Good morning. It’s Wednesday, and I’m reading a guide to the best corporate April Fools Day jokes yesterday, complete with cringe ratings. Onto the five Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

SLO City Council got its first glance at a new housing proposal yesterday. The project would provide 409 units of housing — 208 senior-only living and 201 multifamily units — off of Los Osos Valley Road on either side of Highway 101, and it will include an extension to the Bob Jones Trail from Avila Beach. Neighbors are pushing back against the added traffic that comes with more cars in the area and one resident expressed his concern that homeless people would move to the Bob Jones extension. The project, if approved, would take a decade to complete.

Joan Lynch / The Tribune

2.

The annual SLO Beaver Festival is coming to Mission Plaza on April 12. SLO Beaver Brigade puts on the event to raise awareness and appreciation for the county’s keystone species. This year’s event will have an educational focus on how beavers help mitigate wildfires by slowing down water flow. One SLO County resident says the restoration efforts center around giving beavers “the space to do what they do best” and recognizing the value they provide to human lifestyle.

Dylan Foreman / KSBY

3.

A group of researchers are using the same technology that made Pokémon Go to capture the aftermath of the LA fires so victims can have a record of the debris for insurance claims. The augmented reality feeds data from a four camera mount into a program that creates a 3D, explorable model. They were some of the first people allowed into the burn site. While it may be strange to use the Pokémon Go technology, “it all stems from the idea that the world isn't flat, so we shouldn't be representing it flat,” the lead researcher said.

Julia Barajas / LAist

4.

You log onto a Zoom with a job recruiter. In the next dreaded 15 minutes you have to make small talk and impress your future employer — but this time she’s AI. Zara is the newest dystopian development from Silicon Valley, a piece of software with shoulder length blonde hair and dimples who could eventually automate 90% of the hiring process, her creators say. She is built to conduct interviews and administer skills tests that are then sent to hiring managers. But 66% of people say they wouldn’t apply for a job that uses AI in their hiring process. 

Ella Chakarian / The San Francisco Standard

5.

Linnaea’s Cafe has been a community staple for over 40 years. Founded in 1984, the eclectic coffee shop has passed hands a few times, always maintaining a community-centered vibe and its presence as an event space. Little has changed other than the menu, now complete with a Michelin-Guide-recognized pastry chef. Its founder, now in her 90s, bought the tiny space and transformed it from a wig shop into the layout customers know today. “It was a wonderful, crazy idea that worked really well,” said Linnaea herself. 

Kathe Tanner / The Tribune