Good morning. It’s Wednesday, and I’m watching a flying car glide over another in its first round of testing — though “glide” might be generous. Onto the five Cal Poly, SLO and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Homeowners in SLO County are being dropped from their insurance at “ruthless” rates as big-box and smaller companies alike pull away from fire-prone areas — even after insuring them for years. Most mortgages require insurance, leaving residents scrambling to get covered at any price. One resident, whose house backs up to green space, was dropped from her insurance twice in three months, forcing her to settle for a company that charges over double her previous rates, from $1,700 per year to around $4,000. “We have to have insurance — this is our nest egg,” she said.

Joan Lynch and Stephanie Zappelli / The Tribune

2.

About 2% of people working in California are federal employees who could be affected by the Trump administration’s worker cuts, but it’s not evenly spread through the state. San Diego has the highest rates of federal workers, with 4-5%, presumably concentrated in its multiple military bases that fall under the Department of Defense. The second highest was the Central Valley with just under 4% from the Department of Agriculture’s presence in the region. San Luis Obsipo, the Bay Area and LA fell at the state average of 2%. 

Danielle Echeverria and Sriharsha Devulapalli / San Francisco Chronicle

3.

Twenty years after its initial proposal, a pedestrian and bike trail connecting Morro Bay to Cayucos faces a $2 million funding gap of its estimated $12 million cost. If the county secures the money, the project would be complete by 2028. It will join the California Coastal Trail Network, a state plan to connect walkers and bikers along the 1,230-mile coast from Oregon to Mexico. Currently, bikers must ride on the side of Highway 1 to get between the cities. “We’re getting closer, and when it’s open, it’s going to be fantastic,” one county supervisor said.

Chloe Shrager / The Tribune

4.

United Movement, the club behind the annual “Illuminate” dance showcase last weekend, stays committed to uplifting cultural groups within a historically white university. The group was founded as Hip-Hop Congress in 2014 and changed names a few times before landing on United Movement in 2022. As a non-audition, non-competitive, non-judgemental group, one of the co-presidents said a focus is the welcoming environment for all bodies and backgrounds. “Coming to the club made me fall in love with dance all over again,” one member said.

Kaylin O'Connell / Mustang News

5.

Trader Joe’s is tied for America’s favorite grocery store. The other one, Publix, is a regional chain in the southeastern U.S. Both scored an 84 out of 100 on the American Customer Satisfaction Index which asked shoppers nationwide about the store hours, layout and cleanliness of store, quality and freshness of meat and produce, helpfulness of staff and more. Last year, Costco narrowly ended Trader Joe’s multi year winning streak, but Joe evidently won’t go down without a fight.

Madeline Wells / SFGate