Front Porch faces $50,000 deficit

Author

Carly Heltzel
April 22, 2026

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, and I’m reading about the best thing you can do for the planet this Earth day. Onto the five Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Front Porch, a barely-off-campus nonprofit that serves students free coffee, is fundraising to pull themselves out of a $50,000 deficit after a donor who had promised that amount in February backed out. The deficit won’t impact students or staff anytime soon, but if its grassroots campaign doesn’t fill that gap, there could be cuts to services starting in 2027. Two-thirds of the budget goes toward full-time staff members and one third goes to buying free coffee. 

2.

Firestone Walker Brewing acquired another major California brewery that’s famous for pioneering the West Coast IPA, and it’s bringing the production to its headquarters in Paso Robles. Stone Brewing is currently based outside San Diego and last sold for $165 million in 2022. Founders Firestone and Walker said they intend to keep the nature of the beer, just merge the brands. Just weeks ago Firestone Walker acquired a segment of an Austrian brewery’s U.S. operation, signaling a greater expansion.

3.

SLO Climate Coalition put on the second annual EarthFest last weekend, with live music, families and booths from various environmentally conscious organizations at Santa Rosa Park. This year the festival was more education-based, hoping to inspire people young and old to make positive environmental change in their own lives and community. In planning the event, the goal was to “reinject energy and activation.”

4.

Prisoners are eligible for “elderly” parole starting at 50 years old. Lawmakers are rushing to change that age to 65 for sex offenders because two men convicted of molesting children 27 years ago were primed for release. The bill’s author said that while she believes in rehabilitation, she’s not sure that decades in prison can change someone who chronically molested children. The proposed law would also require the state’s parole board to get a psychological evaluation before being considered for release. 

5.

SLO International Film Festival, ranked one of the best in the country for the second year in a row, is this weekend. Five different theaters will host screenings from Thursday to Tuesday. Some highlights include award ceremonies honoring the cast of “The Sixth Sense” and “Severance,” the West Coast premiere of a documentary on tennis player Billie Jean King called “Give Me the Ball!” and Surf Nite’s 20th anniversary with live surf rock, drinks and a showing of “The Blind Sea,” a documentary about surfing in Portugal.