Rosey's Diary & Newsy Things: Operation Palm Lift | Animal News | A Vision For A Safer America | San Diego - Diverse & Happy |

Silverback Winston at San Diego Zoo Safari Park (Taken 3.13.24)

I really lagged getting listings done this week as I've had zero desire to work at all. I mean, I have, and I dragged my laptop to the zoo all week while tourists gawked over my shoulder because the orangutans love to watch familiar people do stuff, like type on a laptop or dig through a backpack or eat lunch, but it has been hard to focus. First, I found out that my friend, Mike D from Amenity died over the weekend. That was two days before the first anniversary of my sister-in-law's death and so this time last year, I was driving my sister's car with my nieces to New Mexico to be with my brother and his kids. By the time we got back, we had a big anniversary party for my parents and then my dad died just a few days later, on Easter Sunday. So this time of year brings up a lot from last year. I'm just trying to find beautiful things and enjoy life to the max because what else can we do? But sitting on my laptop is not my favorite at the moment, so these are some articles I've picked up over the past couple of weeks, but I'm just gonna leave it here so I can get sleep and keep myself busy doing things in the world and not just on this screen.

I love you. Stay safe out there.  

 

• SAN DIEGO: 
• Helicopter Lifts 300 Invasive Palm Trees. Canyonlands' palm lift at Navajo Can. - San Diego Canyonlands (3.18.24)
• San Diego County Library Named Finalist for Prestigious National Medal - County News Center (3.27.24)
• ANIMAL NEWS: 
• Chimpanzees stayed in an 'invisible cage' after zoo enclosure was enlarged—South African study - Phys.Org (3.21.24) 
• The US Is About to Drown in a Sea of Kittens. Cats are most fertile during the summer months, but in recent years “kitten season” has been starting earlier and lasting longer. The trend is bad news for shelters and wildlife alike. - Wired (3.23.24)
• Dairy cattle in Texas and Kansas test positive for bird flu - AP News (3.26.24)
• People more often are origin of infectious diseases in animals than vice versa, data suggest - CIDRAP (3.25.24)
• I don't have any zoo goss this week, except that I heard some new volunteers  talking to their mentor volunteers (right over my blogger ears) and officially refer to my zoo friend group as "Gorilla Groupies" and then snarkily question if we have jobs. "How do they spend so much time here?" We all do. We just choose to spend the free hours we have there instead of, say, shopping or sitting in bars or binge watching TV or sleeping all day.
  
  Over the weekend, our Ekuba got bonked by his brother, so he has a pretty large gash on his forehead and face that can be a little bothersome for people to see, but it happens with gorilla brothers and he's been fine.
  
  The zoo has been crazy crowded for spring break, so if you don't like crowds, this isn't the best time to go, but it definitely thins out after 3pm, which leaves four hours while they're closing at 7pm.
  
  I'm looking forward to the rain this weekend and hoping that filters some of the crowds. It would be one thing if people had manners, but let's be honest, and this is true *EVERYWHERE*, the pandemic really set some people back at knowing how to act in public (See Also: Airplanes, Target, Road Rage). Today I was stepped on multiple times, someone was actually bumping music on their Wonderfold Wagon, plus the general banging on the glass or yelling for the animals can be infuriating. I can do without the offensive MAGA, 2A, Ammosexual & Church Merch that people wear in public, but I guess I appreciate you warning me the exact person you are by the clothes you choose to wear. I just put in my earbuds and zone into the animals, and this was the whole reason I stopped regularly visiting MTRP or La Jolla or other San Diego hot spots...I don't want to hear your music, I can't stand the pop-up vendors that proliferated everywhere, and people can be kinda scary when they feel like consequences don't exist for them. So I'll keep doing my thing, keep my head down and my mouth shut, but I definitely won't be sad when everyone goes back to their hometowns. 
• GUN CONTROL:
• The Kelly Report: A Vision for a Safer America. 
• COVID-19:
• In a pandemic milestone, the NIH ends guidance on COVID treatment - NPR (3.19.24) 
• Emergency Use Authorizations for Drugs and Non-Vaccine Biological Products - FDA (3.22.24)
• FAQ: Long COVID and COVID-19 Reinfection - IDSA (3.15.24)
• Politics:
• Congress' stock trading addiction - Popular.info (3.19.24)
• U.N. Has Flown More Than $2.9 Billion in Cash to Afghanistan Since the Taliban Seized Power, Diverting U.S. Funds. The U.S. State Department has previously said that no U.S. funds went to the militant group, but a new federal report indicates that some taxpayer money has ended up in the Taliban-controlled central bank of Afghanistan. - ProPublica (3.20.24)
• Biden-Harris Administration Announces $236.9 million for Locally-Led Projects That Reconnect Communities in California as Part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda - USDOT (3.13.24)
• U.S. Abstention from UN Security Council Resolution on Gaza - US Department of State (3.25.24)
• News:
• Chevron Will Pay Record Fines for Oil Spills in California. The penalties come after an investigation by The Desert Sun and ProPublica found that companies were profiting from illegal spills and California’s oversight of the industry was lax. - ProPublica (3.22.24)
• County Opens New Online Public Records Request Center - San Diego County News Center (3.21.24)
• Other Reading:
• San Diego Is 2024’s 8th Most Ethnically Diverse Large City – WalletHub (2.21.24)
• San Diego Ranks in 2024’s Top 15 Happiest Cities in America – WalletHub (2.27.24)
• California Is 2024’s 2nd Least Federally Dependent State – WalletHub (3.13.24)
• California Is 2024’s 4th Most Innovative State – WalletHub (3.20.24)
• US COVID-19 Stats 
• CDC Data Tracker: New Weekly Updates on Fall and Winter Virus Season