Cal State uses this loophole to avoid giving raises

Author

Carly Heltzel
May 12, 2026

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, and I’m reading about which celebrities watched Justin Bieber perform at an exclusive A-list event on the Central Coast. Onto the five Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

State lawmakers may eliminate a loophole that allows Cal State to avoid giving promised raises to its employees. In the current system, an administrative step allows Cal State scrap a negotiated contract with the unions if the state doesn’t give the system enough money to fund the raises the contract outlines. Cal State says its a necessary financial barrier, and unions say it’s a sneaky tactic that has left employee salaries far behind the pace of inflation.

2.

A fire broke out on a non-operational natural gas platform off the coast of Santa Barbara, forcing 26 people to evacuate. The crew were conducting operations to decommission the platform at the time. The fire began at 6:30 a.m. and was extinguished just before noon, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Central Coast Rep. Salud Carbajal said the incident was a “sobering reminder of the inherent risks that offshore drilling poses to our coast.”

3.

The average price of gas in California is $6.16 per gallon right now, about $1.65 above the national average. It’s $1.40 higher than gas cost at this time last year, and much pricier than January’s $4.22 per gallon, which was the lowest gas prices had been in years. This is the most gas has cost since 2022. Officials say prices won’t surpass $6.50 per gallon, but experts said it could rise another $2 if this continues.

4.

Democrats are urging an unusual strategy to voting in the gubernatorial primary election this June. Wait, they say. Wait and see who is polling the best closer to the election, then vote for that person to make sure one of the Democratic candidates lands in the top two spots and makes it to the November ballot. Some think this is a good play in such a divided field, but other strategists think people won’t actually change their votes and shouldn’t wait.

5.

What happens when you take phones away from screen-addicted tweens and teens during the school day? Disruption and increased disciplinary infractions during a “sobering period” of the first couple years that a school implements the policy, according to a recent Stanford-led study. There were some positive results, too, but it took the students getting used to life without their phone. “One conjecture is that this resembles, to some degree, withdrawal symptoms,” one researcher said.