SLO County launches viral dashboard

Author

Carly Heltzel
January 08, 2026

Good morning. It’s Thursday, and I’m reading about the science behind the “new year, new me” philosophy. Onto the five Cal Poly, SLO and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

SLO County announced the launch of a new viral dashboard yesterday — related to viruses that is. The webpage will track the spread of COVID-19, RSV and the flu for the public to view health trends in the county, including wastewater data showing how much viral load six regions show in the treatment plant. The dashboard already exists, but the overhaul will add more data and allow users to toggle between the different viruses, rather than lumping them on one chart.

2.

Roll out the red carpet because Cal Poly beach volleyball’s documentary “Kicking Up Sand” will premiere Monday, Jan. 12 at the Fremont Theater downtown. And there will be a literal red carpet that players and coaches will walk starting at 5 p.m., followed by a Q&A at 6:30 p.m. and the film’s first showing at 7 p.m. The documentary follows the team’s fairytale 2025 season through the NCAA tournament where they placed No. 4 in the country.

3.

SLO residents staged a small Highway overpass protest against U.S. military action in Venezuela that ultimately captured its president. Their signs read “No blood for oil” and “Hands off Venezuela.” It was a grassroots effort with people from multiple advocacy organizations coming together, organizers said. Another motivation, one protester said, was Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioning Cuba in a press conference. “I mean, where does it end?” she said. 

4.

A teen asked ChatGPT for drug advice and ended up overdosing. He had been using the AI chatbot for 18 months prior to his death last year and had successfully manipulated his prompts such that ChatGPT gave him everything from specific measurements of drugs to take together to active enthusiasm for his usage and playlists to match his highs. “Hell yes—let’s go full trippy mode,” the chatbot wrote to him once after recommending he double his dose of cough syrup for stronger hallucinations.

5.

Two tech billionaires who live in California, both with an amount of money not spendable in one lifetime, risk being taxed billions in the state’s newest wealth tax proposal — but only if they are considered residents of the state on Jan. 1, 2026. One, Google co-founder Larry Page, moved all of his assets and companies as quickly as possible to Florida and any other state that isn’t this one. Then there’s Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang who said the tax “never crossed my mind once.”