I don't have much of a diary this week because I'm a little emotionally spent and physically tired. Besides my regular work, I worked at Emo Night Karaoke on Friday, then Julia Wolf on Sunday, and then after that show, Darren and I went to see A Beacon School at Casbah. I got my Monday zoo time, then on Tuesday, after I spent the morning at the zoo, D and I went to Safari Park on his day off to deliver flowers for his old work. It was definitely bittersweet because some stuff was going down at his job and sure enough, he was let go from the park the next morning. He wasn't taken by surprise by it, but it still fucking hurts. So now we have that to deal with and it is scary and heartbreaking and of course our rents just went up again, because San Diego, so I'm trying not to panic but it really fucking sucks. And I can't really talk about it because it's not my story to tell, but you know I have some thoughts.
So yeah. Life goes on. I'll be working at Music Box on Thursday, maybe Casbah on Friday, and will probably try to partake in some Old Town Cinco de Mayo festivities over the weekend because I'm a sucker for mariachis.
- SAN DIEGO LOCALS:
- Fire officials rule out arson as cause of Oceanside Pier fire, investigation continues. The cause is most likely accidental, said Oceanside fire chief David Parsons. - NBC (4.29.24)
- My opinion: Even if this wasn't arson, the owners of the building are 100% culpable for having a vacant restaurant on the end of a public pier for over three years. Just like everywhere, I want to see a vacancy tax on properties not leased. The building owners (or even worse, the investment firms) in San Diego and elsewhere are trying to charge exorbitant rents on old, shoddy, and not up-to-code buildings while businesses are going out of business because they can't afford the rents and leases. I say we start with Cushman & Wakefield and start watching those properties start to get rented at real rates.
- "The 2024 Harbor Seal Pupping Season at Casa Beach is Ending Soon: Casa Beach welcomed 59 thriving pups this year! The birthing of the pups ended in March and the youngest pups will be completely weaned before the end of the seasonal beach closure on May 15. Once access is allowed on the beach there will still be opportunities to enjoy the seals if visitors observe the City's guideline viewing rope." - Seal Conservancy (4.24.24)
- Report: San Diego residents spend 39% of their income on household bills - doxoINSIGHTS (4.30.24)
- Animal Shelters are in a State of Emergency - San Diego Humane Society (4.30.24)
- ZOO GOSS:
- Panda Update!!! While everyone is excited at the prospect of the giant pandas returning to the San Diego Zoo (projected late summer), it's important to bear in mind that (1) China's expectations of the zoo's facilities, habitat, and enclosures have changed a lot in the 30+ years since the panda viewing area was modified and (2) the San Diego Zoo is open 365 days a year, so almost all construction occurs when guests are present. On 4.24, cement trucks rolled for what appear to be retaining walls at the back of the panda habitat, closing off the entire pathway of Lower Center Street, from the Bashor Bridge elevator to the entrance to Hippo Trail and Ituri Forest. That means, if you venture to see the hippos, either be prepared to go uphill on Hippo/Tiger Trail or the brutal hill of Lower Park Way to Upper Park Way, past the hooved animals and Northern Frontier OR wait by the lower marsh and catch the Kangaroo Bus up the hill. Signs were put back up this week for more future work, so plan your trips accordingly. And read the official latest panda press release:
- SEA WORLD GOSS:
- More movement in Wild Arctic! Beloved walrus Kulusiq, who had been at Sea World for about 5 years, died on April 21. I had the good fortune of having a behind-the-scenes experience with her last fall and she was definitely older and had known medical issues, but it's just really sad so soon after losing Mitik that she's gone. Meanwhile, ChouChou has been transferred to Sea World Orlando. This leaves only two walruses in San Diego, Dozer and Basa, which to be honest, is probably appropriate for the amount of space their habitat has anyway. Meanwhile, the evolving habitat which originally had polar bears but has housed many animals over the years is back to hosting otters after a little while holding harbor seals. And now that the new entry/exit plaza is built, I went to see the Blue Turaco near Cafe 64 and it is gone! A care specialist said it is behind-the-scenes until construction of the new Jewels of the Sea aquarium is finished.
- Speaking of Jewels of the Sea...Sea World had a promotion that if you visited three times by April 30th, you would get vouchers but then I discovered you had to register them online. Well, of course, small print...they also had to be redeemed by April 30th, so when I went to do it on May 1st, I missed the window. I've canceled my Sea World auto-renewal and can't imagine what they could do to get me back this time. I went for the animals, but the park is just not about that and hasn't been for a long time. After Mitik died, I was trying to find reasons to stay but am really coming up empty.
- COVID-19/AVIAN FLU/HEALTH/WELLNESS:
- WHO Advisers Say Next Covid Vaccine Should Use Monovalent JN.1 Lineage - KFF Morning Briefing (4.30.24)
- The Mental Health Toll of Covid-19 Appears to Be Fading - Statista (4.30.24)
- Spikes of flu virus in wastewater raise questions about spread of bird flu - CNN (4.30.24)
- What we’re starting to learn about H5N1 in cows, and the risk to people - STAT (4.30.24)
- US COVID-19 Stats
- CDC Data Tracker: New Weekly Updates on Fall and Winter Virus Season
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