Lightning struck 2,600 times Tuesday night

Author

Carly Heltzel
September 25, 2025

Good morning. It’s Thursday, and I’m reading about potentially the worst bullpen in Doger’s team history. Onto the five Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Lightning struck 2,600 times Tuesday night as a tropical storm passed through the Central Coast. Most landed offshore, with some hitting as closer on land. PG&E reported seven power outages across the county, affecting over 3,000 customers. About a half inch of rain fell that night as well, with minimal flooding potential. 

2.

1901 Marketplace replaced Poly Deli with a new option serving a rotating menu of fresh foods called Poly Choice. The star of its current menu is a build-your-own poke bowl that’s received a shocking amount of positive feedback for a campus dining venue, especially following the lackluster response to Poly Deli. Other grab-and-go options include seaweed salad, dessert poke bowl, sesame cucumber salad and vegetable egg rolls. Poly Choice is located next to Pom & Honey.

3.

California’s local law enforcement struggled enough to recruit and maintain their forces before they had to beat out too-good-to-be-true signing bonuses, student loan forgiveness and six figure salaries dangled in their recruits’ faces. Those are all federal incentives wooing law enforcement officers to become ICE officers. As the Trump administration doubles down on deportation goals and ramps up federal activity within cities and counties, Californian police forces are fighting to keep the feds from poaching officers. 

4.

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, also known as AOC, is throwing her support behind Prop. 50, a special election ballot measure that Gov. Gavin Newsom hopes will gerrymander five new Democratic seats for California. The proposition came after President Donald Trump released a nationwide plan to redraw the maps in red states like Texas, Missouri and Ohio, potentially yielding 12 more seats for Republican candidates.

5.

For first years without a car SLO can be difficult to navigate. Students who have been through it recommend renting the more expensive Zipcar option for a $72 day, mastering the SLO Transit app to triumph over the citywide bus system or, perhaps the easiest of the three, making friends with upperclassmen through clubs who will then drive you to Avila Beach. “It was a very every once in a while special occasion to be able to go to the beach since it was so hard without a car,” one no-longer freshman said.