hearst Corp. will be able to develop a 100-unit resort at San Simeon, and most of 86,000 acres of scenic property will be ostensibly off-limits to development forever.
Some environmentalists believe the plan's terms will curtail certain access to coastal locales.
The state will pay $95 million in cash and tax credits to seal the deal.
Nipomo man pleads not guilty to sexual assault
Timothy Todd Furness, a 39-year-old Nipomo registered sex offender, appeared in a Santa Barbara County courtroom this week and pled not guilty to kidnapping and raping an 8-year-old Goleta girl.
Prosecutors claim Furness approached the girl at about 3:30 p.m. on July 3 as she rode her bike in the playground of an elementary school. Furness allegedly coaxed the girl into his car, drove to a nearby church, and assaulted her.
Sgt. Chris Pappas with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department told reporters that Furness then flagged down a patrolling deputy and allegedly admitted to what he had just done. He was arrested and charged with seven felony counts.
According to the Associated Press, Furness was convicted of a misdemeanor in a child molestation case in April 2003. In June of that same year, he was convicted of a felony and served a 93-day sentence after he was caught rubbing the arms and legs of two girls at the Mustang Water Slides at Lopez Lake.
Furness' bail has been set at $500,000. He's also been ordered to appear at a court hearing on July 21.
Staff Writer Abraham Hyatt and News Editor Daniel Blackburn compiled this week's news.
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