Window to switch dining plans opens today

Author

Carly Heltzel
October 16, 2025

Good morning. It’s Thursday, and I’m reading about Portland, Oregon’s naked cyclists resisting federal troops in their city. Onto the five Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and California stories you need to know for today.

1.

Freshmen can switch their dining plans from today until Nov. 13 in a last minute opportunity to adjust their expenses. The change period gives students the opportunity to shift up or down according to their actual lived spending habits. “Starting college is a big adjustment, eating habits and routines can shift a lot during those first few weeks,” one official said.

2.

The Army told Cal Poly it was shutting down the university’s ROTC program at the end of June. Now, they’ve assured Cal Poly that the program is safe, and it will now continue as an extension of the UCSB program, with classes still offered in SLO. Nine of the 10 programs who were originally going to be cut will stay open as proxies to larger university programs nearby. 

3.

Megan’s Organic Market, a SLO cannabis dispensary, gets about 15% of its total sales from Atascadero residents. This week Atascadero’s city council shot down a policy that would’ve allowed a brick-and-mortar dispensary within city limits with a split vote. The owner of Megan’s said 8,752 Atascadero residents shop at her dispensary, which is about a third of the city’s total population, and city staff reported that the policy could have generated up to $500,000 in tax revenue for the city.

4.

The man accused of intentionally lighting a bush on fire that would eventually burn most of the Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles and kill 12 people faces up to 45 years in prison. A federal grand jury formally charged him yesterday with two more counts than previously outlined. He’s accused of destruction of property by means of fire, arson affecting property used in interstate commerce and timber set afire.

5.

Just miles from Hearst Castle on an idyllic 34-acre plot sits a Cold War-era Air Force stations that’s sat vacant for over 40 years. Its 32 buildings and accompanying land are on the market for just $3.2 million, boasting a home with “modern comfort amidst historic charm.” Buyers can relish an overgrown basketball court, 1950s style home with granite countertops, a bowling alley, a mess hall, a cell tower, an underground bunker and last but not least, an asbestos problem that costs more than the list price.