Cal Poly's semester catalog is here. At last

Author

Carly Heltzel
November 04, 2025

Good morning. It’s Tuesday and Election Day, and I’m looking at what costumes students wore to the bars this weekend. Onto the five Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

The first semester-based academic catalog came out yesterday. Cal Poly released the future course offerings, unit conversions and graduation requirements for all colleges yesterday, allowing students their first look at how they’ll continue their degrees in the semester system changeover. Cal Poly will also switch to a yearly catalog review like the rest of the Cal State rather that the current four-year cycle.

2.

SLO’s jail has released 21 people into ICE custody, SLO’s sheriff said for the first time publicly. Previously, it was known that two people were picked up outside the county courthouse and three were recently picked up from the jail. The sheriff declined to give the timeframe in which those 21 people were handed over. Local and federal laws prohibit local cooperation with ICE except for under certain circumstances.

3.

A whole town is protesting the revised plan for California’s proposed high-speed rail, which would split their town down the middle. Shafter is a small, 22,000-person town near Bakersfield and the residents are angry. The rail’s original plan veered around Shafter, with minimal impact, but if it were to cut through, it would both save money and move up the prolonged project’s timetable. “You don’t care about our community because you are decimating it,” one resident said.

4.

One couple’s health insurance will skyrocket over six-fold for 2026, and this narrative is not uncommon. Their plan that now costs $350 per month will be $2,221 per month starting in January due to a cut in tax credits that subsidized health care plans for middle class people. On average, health care premiums are increasing by 97% for the coming year. “It’s insane. It’s unbelievable,” the woman said of her rate hikes.

5.

A startup founder pitted his wealth manager against ChatGPT to see who would make him more money in the stock market. Surveys show that two-thirds of people who have used AI have asked it for financial advice and 80% of people who asked acted on the AI’s advice. The startup founder just did it at a much larger scale. In the end, his wealth manager edged out ChatGPT by 5%, with his manager delivering a 40% return to ChatGPT’s 35% return on his investments.