Cal Poly received record-breaking 80,000+ applications

Author

Carly Heltzel
February 24, 2025

Good morning. It’s Monday, and I’m reading about a bioengineered toothpaste that retails for a whopping $250. Onto the five Cal Poly, SLO and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Cal Poly received a record-breaking 81,914 applications this year, topping the 80,000 mark for the first time in its history. That’s a 3.4% increase from last year’s at-the-time record breaking numbers. Out-of-state students had the largest increase with 9.4% more than 2024, and international students saw a 6.8% increase, too. Last year, Cal Poly only had room for about 8% of the people who applied, meaning the university accepted about 30% of applicants. But the pool is getting more competitive.

2.

SLO’s bus system is getting some upgrades. The city’s proposal aims to increase the frequency of lines to Cal Poly’s campus, to downtown in the afternoons and to San Luis Ranch development — as well as reinstate any suspended services from the pandemic. It’s expected to cost roughly $2 million for the five-year improvement plan (that has been in the works for a year and a half). By 2035, the city hopes to bump bus ridership to 12% of all transit trips.

3.

The state senator who represents SLO visited the site for a proposed transitional housing initiative in the city. He said he wants to push more state resources toward temporary housing sites like this one, which are poised to relieve the immediate impacts of homelessness by getting people off the streets; the 54-cabin project is set to break ground in May near Terrace Hill. The state senator said he told Gov. Gavin Newsom that local communities are taking charge of homelessness response. “This project shows locals are stepping up,” he said. 

4.

A 22-year-old was arrested for selling narcotics after police searched his residence last week. After a months-long investigation in which police found he was selling counterfeit adderall, which has similar components to methamphetamine, a.k.a. meth, they found large quantities of the suspected narcotic pills, psilocybin mushrooms and packaging suggesting he was selling the pills. His residence is on the 500 block of Highland Drive. He was released after posting a $50,000 bail. 

5.

Residents of a wealthy Santa Barbara enclave are up in arms after a tour bus dropped people at Montecito Hot Springs — a once locally-known spot that has garnered international social media attention since the pandemic. The residents association said there was “widespread concern and disappointment” when neighbors saw the bus parked. Trail maintenance, parking nightmares, privacy and fire risk are the core of the community’s concerns. “This isn’t individual hikers,” a retired fire chief said. “This is a for-profit business.”