Good morning, Central Coast! It’s Friday the 13th, but will we get lucky with our forecast this weekend?
- OmniTRAX has officially begun operations at the historic 114-year-old Santa Maria Valley Railroad through a new partnership with Coast Belle Rail Corporation. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to mark the occasion, with local and state leaders in attendance.
- More than 2,200 students graduated this week from the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District, including around 715 from Santa Maria High School. Ceremonies were held Thursday for Santa Maria, Righetti, and Pioneer Valley, with proud families filling the stands to celebrate the milestone.
- From sandcastle contests to art exhibits and festivals, there's plenty to enjoy across the Central Coast this weekend. Here are six fun events happening from Thursday, June 12 to Sunday, June 15, plus a few bonus activities!
Los Osos Valley Memorial Park has made major improvements to its cemetery grounds after years of complaints about poor conditions, including dead grass, overgrown weeds, and gopher infestations that covered headstones. In response to citations from the California Cemetery and Funeral Bureau in 2022 and 2023, a new management team was brought in, including general manager Keyna Torres and longtime visitor-turned-employee Linda Hood. Regular maintenance like mowing, trimming, and pest control has restored the site, bringing comfort to families like Leah Bodily's and Hood's, who say the cemetery now feels cared for and respectful to their loved ones.
Pismo Beach is lowering its parking ticket fines from a flat $80 to $20 per hour for overtime violations, aiming to reduce confusion and ease the financial burden on visitors. While business owners and some tourists support the change, others worry it could lead to people abusing the system; the new policy takes effect in early July, with a six-month review planned.
Residents in Santa Margarita are raising concerns over a large patch of overgrown weeds along H Street on land owned by Union Pacific Railroad, citing serious fire danger. Despite repeated attempts to contact the company, locals say the area hasn’t been properly maintained in years, and even the town’s fire chief was threatened with arrest when he tried to mow it himself; Union Pacific now says mowing is scheduled, but no exact date has been given.
