Lauren Mayberry at House of Blues (1.28.25) |
God damn. It has been a really hard couple of weeks. In my little bubble, things have been great...I've been really loving my zoo time, the shift to colder weather in San Diego including a little spattering of rain here and there, and I've felt like I've gotten into a better groove for work and play and sleep. In addition to my daily zoo trips, I did the alpaca ranch back to back days, I did a couple "Inside Look days" and the Mardi Gras kickoff at Seaworld. I saw Lady Lamb at Lou Lou's, watched Toby perform with San Diego Youth Symphony, went to the Transfer show at the Casbah on Saturday night, worked for Tank and the Bangas at Music Box on Sunday, and went to see Lauren Mayberry of Chvrches at House of Blues on Tuesday. All is good.
And then I look at the news and we're legit looking at a fucking total coup of the US government and the whole country is like, "nah, he can't really do that" and then they're fucking doing it and we are just eyes wide open in total shock and rage and wondering if our other two branches of government are going to fucking step in and say YOU CAN'T FUCKING DO THAT, YOU FUCKING TREASONOUS TRAITOR and then do something about all of this. Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years...
We met with Toby's counselors a couple weeks back and it was really productive and helpful and cathartic and illuminating and then this week we see TFG trying to ban transness and we're just trying to keep this kid alive. I was trying to do a news roundup and found my own breathing strained, my heartrate exploding...I can't. But there's a running list of everything TFG has done or attempted to do and it is really bleak.
Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. Stay safe out there.
- SAN DIEGO LOCALS:
- County Parks to Update User Fees in February (Effective February 18) - San Diego County Parks & Recreation News (1.17.25)
- City council doubles parking meter rates to address budget deficit - City News Service/kpbs (1.27.25)
- ZOO GOSS:
- I haven't been getting to the zoo as early as I'd like the past couple weeks, so I've been trying to jam through my work in the mornings from home then explicitly walk around the zoo after the orangutans go in, whether for dinner or at the end of the day. I've been trying to visit the elephants more, I heard they've been putting on quite a show in the afternoons. They've definitely been wrestling when I've been by and noticed that Nipho no longer has a cap on his tusk. I also noticed that Shaba has lost a little weight, but one of her care specialists said it isn't enough to be concerning, that they're monitoring and it is pretty normal for her age.
I've heard about a few pregnancies and births, but I have to wait till the word is out on those, but perhaps you've noticed the absence of Dru the Wolf's monkey, who has apparently joined Auggie, the Debrazza's monkey, in monkey heaven. An employee also confirmed to me that Rico, the talking Magpie, has passed away, which was devastating news to my friend Susan, who loved him very deeply.
I'm gonna keep an eye out for babies and will let you know as soon as I see one with my own eyes.
Lastly, I heard the zoo has a female maned wolf, who has been acclimating behind the scenes, but was on habitat for her first time on Monday. She has the choice to come out or chill in the back, but I'll definitely be on the lookout (or sniffing to see if I smell her first!) - SEA WORLD GOSS:
- PETA is fighting the Seaworld settlement with the City of San Diego. I'm not even gonna link an article because I think that organization is a sham and full of hypocrisy and their record on killing adoptable pets is appalling. So fuck them.
- POLITICS:
- ACLU's Inauguration Day Advocacy Guide - ACLU (1.17.25)
- National Gun Violence Prevention Groups Respond to Inauguration of (TFG) - Newtown Action Alliance (1.20.25)
- WHO comments on United States’ announcement of intent to withdraw - World Health Organization (1.21.25)
- Trump’s Plan to Leave the WHO Is a Health Disaster. The exit will cut a huge chunk from the World Health Organization’s budget, but the short-term financial gain for the US could come at the cost of disease outbreaks flaring up across the world. - Wired (1.21.25)
- The inauguration of a multi-billion dollar grift - Popular.info (1.21.25)
- The (TFG) 2.0 Grift Is Already On. Spearheaded by the president’s own memecoin, people including Donald Trump are rushing to cash in on (TFG)’s inauguration and second term in office. - Wired (1.20.25)
- (TFG) is withdrawing from the Paris Agreement (again), reversing U.S. climate policy - NPR/kpbs (1.21.25)
- (TFG) offers long-promised pardons to some 1,500 January 6 rioters - NPR/kpbs (1.20.25)
- (TFG) pardons roughly 1,500 criminal defendants charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. The sweeping pardons mark the beginning of the end of one of the largest investigations in FBI history. - NBC News (1.20.25)
- WILDFIRES:
- CA insurance commissioner offers advice for residents affected by fires
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara says residents who’ve lost their homes need to shoot pictures of whatever’s left of their properties — and don’t remove anything before doing so. Have an electronic copy of your insurance policy (if you don’t, call your insurance company or the commissioner’s office at 1-800-927-4357). Collect receipts of all expenses since you evacuated. Document all conversations with your agent/broker. Consider creating a new email account exclusively for fire-related housing and recovery correspondence. This can help simplify the claims process. - KCRW (1.16.25) - Floods, droughts, then fires: Hydroclimate whiplash is speeding up globally - UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (1.16.25)
- OTHER READING:
- Biden administration seeks to avoid default crisis for student loan borrowers as garnishments resume - CNBC (1.15.25)
- US GOVERNMENT:
- White House
- Elon Musk Lackeys Have Taken Over the Office of Personnel Management. Sources tell WIRED that the OPM’s top layers of management now include individuals linked to xAI, Neuralink, the Boring Company, and Palantir. One expert found the takeover reminiscent of Stalin. - Wired (1.28.25)
- Federal judge temporarily blocks Trump administration freeze on federal grants and loans - AP News (1.28.25)
- Trump offers all federal workers a buyout with nearly 8 months’ pay - PBS.org (1.28.25)
- Trump signs order to end federal support for gender transitions for people under 19 - AP/pbs (1.28.25)
- AVIAN FLU
- CDC tests confirm another H5N1 case from California - CIDRAP (1.15.25)
- Tests identify H5N9 avian flu at California duck farm - cidrap (1.27.25)
- How are H5N9 and H5N1 different? What to know after California bird flu outbreak - CBS News (1.28.25)
- San Diego County
- Results of Household Tijuana River Valley Health Assessment Are In - County News Center (1.16.25)
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