Beachgoers: Beware of the biting sea lions
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, July 5 and we hope you enjoyed a memorable Independence Day yesterday. We are Carol Cormaci and Vince Nguyen, bringing you this week’s TimesOC newsletter. Together we’ve aggregated the latest local news and events as they had unfolded as of this past Monday afternoon, since our office was closed Tuesday. We’re crossing our fingers in the fervent hopes no big breaking news stories took place in Orange County when we were off for the holiday. If they did, we’ll catch up with them this time next week.
There have been recent reports of sea lions injuring people along the Southern California coast, including two in Dana Point who were bitten by the normally harmless pinnipeds.
The experts interviewed by Los Angeles Times reporter Summer Lin, who looked into the unusual incidents and reported them here, say the sea lions have been experiencing seizures or sickness caused by an ongoing bloom of toxic algae. It’s among the largest blooms in recent memory in the county, according to Dr. Alissa Deming of the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, and has led to the most stranded sea lions the center has dealt with at one time.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that more than 1,000 marine mammals in Southern California have gotten sick or died in recent weeks due to the toxic algae.
“This is the worst domoic acid event I’ve ever seen,” Deming told Lin, “and I’ve worked here for over 10 years.”
While the bites are of course concerning, Deming explained to the reporter that it’s not as though the sea lions are actively hunting for someone to take a big, satisfying bite out of.
“They’re either running into surfers if they’re seizing erratically and accidentally biting them,” she said. “If someone touches them, they can be hyper-reactive and reflexively fly their head back. It’s not like they’re attacking — they’re in a comatose state and if they’re spooked or bump into something, they may bite.”
She recommends that you seek immediate medical attention if you’re bitten, because bites can become infected with bacteria from the sea lion’s mouth or the ocean, and antibiotics could be necessary.
She recommends people stay 50 feet or more away from sea lions. If you’re walking your dog on a beach, make sure it is on leash to prevent them from approaching one of the sickened mammals.
“If people give that animal space,” Deming said, “the chances of them getting bitten is very low.”
MORE NEWS
• It’s a first in Orange County: A new Pride lifeguard tower was installed at Camel Point in Laguna Beach last week to much fanfare. The Pride tower, painted with rainbow stripes, is situated at the most northern point of a stretch of beach that also includes Laguna Royale and West Street beaches. “Given the long history of West Street Beach as a gathering spot for the gay community, the City Council was very open to and supportive of the request from the LGBTQ+ community to commemorate this history with a Pride tower,” Mayor Bob Whalen said.
• Meanwhile, a schism over the inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community into leadership positions in the California-Pacific Conference of United Methodist Church has left some conservative O.C. congregations who want to leave the conference in an untenable position, some because they can’t afford the terms involved in leaving it, according to this interesting look at the issue by our Daily Pilot colleague Eric Licas. The Fount in Fountain Valley is one of the churches that is pulling away from UMC. Its pastor, Glen Haworth, told Licas, “It’s the Bible that we disagree on. And the progressive end of the church wants to basically negate all of the teachings of the Bible that have to do with sexual morality.”
• Given the apparent instability of coastal bluffs, elected officials and transportation leaders are pondering the future of the passenger rail line that travels through San Clemente and other Southland cities. According to this look at the issue by our L.A. Times colleague Gabriel San Román, consideration is being given to moving the tracks more inland. It would be a less scenic route for passengers than gliding past the Pacific, but decidedly more stable.
PUBLIC SAFETY AND COURTS
•Staff at a Christian retreat center in Silverado Canyon discovered a 14-foot cross sawed down Thursday morning, according to this L.A. Times report. The discovery was made at the Santiago Retreat Center on Thursday afternoon, during the first week of this summer’s Bible camp, and only weeks after the cross was built and dedicated. It was concluded the vandalism occurred between 6 p.m. Wednesday and 6 a.m. Thursday, according to Orange County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Mike Woodroof.
• A brush fire broke out just before 10 a.m. Monday on a hillside near the boundary separating Orange and Riverside counties, quickly burning three acres in the area of Gypsum Canyon and Santa Ana Canyon roads, according to the California Highway Patrol and Anaheim city officials. Within about 40 minutes, Anaheim fire officials announced the spread of the blaze had been halted, but crews were still on the scene mopping up hot spots.
• Camping on public property when shelter beds are available will be prohibited in Newport Beach, following a new policy unanimously approved June 27 by the City Council. The approved ordinance prohibits sitting, lying, sleeping or storing of personal effects in areas directly impacting traffic or access to, specifically, cancer treatment centers, colleges, schools, day care centers, businesses, private property, firefighting, facilities, public restrooms and bike paths. The proposed ordinance will get a final vote on July 11.
• A 14-year-old boy was wounded in a drive-by shooting in Westminster on Saturday, according to City News Service. The boy sustained a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to the wrist, Westminster Police Department officials said. Witnesses heard between four to five gunshots, possibly from an unknown vehicle that fled away at a high rate of speed moments after, according to police.
• A fiery, two-vehicle crash on westbound Ortega Highway near Rancho Mission Viejo took the life of one person and sent another to the hospital at 2:15 a.m. Saturday. One of the vehicles caught fire and smashed into a power pole, CNS reported.
• An unlicensed broker charged with 10 felony counts of grand theft and money laundering made his first court appearance Friday on charges of stealing about $800,000 from several Orange County clients from 2016 through 2019, CNS reports. Kelly Curtis, 54, is accused of taking investors’ money and using it for personal expenses, “including mortgage payments, airline tickets, hotel stays, concert tickets and payments to Mercedes Benz,’’ Deputy District Attorney George Smith wrote in court papers. His next court date is July 14.
BUSINESS BUZZ
• Roughly 15,000 cooks, room attendants, dishwashers, servers, bellmen and front-desk agents at hotels in Orange and Los Angeles counties, members of Unite Here Local 11, are demanding higher pay and better benefits. After contract negotiations that started in April broke down, they walked off the job early Sunday in a strike that was expected to last several days. The union is pushing for a $5 immediate hourly wage increase and a $3 boost annually for three years to cover rising costs in the region.
• Bark Collective is a one-stop shop including dog daycare and training options that opened in Costa Mesa in 2021 and its owners are now thinking expansion. The business has about 700 clients, including up to 300 that come in regularly for services. Bark Collective also offers dog walking, including pack walk adventures, and the facility features a number of amenities such as training rooms and a training pit outdoors.
• Campesino Café is a true farm-to-table experience that opened at the Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano. The new eatery serves a menu that changes seasonally and created using food from the center’s own 28-acre Regenerative Organic Certified farm. The cafe also offers a selection of coffee drinks and agua frescas, as well as teas and kombucha that, like the side of pickles and housemade jams, come from the center’s fermentation lab.
LIFE & LEISURE
• Three new exhibits come Orange County Museum of Art for the summer, featuring work from native Pennsylvanian Alice Neel, Chicago-based artist Tony Lewis and Chinese artist Yu Ji, whose “A Guest, A Host, A Ghost” collection is the first U.S. museum solo exhibition. For more information on the summer exhibits, visit ocma.art.
• For four years, Adventure Playground at Huntington Beach’s Central Park laid dormant thanks to water conservation efforts related to the drought and the coronavirus pandemic restrictions. But no more. On June 24, visitors rejoiced and celebrated the long-awaited reopening of the rough-and-tumble water-filled Adventure Playground. For more information, or to check availability, visit huntingtonbeachca.gov and search for “Adventure Playground” or call (714) 842-7442.
• Florida couple Alfonso and Sherrie Meletiche and their whiskered-faced family member Baby, a Maine Coon mix, were separated from each other across the country for 10 long months. Baby had broken loose from her harness while the Meletiche’s were making a delivery near Rancho Santa Clarita. With the help of microchip technology, the Meletiches learned Baby had been pampered as an unofficial guest at the Montage Laguna Beach.
SPORTS
• Big Canyon Country Club won its tournament-best 11th Jones Cup title in the 24th annual community golf tournament on Wednesday, edging host Newport Beach Country Club to reclaim their crown. Big Canyon finished at 17-under-par in the two best ball format, led by birdie putts on the final two holes, whose birdie putts on the final two holes sealed the title.
• The Anaheim Ducks surprised many by taking Swedish center Leo Carlsson as the No. 2 overall pick in the NHL Draft on June 28. The Ducks, loaded with young talent and a new head coach, look to rebuild and bounce back this season after finishing in last place in the overall NHL standings last season.
• Brothers and Orange County natives David and Dominic Fletcher faced off for the first time at the major-league level for the first time on Friday, but without one of their biggest fans. David, an infielder for the Angels, and Dominic, an outfielder for the Arizona Diamondbacks, took to the field without the support of their father, Tim, who died unexpectedly earlier this month. With friend and family in the crowd, the Cypress High grads played with the memory of their father in mind.
• In other Angels news, Halos superstar duo Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani are All-Stars once again. Trout was named to his 11th-consecutive All-Star Game — voted in as a starter to represent the American league team. Ohtani, meanwhile, was voted into the game at designated hitter for a third straight time, and it’s likely the two-way player will be named as starting pitcher again.
CALENDAR THIS
• Laguna Beach’s famed Festival of the Arts runs today through Sept. 1, at 650 Laguna Canyon Road. On Friday night, the festival’s Pageant of the Masters, this year themed “Art Company: In the Company of Artists,” gets underway. Ticket information can be found here.
• The Sweet Street Dessert Festival takes place Saturday on Center Street Promenade in Anaheim. Hours for the event are 5 to 9 p.m., during which a visitor can indulge his/her sweet tooth with impunity. Live entertainment featuring Bobbo Burnes is planned for 6 to 8 p.m. The Promenade is located at 201 W. Center St. A list of vendors serving up tantalizing tidbits can be found here.
• Patti LuPone will be at the Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa on Saturday, July 15 at 8 p.m. The one-woman show is titled “ Patti LuPone Don’t Monkey with Broadway.” A limited number of tickets are left.
KEEP IN TOUCH
Thank you for reading today’s newsletter. If you have a memory or story about Orange County, we would love to read and share it in this space. Please try to keep your submission to 100 words or less and include your name and current city of residence.
We appreciate your help in making this the best newsletter it can be. Please send news tips, your memory of life in O.C. (photos welcome!) or comments to carol.cormaci@latimes.com or vincent.nguyen@latimes.com.
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