A new county courthouse could be coming to San Luis Obispo. “With the current courthouse and some of the facility and its shortcomings and inadequacies, it's really important for us to build this new courthouse to ensure that we're providing that access to the public and the community,” said Kim Bobic, Judicial Council of California Senior Project Manager.

In California’s water wars, fishermen and farmers have long been enemies. But now that federal and state regulators have closed the salmon commercial fishing season for an unprecedented third year in a row to protect declining populations, at least one major commercial fishing group is shifting its alliances.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday vacated an order dismissing an action against the City of Santa Barbara and others in which the plaintiffs, who are Second Amendment advocates, contest the lawfulness of  their ejection from a “buy-back” event at which members of the public who surrendered “guns” and were given gift certificates,  arguing that they had a right to be present and challenge the legitimacy of the program.

Releases purportedly surrendering a party’s right to benefits under a plan established under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 must withstand “special scrutiny” such that, in addition to the considerations generally applicable to determine voluntariness, court must consider any allegations of misconduct by the administrator in obtaining the waiver, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held yesterday.