Odd Mob to headline St. Patrick's Day festival

Author

Carly Heltzel
February 18, 2026

Good morning. It’s Wednesday, and I’m reading about California’s “Blue Zone” anomaly, a town where residents live a decade longer than the average American. Onto the five Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Odd Mob, the Australian DJ, is returning to SLO to headline Cal Poly’s St. Patrick’s Day festival alongside EDM duo Walker & Royce. Odd Mob performed at Shabang Music Festival last spring and the Up & Up Festival in November. The concert will take place from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 14. Tickets go on sale today at 10 a.m., limited to one per person, and only Cal Poly students will be permitted to reserve one. 

2.

Taking the bus might look a little different this week, as the Cal Poly skilled trade workers continue their strike for the rest of the week. Unionized bus drivers cannot cross another union’s picket line, forcing them to drop students off early and re-route away from campus. Detours are from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., when the picket lines are scheduled, and will continue until Friday.

3.

SLO County Supervisor Jimmy Paulding accused a candidate running against him of violating campaign finance laws by receiving double the amount allowed from a local developer. The developer had given the opponent $5,900, the legal limit, twice within one month, but the opponent said it was “perfectly lawful” since the funds were being split between the primary and general elections in accordance with county law. But if no other candidates join the primary, he’ll have to give the money back.

4.

One in five older adults in California lives alone, and a 2023 study showed that the health detriments of loneliness can equal that of smoking 15 cigarettes per day. Senior centers across the state are bridging that gap. People who attend them frequently have better mental health and, even more strongly correlated, better physical health. Officials are now trying to promote senior centers as a health-related resource. 

5.

More than 500 people RSVPed to the public Partiful website. Then they showed up to Trader Joe’s in San Francisco, grabbed a name tag and a rose and flirted over produce and in the frozen aisle. One attendee said TJ’s was the perfect “canvas” for this type of singles mixer, which was not known or endorsed by the company. “Trader Joe's is kind of a flirty grocery store,” one organizer said. If they walked away with nothing else from the event, at least they got groceries.