SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. (KEYT) - The long-planned Sheriff's substation for Nipomo was officially approved today the by San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisors.

During Tuesday's regular board meeting, supervisors also approved the required environmental review
under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and authorized a budget adjustment.

The overall cost of the project is $14.4 million, with construction scheduled to begin next year and finished by 2028.

The 7,000 square foot facility that will be built on county-owned property at the intersection of East Tefft Street and Carrillo Street in Old Towne Nipomo.

The site is currently an empty field adjacent to the Adobe Plaza shopping center, where the Sheriff's deputies utilize a small office.

According to the County, the new facility will significantly expand the operational capacity of the Sheriff's Office by improving response times, enhancing field operations and strengthening service delivery to the growing community of Nipomo and surrounding areas.

"This project is about making sure our deputies have the resources and infrastructure they need to serve South County effectively," said San Luis Obispo County Sheriff, Ian Parkinson. "Nipomo has grown significantly, and this substation will allow us to better respond to emergencies, support our personnel in the field, and provide a higher level of service to the community."

In addition to the space that will be used by members of the Sheriff's Office, the substation will also include a community meeting room that will be available to the public.

"For years, South County residents have been asking for increased public safety resources, and today we are delivering on that commitment," said Board Chair Jimmy Paulding, who also represents Nipomo as the 4th District Supervisor. "This substation represents a major investment in community safety, faster response times, and stronger support for the men and women who serve and protect our neighborhoods every day."

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By Holmes Lybrand, CNN

(CNN) — FBI Director Kash Patel, standing at a lectern beside his boss Tuesday, publicly addressed recent allegations that he has drank to excess, interfering with his duties.

“I’ve never been intoxicated on the job,” Patel told a room full of reporters Tuesday, after highlighting what he considers to be a string of law enforcement successes since the start of his tenure.

“This FBI director has been on the job twice as many days as every director before me,” Patel said.

Standing beside him, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche — whom Patel now reports to — also ridiculed the article, which said people had previously raised concerns with senior leaders about the FBI director.

Blanche told reporters he didn’t read the story, but that it included “blatantly false” information.

Patel has previously denied the allegations made in a recent story in The Atlantic and filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against the magazine.

On Tuesday, though, he and Blanche were probed on the claims by a room full of reporters at an unrelated press conference.

The story, published last week, alleged Patel “alarmed colleagues with episodes of excessive drinking and unexplained absences.”

Patel said Tuesday he never listens “to the fake news mafia.”

“My concerns are completely around the anonymous reporting that comes forth constantly,” Blanche said about the article, adding that it was “based on anonymous sources.”

The Atlantic has defended the work of reporter Sarah Fitzpatrick, who wrote the story.

“We stand by our reporting on Kash Patel, and we will vigorously defend The Atlantic and our journalists against this meritless lawsuit,” a spokesperson said Monday when the lawsuit was filed.

Fitzpatrick responded to the legal threats in an interview with MS NOW on Friday night, saying she stood “by every word of this reporting. We have excellent attorneys.”

The press conference Tuesday was held to tout the indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center over its alleged use of paid informants in extremist groups.

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CNN

By Jeff Zeleny, CNN

(CNN) — Virginia is the latest front in an unprecedented coast-to-coast redistricting war, with voters on Tuesday set to determine whether to accept or reject a Democratic plan to dramatically redraw the state’s congressional maps and help shape the midterm elections.

Nearly 1.4 million Virginians have already cast early ballots, a sign of remarkable interest for an April special election, ahead of Tuesday’s final day of voting. If enacted, the plan could help Democrats win 10 of the state’s 11 congressional districts – a major shift from the current balance of six seats held by Democrats and five by Republicans.

“We didn’t start this fight, but I’m saying to Virginia, we need to finish it,” Delores McQuinn, a Democratic member of the House of Delegates, told CNN at a rally in the final days of the redistricting campaign. “We can help level the playing field.”

Virginia is one of the final chapters in a redistricting arms race that President Donald Trump started last year in Texas when he said Republicans were “entitled to five more seats.” California Democrats responded, along with a handful of other states, in a tit-for-tat that has ultimately yielded nine more Republican-friendly seats and six that favor Democrats.

“What’s happening now is the most blatant power grab that has ever been demonstrated,” said Glenn Youngkin, a former Virginia governor and a leading Republican voice against the measure, who avoided mention of how Texas kicked off the rare mid-decade redistricting fight.

Democrats have raised more than twice as much money than Republicans in the closely watched contest that could help determine which party controls Congress after the fall elections. On advertising alone, Democrats have spent $55 million, according to AdImpact, compared to $23 million for Republicans.

Despite the wide disparity, Democrats acknowledge that victory is far from certain, saying turnout on Election Day will be critical. Republicans share that sentiment and believe creating a 10-1 advantage for Democrats is at odds with the electorate in a state former Vice President Kamala Harris won with nearly 52% of the vote in 2024.

Here are a few dynamics at play – for Virginia and the nation.

High stakes for Democrats

For Democrats, the stakes in Virginia are remarkably high. So, too, are the rewards.

If the referendum succeeds Tuesday night, the party suddenly has more breathing room in its quest to win control of the US House in the midterm elections. The national political winds already favor Democrats this year, but a Virginia victory

CNN

By Jeff Zeleny, CNN

(CNN) — Virginia is the latest front in an unprecedented coast-to-coast redistricting war, with voters on Tuesday set to determine whether to accept or reject a Democratic plan to dramatically redraw the state’s congressional maps and help shape the midterm elections.

Nearly 1.4 million Virginians have already cast early ballots, a sign of remarkable interest for an April special election, ahead of Tuesday’s final day of voting. If enacted, the plan could help Democrats win 10 of the state’s 11 congressional districts – a major shift from the current balance of six seats held by Democrats and five by Republicans.

“We didn’t start this fight, but I’m saying to Virginia, we need to finish it,” Delores McQuinn, a Democratic member of the House of Delegates, told CNN at a rally in the final days of the redistricting campaign. “We can help level the playing field.”

Virginia is one of the final chapters in a redistricting arms race that President Donald Trump started last year in Texas when he said Republicans were “entitled to five more seats.” California Democrats responded, along with a handful of other states, in a tit-for-tat that has ultimately yielded nine more Republican-friendly seats and six that favor Democrats.

“What’s happening now is the most blatant power grab that has ever been demonstrated,” said Glenn Youngkin, a former Virginia governor and a leading Republican voice against the measure, who avoided mention of how Texas kicked off the rare mid-decade redistricting fight.

Democrats have raised more than twice as much money than Republicans in the closely watched contest that could help determine which party controls Congress after the fall elections. On advertising alone, Democrats have spent $55 million, according to AdImpact, compared to $23 million for Republicans.

Despite the wide disparity, Democrats acknowledge that victory is far from certain, saying turnout on Election Day will be critical. Republicans share that sentiment and believe creating a 10-1 advantage for Democrats is at odds with the electorate in a state former Vice President Kamala Harris won with nearly 52% of the vote in 2024.

Here are a few dynamics at play – for Virginia and the nation.

High stakes for Democrats

For Democrats, the stakes in Virginia are remarkably high. So, too, are the rewards.

If the referendum succeeds Tuesday night, the party suddenly has more breathing room in its quest to win control of the US House in the midterm elections. The national political winds already favor Democrats this year, but a Virginia victory

By Sarah Owermohle, Tami Luhby, CNN

(CNN) — US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had another long day on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, with lawmakers questioning him on his vaccine views, agency shakeups and a proposed budget that would slash HHS spending on medical research and public health.

The secretary made his fourth and fifth appearances before congressional committees in less than a week, testifying before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee before heading to a Senate Appropriations subcommittee.

As he had in three-hour sessions last week, Kennedy defended the administration’s budget proposal and his reforms. But he also faced some fresh questions, namely about President Donald Trump’s new pick to lead the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — and whether the White House has sought to rope in his vaccine rhetoric.

Kennedy will testify before two more Senate committees on Wednesday; the afternoon session, with the Senate Health Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, is expected to be the highest-profile hearing of the marathon stretch.

Here are the highlights from Kennedy’s third day of budget discussions on Capitol Hill.

Grilled on CDC pick

Trump named a nominee to lead the beleaguered CDC on Thursday, nearly eight months after the administration ousted Dr. Susan Monarez from the role over her refusal to rubber-stamp Kennedy’s vaccine decisions.

The nominee, Dr. Erica Schwartz, is a veteran of public health service and served as deputy surgeon general in the president’s first administration. Her nomination was met with cautious support from public health advocates, who questioned whether she would be allowed to lead the agency without interference.

Rep. Raul Ruiz had similar questions at Tuesday’s hearing. The California Democrat pressed Kennedy on what drove Monarez’s firing and whether Schwartz would meet the same pressure.

“Mr. Secretary, if Dr. Schwartz is confirmed, will you commit on the record today to implement whatever vaccine guidance she issues without interference?” Ruiz asked.

Kennedy replied: “I’m not going to make that kind of commitment.”

Kennedy also denied that Monarez was fired because of clashes over vaccine policy, saying — as he has before — that the scientist told him she was untrustworthy.

Monarez denied that version of events in a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing in September. The issue — and Schwartz’s autonomy if confirmed — is certain to come up in that committee’s hearing Wednesday, since that panel holds the votes to confirm health care nominees like the CDC director.

Vaccines and measles outbreak remain a focus

Kennedy could not escape questions Tuesday about his stance on vaccine safety and how that may have fueled a sharp rise in measles cases in the US. As in earlier hearings, the secretary denied that his vaccine views played a role in declining vaccination rates and disputed that he has been anti-vaccine.

“The problem is not me. There are people in this country who do not vaccinate,” Kennedy said during the House hearing.

US cases of measles surged to a record high in 2025; the government has recorded more than 1,700 cases so far this year.

Amid questions about vaccine policy changes — such as a proposal to delay hepatitis B vaccination from infancy to age 12 — Kennedy insisted that he is not against vaccines but wants more safety studies.

Vaccines are tested in some of the largest clinical trials of pharmaceutical products, often involving millions of trial participants. They are also