Students react to César Chávez abuse allegations

Author

Carly Heltzel
March 20, 2026

Good morning. It’s Friday, and I’m reading about how many perfect March Madness brackets survived the first day of games. Onto the five Cal Poly, SLO and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

California is working to rename its state holiday César Chávez Day to Farmworkers Day after allegations of sexual abuse of girls and women surfaced. In reaction, Cal Poly students and staff said Chávez is “not someone who should be idolized,” that “Dolores Huerta deserves better” and called his actions “unconscionable” and “really unsettling.” One student said she was “surprised and grateful” at how well officials are handling the allegations, and hopes it won’t take away from the impact of the farmworkers movement.

2.

In a final tally, police arrested eight people and issued 37 citations related to partying over St. Patrick’s Day weekend. This is a drop from the 45 citations and 25 arrests during festivities last year. Five of this year’s arrests were for drunk in public and three were DUIs. The citations broke down to 23 noise violations, 13 open containers and one public urination. On actual St. Patrick’s Day there was only one noise violation citation.

3.

The man who collected coins out of SLO’s parking meters for 33 years as an independent contractor wants the city to acknowledge his tenure as an employee. He said he met the legal definition for an employee, but the city was able to abruptly terminate his contract and never had to pay into pension or healthcare benefits. He wants those retroactively, and he said if he doesn’t get it by March 31 he might sue.

4.

The Trump administration is lowering the minimum wage for farmworkers on an H-2A visa, meaning immigrants who fill jobs left empty by Americans. The new rule puts 92% of farmworkers in the category of “unskilled” and lowers their required pay to match what the bottom 17% of Americans make. That would be about $13.70 an hour. Advocates say these changes will drag down the already-low wages for all farmworkers, including citizens.

5.

A sprawling Tuscon-style mansion, fruit and olive groves, manicured gardens, a turquoise saltwater pool and 11 pet zebras. Hearst Castle looks to have a competitor. The Orange County estate is up for sale for $25 million, zebras included. The 51-acre animal sanctuary also includes six elands, also from the African Savannah, two tortoises and a llama. Truly an escape to nature. Except this one has a 12-car garage and a helipad.