Power shutoffs and how cities enforce ‘daylighting’ law. Today’s top stories
The Tribune covered a wide range of developments across San Luis Obispo County on July 14, 2026, from public safety warnings to sports milestones.
Here’s a quick digest of the day’s top stories.
- Power shutoff watch: PG&E placed San Luis Obispo County on a Public Safety Power Shutoff watch for Wednesday and Thursday amid a heat dome bringing triple-digit temperatures and high winds. The watch covers northern SLO County around Lake Nacimiento, with potential outages running from noon Wednesday through 9 p.m. Thursday.
- Daylighting law enforcement: More than a year after California’s daylighting law banned parking within 20 feet of crosswalks, only San Luis Obispo, Pismo Beach, Grover Beach and Morro Bay have issued citations. San Luis Obispo has issued 106 citations since July 2025, while Arroyo Grande, Paso Robles and Atascadero have issued zero citations, focusing instead on education.
- Courthouse replacement funded: California’s 2026-27 state budget designates more than $320 million to design and build a new San Luis Obispo courthouse to replace the seismically deficient annex at 1050 Monterey St. The new 145,000-square-foot, 12-courtroom facility is estimated to break ground in January 2029 and complete by September 2031.
- Pismo Beach helicopter training: A helicopter circling low over Pismo Beach on Tuesday morning was not responding to an incident but was part of a California Highway Patrol air operations training exercise. The training involved responders and lifeguards and was scheduled to continue through Tuesday morning.
- First dirty soda shop opens: Cowgirl Soda Co. opened June 17 inside the Paso Market Walk as the first storefront in San Luis Obispo County to exclusively specialize in dirty sodas. Owner Meghan Witrago offers 50 different signature drinks with customizable soda bases and syrup combinations.
- Cal Poly MLB draft haul: Seven Cal Poly baseball players were selected on Day 2 of the 2026 MLB Draft, the most draftees for the program since 2008. The Mustangs led all Big West programs with seven picks, capping a season in which the team reached the Super Regionals for the first time in program history.
- Hudson Westbrook at Vina Robles: Texas country artist Hudson Westbrook announced Vina Robles as an Oct. 10 stop on his “Hits Me Tour,” joined by Kenny Whitmire and Ethan Burdick. General tickets for the 2026 ACM New Male Artist of the Year nominee go on sale Friday at 10 a.m., with pre-sales starting Wednesday and Thursday.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.