SLO County looks at adding new sales tax

Author

Carly Heltzel
February 02, 2026

Good morning. It’s Monday, and I’m looking at the most striking red carpet looks from the Grammys last night. Onto the five Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

SLO County officials are looking to put a half-cent sales tax on the November ballot — even after the same tax failed in 2016. The measure would make it so the county has its own funding for transportation projects, rather than relying on state and federal dollars. It would cost residents an average of $2.31 per week, generating close to $35 million per year. Another motivation is access to grants that fund so-called “self help” counties.

2.

The new parking garage downtown will open sometime in March, with the official ribbon cutting ceremony scheduled for March 16. The city spent $43 million on the new 24/7 garage, which includes five stories, 397 parking spaces, 41 electric vehicle chargers and 32 bike racks. It will serve the new SLO arts district and includes a rooftop event space. And unlike any parking garage I’ve ever known, the city hopes this one “ignites the spirit of creativity and connection.”

3.

Central Coast camping is expensive — and increasing in price. And while some students prefer dispersed camping or seek out free campsites, those options are limited and one of the only free campsites on Highway 1 is still closed. Increasing minimum wage and balancing what nearby campsites are charging has caused some recent price hikes. One student said the price tags make camping “kind of inaccessible for just a quick weekend trip.”

4.

California is planning to revoke the commercial drivers licenses of over 17,000 drivers whose hold a specialized license for non-U.S. citizens, under pressure from the Trump administration. Now, many companies won’t hire immigrant drivers, and shippers won’t load the trucks of non-U.S. citizens. Advocacy groups claim discrimination against Sikh drivers, who make up 35% of the state’s drivers, based on two recent truck crashes where the drivers happened to be Sikh. 

5.

Bigfoot may have at one point moved counties from the densely wooded, mysterious Northern California forests, to the beachy Orange County suburbs. Or so a few rattled teenagers said in their 1982 witness account of potentially the rarest Bigfoot sighting reported. Today, one witness described a 9-foot tall creature standing up straight that smelled “like hell — worse than a sewer” when it walked by and roared. But he conceded that it could have been a bear.