DA faces gag order after online rant

Author

Carly Heltzel
February 13, 2025

Good morning. It’s Thursday, and I’m reading about the zoo that lets you name a dead rat after your ex for Valentine’s Day — then get a video of an owl picking out its guts. Onto the five Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Following an online rant from SLO County’s district attorney, a gag order around the case has been requested by the attorney representing a former probation officer accused of embezzlement. The DA’s social media posts accused a judge of giving special treatment to the officer by allowing her to bypass the process of being arrested (booking, mugshot, etc.). But multiple other attorneys have spoken out saying her court proceedings are normal. The attorney accused the DA of intending to “inflame public opinion” around the case and violating the ideal that all people are innocent until proven guilty.

2.

A large group of students protested against nationwide deportations last Friday on Dexter Lawn. The “Sit in Solidarity” demonstration had a live mariachi band that students sang along to and numerous anti-ICE posters saying everything from “Protect people not borders” to “I drink my horchata warm because f**k ICE.” The event’s organizer was inspired by hearing stories of friends with undocumented parents and seeing the recent crackdowns in the media, saying the protesters were speaking “for the people who don’t have that voice.”

3.

After Kennedy Library shut down, so did a clear path to accessing its resources. Now, 240,000 of its books are in a Sacramento warehouse, 10,000 of the most popular books are available upon request from an on campus storage facility and 12,000 architecture books are stored in the Crandall Gymnasium. Instead of in-person research assistance, a 24/7 Live Chat Help, where students are connected to trained students and staff in the U.S. and U.K., is available on the library’s website. Construction is on track to be completed before reopening this fall.

4.

The U.S.’s first wave energy project is coming to the Port of LA next month. The pilot program looks like a series of piano keys that rise and fall with each wave breaking on the pier, which then acts as a ‘bicycle pump’ to increase the pressure in canisters of air. When the pressure is released, it spins a turbine. As of now, it's only able to power about 80 homes, paling in comparison to the millions powered by wind and solar across the state. But the creators said that all new innovation starts small.

5.

Denmark wants to buy California — or so says a satirical petition circulating with over 200,000 signatures. After President Trump repeatedly mentioned purchasing Greenland, a Danish territory, the country responded with a hypothetical plan to annex the state as “New Denmark.” Disneyland would be renamed “Hans Christian Andersenland,” Mickey Mouse would wear a viking helmet and Solvang would be the most suitable capital (though that one wasn’t actually mentioned). The petition said that, in addition to endless avocados, California would bring Denmark all of the “sunshine, palm trees, and roller skates” it desires. That last one feels “Barbie”-influenced.