This past year was full of headlines about the Trump administration, federal job cuts, and increased immigration enforcement. But through all of that national news, San Luis Obispo County was still humming along, impacted by the new federal polices and national politics and continuing with business as usual. The biggest, most consistent headlines were about the Dana Reserve and the negotiations that took place after local advocacy organizations sued the development and the county. But there were also two large fires, Cal Poly’s president testified before Congress, and an election fraud case was filed against a former mayoral candidate. We don’t have space to cover everything that happened, but here are a few of the highlights.
—Camillia Lanham
Proposition 50 moves forward
Proposition 50 passed in November, with more than 64 percent of the state’s voters supporting it. Nearly 55 percent of voters in San Luis Obispo County voted in favor of the measure, which temporarily approved new congressional districts for California to favor more Democratic seats in response to redistricting efforts in Texas to favor more Republican ones. Residents and visitors across the county weighed in on the attempt to redraw the districts ahead of the Nov. 4 statewide special vote, and voter participation was high in both the state and SLO County. According to the Dec. 2 certified results by the county Clerk-Recorder’s Office, 73 percent of the county’s registered Democratic Party voters cast their ballots while 68 percent of registered Republicans participated.
—Bulbul Rajagopal
Dana Reserve gets reworked, reapproved
A revised Dana Reserve plan couldn’t shake off the controversial nature of its predecessor. The SLO County Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission approved the new Nipomo housing development plan, but it drew criticism from some officials and neighbors because key players Nipomo Action Committee, the local chapter of the California Native Plant Society, and Dana Reserve developer NKT Commercial agreed to halve the number of affordable homes to make way for 3 acres of oak woodlands. The groups reached the agreement through a settlement sprouting from two lawsuits but faced scrutiny from 2nd District Supervisor Bruce Gibson for redacting portions that he believed needed to be unveiled for full transparency.
—Bulbul
One battle after another
It took less than 24 hours for the monthlong Madre Fire—which burned 52,000 acres near New Cuyama in its first day alone—to grow into California’s largest of the year by acreage in July. Contained at about 80,000 acres, the Madre Fire was dethroned in August by the Gifford Fire, which exceeded 80,000 acres within its first week. The fire was 100 percent contained in late September and had burned 131,000 acres east of the Santa Maria Valley.
Both fires drew in thousands of firefighters from across several states, and impacted several areas along Highway 166. The crossover burn areas between the fires resulted in one silver lining for firefighters, according to Don Fregulia, an operations section chief for the incident management team that fought the Gifford Fire. “Fortunately the Madre Fire’s helping us out quite a bit with containment here on the northeast side of the [Gifford] fire,” Fregulia said in August.
Throughout both fires, evacuation orders and warnings applied to areas in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, as well as parts of the Los Padres National Forest.
—Caleb Wiseblood
Templeton’s Feed and Grain destroyed by fireworks
Templeton’s iconic Feed and Grain building was destroyed by alleged illegal fireworks on July 4. For five days the building smoldered as the Community Services District (CSD) worked out its costly demolition. No one was hurt but the district’s emergency funds took a significant hit, requiring an additional $150,000 be added to its existing $50,000 stash. Extinguishing the fire required the help of San Luis Obispo, Atascadero, Paso Robles, and Cal Fire firefighters in addition to Templeton’s own Fire Department. The building had been a staple of Templeton’s downtown since 1946, manufacturing and selling animal feed at wholesale. Four suspects were identified and now the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office is expected to determine charges.
—Chloë Hodge
‘St. Fratty’s’ music festival, frat parties, and the city
In an effort to rein in historically disruptive and disastrous St. Patrick’s Day partying, Cal Poly and the city of San Luis Obispo decided to take a different approach, with the university hosting its first ever Morning on the Green—A Mustang Music Festival. Cal Poly held the free-to-students concert on March 15 from 4 to 9 a.m. at the Sports Complex Lower Fields, featuring headliner Zhu and special guest Galantis. Tickets were capped at 5,000 and sold out in three minutes. Students without tickets, hoping to get in on the day of, rushed the gates, knocking down fences, running to the field to join. Fences were eventually left open and the event peaked with an estimated 6,000 attendees. The university described it as a relatively calm and peaceful weekend compared to previous years.
In the aftermath of St. Fratty’s Day, the county Grand Jury released a report criticizing both the city and the university’s handling of partying and off-campus fraternities.
SLO officials denied half a dozen findings in the report, which alleged the city failed to curb unsanctioned frat parties. Complaints from residents who lived near frat houses in residential neighborhoods built the foundation for the report. The grand jury launched an investigation comprising interviews with neighbors, some City Council members, Cal Poly leadership, and officials from Community Development and the SLO Police Department. The city detailed its rejection in a 14-page letter to a SLO Superior Court judge, adding that the grand jury didn’t adequately address key stakeholder Cal Poly.
The following month, the city revoked the permit of repeat-offender frat Delta Chi, which had racked up 17 noise complaints over two years.
—Chloë and Bulbul
Paso High principal arrested on campus
Paso High School Principal Megan Fletcher was arrested on campus Nov. 10 on suspicion of driving under the influence. Police confirmed that the arrest followed a report from school staff who believed Fletcher may have been under the influence of alcohol. Fletcher was released from police custody the same day of the arrest and was immediately placed on paid administrative leave by the Paso Robles school district. A week later, she resigned from her position. Both the school district and the Police Department emphasized that the situation did not pose a threat to students or staff. To maintain continuity, Assistant Principal and Athletic Director Mike Susank was named the acting interim principal for Paso Robles High School.
—Chloë
Battery energy storage standoff
On Jan. 16, the Vistra-owned Moss Landing Battery plant caught fire in Monterey County for the third time since 2021, shutting down Highway 1 and causing mandatory evacuations in the area. Following the five-year effort to build a 600-megawatt battery plant in Morro Bay, Vistra withdrew its application to build a plant within the city this April. The Texas-based energy company still owns the old power plant site but hasn’t announced any new projects. Vistra said it could pursue the project through state approval and promised to update the community if redevelopment plans emerge. The proposal faced controversy, including a 2024 voter measure limiting city zoning control, and the city previously negotiated a $3 million agreement with Vistra over the site. Morro Bay explored acquiring the property in March, but Vistra declined.
In the wake of the battery plant fire, a different energy storage facility in SLO County also faced scrutiny. The 100-megawatt Caballero battery energy storage facility in Nipomo opened this year, but neighbors complained that they were unaware the plant approved in 2023 was even being built. Designed differently than the Moss Landing facility, 4th District Supervisor Jimmy Paulding said the Caballero facility is much safer.
—Chloë
Cal Poly’s president testified before Congress
Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong testified before Congress on May 7 following an investigation by the Congressional Committee on Education and Workforce into how university presidents have handled antisemitism on their campuses. The hearing, titled “Beyond the Ivy League: Stopping the Spread of Antisemitism on American Campuses,” was chaired by U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Michigan) as an attempt to hold college administrators accountable for their responses to antisemitism on campus. Armstrong was accompanied by Haverford College President Wendy Raymond and DePaul University President Robert Manuel. During the three-hour hearing Armstrong only spoke for about eight minutes and wasn’t questioned about any specific incidents at Cal Poly. He stated that the university’s goal is “continuous improvement,” noted that individuals have been held accountable for antisemitic acts, and mentioned creation of a new antisemitism task force by the university.
—Chloë
Paso Robles drama
The legal dispute between The Tribune, the city of Paso Robles, and City Councilmember Chris Bausch was settled after more than a year of litigation over public records access. The case stemmed from The Tribune’s investigation into allegations made by former City Manager Ty Lewis, who filed a $2.2 million claim in August 2024 accusing Bausch of creating a hostile work environment and conspiring with CalCoastNews reporter Karen Velie to remove him. From August 2024 to January 2025, The Tribune submitted 19 Public Records Act requests seeking communications from Bausch’s phone and email, which the newspaper said were not produced, prompting the lawsuit. The litigation escalated into cross-complaints among the newspaper, the city, and Bausch before a judge ordered the release of records, resulting in the disclosure of thousands of emails. In September, the City Council approved a settlement requiring the city to pay $250,000 for The Tribune’s legal fees and $27,000 for Bausch’s, with total lawsuit costs exceeding $500,000.
—Chloë
Oceano neighborhood faces fumigant questions
Residents in and near Oceano’s Grell Lane like Karl and Ruth Kempton complaining of headaches, nausea, and fatigue think the culprits behind their health issues are the soil fumigants chloropicrin and 1,3-dichloropropene emanating from nearby farm fields. County officials like the Agricultural Commissioner’s Office and 4th District Supervisor Jimmy Paulding said their complaints were difficult to respond to because investigations into their medical conditions couldn’t find reasonable links to drift. The state Department of Pesticide Regulation values the two fumigants because of their effectiveness against pests and crop disease. But Kempton and social justice groups like Californians for Pesticide Reform feel the county can install more safeguards to protect residents and farmworkers.
—Bulbul
Grover Beach increases wastewater rates
After two years of tumult over increased utility rates that included recall attempts, ballot measures, and a contentious 2024 City Council election, in July, Grover Beach residents saw their wastewater bills go up by 17.8 percent per year, and it’ll be that way for the next five years. For the average single family in the beach community, the wastewater bill stands to more than double from roughly $25 bi-monthly to about $58 by 2030. The rate increase is how the city plans on coughing up an estimated $11 million needed to upgrade its aging sewer lines, lift station, and storm drains. By October, the new rates partially funded a $3 million upgraded sewer system that was also paid for using a private bond.
—Bulbul
Former Gala executive director faces embezzlement charges
Following Gala Pride and Diversity Center’s allegations about its former executive director Dusty Colyer-Worth diverting the nonprofit’s funds into his personal accounts, the SLO County District Attorney’s Office charged him with multiple counts of grand theft by embezzlement. Colyer-Worth, out on a $20,000 bail bond, pleaded not guilty to those charges in December. He has been working as the outreach manager for the Diversity Center in Santa Cruz since he parted ways with Gala. According to Gala board president Julia Thompson, the nonprofit—staffed with new employees—is trying to rebuild with the help of a financial committee and a third-party bookkeeping service.
—Bulbul
Gaea Powell enmeshed in election fraud case
Two-time Arroyo Grande mayoral candidate Gaea Powell is defending herself in the District Attorney’s Office case against her. Powell faces nine charges of election fraud that allegedly took place during her 2022 and 2024 campaigns for mayor. By the end of the year, Powell had also filed a federal lawsuit against SLO County Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano for allegedly unlawfully colluding with the DA’s Office and had announced that she was starting her 2026 election campaign to be the next county Clerk-Recorder.
—Bulbul
Diablo and Wild Cherry Canyon
PG&E-owned Diablo Canyon Power Plant recently won permits from the California Coastal Commission to keep the plant running until at least 2030. The commission’s initial rejection compelled the utility company to return to the drawing board and expand mitigation measures for the lands surrounding the state’s last-standing nuclear power plant.
State Sen. John Laird supported the commission’s decision, especially PG&E’s inclusion of Wild Cherry Canyon in land to conserve. Following years of litigation over ownership, courts ruled in favor of real estate development company HomeFed Corporation over PG&E subsidiary Eureka Energy. The two groups are now working together on Wild Cherry conservation efforts.
But environmental groups like SLO Mothers for Peace and the Environmental Defense Center are critical of Diablo Canyon’s continuing impacts on marine life and the Coastal Commission’s decision to approve a consistency certificate for new federal operating licenses that could keep the plant open for another 20 years.
PG&E is awaiting approvals on the federal licenses while other issues persist, like repaying a $300 million state loan, questions about Diablo’s seismic condition, the pending results of embrittlement testing on its first reactor unit, and the shortfall of unitary taxes paid by PG&E to San Luis Coastal Unified School District despite the permit extension.
—Bulbul
Budget constraints divide San Luis Coastal
Losing an annual $10 million in unitary tax from Diablo Canyon isn’t the only thing stopping San Luis Coastal Unified School District’s budget from recovering. The district is also weighed down by the end of pandemic-era funding, a state requirement to continue offering Transitional Kindergarten (TK) without any funding support for basic aid districts, escalating pension contributions, and increased day-to-day costs.
The district had to balance an almost $6 million deficit in the 2025-26 school year, which saw pushback from students, parents, and teachers who wanted to retain school counselors and the TK program. Now, a $5 million reduction looms for the 2026-27 school year, and some students and their parents fear that the future of the district’s music programs are in jeopardy.
—Bulbul
Emergency services shakeup
Confronted with complaints about long wait times and working in an outdated system, San Luis Ambulance might lose the monopoly it’s held in the county for 80 years. The Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 in October to open a request for proposals process that would allow other ambulance service providers to submit applications to serve the county. Their vote came a month before the county’s only air ambulance, the Mercy Air 34 base in Paso Robles, said it was closing because of the lack of reimbursement increases to the state’s Medi-Cal and federal Medicare programs.
—Bulbul
Transgender student rights debate
The Lucia Mar Unified School District became a hotbed of contentious discussions about the rights afforded to its queer students. Beginning in April, a group of parents demanded the district snap its policy on the presence of trans student athletes in sports and gendered locker rooms into compliance with the Trump administration’s slew of restrictive Title IX regulations.
The school board voted against adopting a community-proposed resolution to support “fairness, safety and equal opportunities” in girls’ sports that was spearheaded by now-California State Assembly 30th District candidate Shannon Kessler.
The board also voted to retain nationally contested books Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe and Push by Sapphire in the Arroyo Grande High School library after two alleged members of Kessler’s Harvest Church appealed the library committee’s decision to continue stocking the titles. ∆
—Bulbul
This article appears in Jan 1-8, 2026.