san diego: dialed in: Rosey's Diary & Newsy Things: SDCCU & CCCU Intend To Merge | Gloria's Budget Pisses Everyone Off - Except Cops | State Of The County | New Orangutan At SD Zoo Makes Debut | SCOTUS Standoff with TFG

Marcella The Sun Bear at San Diego Zoo (4.17.25)

This post will just go on forever if I don't wrap it up and start a new one, and there was certainly a lot of news this past week. I won't bother with a recap, because it's Easter Sunday and I had a nice day and I'm just trying to get it off my brain so I can get a more peaceful sleep, but shit is bonkers and I just can't with it all. So, head in the sand, and hopefully I'll be spending my Monday stalking a new red-headed boy called Pumpkin.

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum. (Also, no Handmaid spoilers. I haven't started the new season yet.)

SAN DIEGO LOCALS:

California Coast Credit Union and San Diego County Credit Union Announce Intent to Merge - SDCCU/CCCU Press Release (4.11.25)

SAN DIEGO REGIONAL POLITICS:

Gloria released his proposed 2026 Budget

More money for police, fewer library hours: Mayor Gloria releases proposed budget - Times Of San Diego (4.15.25)
Libraries, rec centers slashed in Gloria's proposed San Diego budget - kpbs (4.15.25)
San Diego Humane Society raises alarm over proposed budget cuts in San Diego Mayor’s draft budget - Times of San Diego (4.16.25)

State of the County Address Focuses on New Ideas in Challenging Times - County News Center (4.17.25)
County budget delay proposal fails, following 2-1 supervisor vote - kpbs (4.9.25)
Celebrate Earth Month with the County - County News Center (4.10.25)
Prebys Foundation buys Wells Fargo downtown building as part of civic renewal effort - Times of San Diego (4.11.25)

Reminder that Prebys Foundation sold a shit-ton of affordable housing to "global asset manager" Blackrock in 2021 and exploded our housing crisis:

Blackstone Sale Will Take Affordable Housing Crisis From Bad to Worse. The planned sale of 66 apartment buildings to the New York-based Blackstone Group highlights both the vulnerability of naturally affordable housing and the lack of requirement for owners to notify local governments of plans to unload properties. - Voice of San Diego (5.18.21)
Blackstone Plans $1B Buyout of 66 Apartment Complexes in San Diego - Times of San Diego (5.11.21)

San Diego passes rent-algorithm ban, joining growing list of cities across U.S. - Axios San Diego (4.16.25)

ZOO GOSS:

San Diego Zoo workers push for higher wages as executive pay skyrockets - KPBS (4.15.15)
San Diego Zoo and Safari Park will cut summer evening hours. Safari Park will open an hour earlier but lose two hours compared to last summer’s schedule - San Diego Union-Tribune (4.14.25)
I can finally say that Labu, the 14 year old male orangutan brought down from the Fresno Chaffee Zoo has been free to come out of the bedroom all week, and according to some friends, spent the weekend on habitat with the ladies, though Karen didn't get the memo that he's part of an SSP match for Aisha, not her. I guess until Aisha shows any interest, Karen can claim him as her own. No harm, no foul. Lots of pics have been posted online already. I can't wait to meet him.
The baby Hamadryas Baboon that was born is confirmed to be a boy and Mama Lisa Marie has been loosening up with the troop, letting everyone adore him and letting him crawl and climb around on his own, though still under her very watchful eyes.

SEA WORLD GOSS:

Seaworld is Ready for Taco Fest and have started to put signage up all over the park, including a massive billboard at the entrance. If you don't have SW membership, you can grab a Fun Card for $99, which is a price not usually offered until later in the year. Note that it does NOT include parking, so unless you take the bus or ride a bike, you're going to want to hitch a ride with someone who has parking privileges, lest you pay $30 for parking each pop.

TRANS RIGHTS & GUN FIGHTS:

‘One hell of a turnout’: trans activists rally in London against gender ruling. Thousands gather in Parliament Square in a show of unity after supreme court judgment - The Guardian (4.19.25)

POLITICS:

TFG is a motherfucking lunatic madman. This is his Easter post to his stupid social media site. I do not know how this ends but it has to, right?
"Happy Easter to all, including the Radical Left Lunatics who are fighting and scheming so hard to bring Murderers, Drug Lords, Dangerous Prisoners, the Mentally Insane, and well known MS-13 Gang Members and Wife Beaters, back into our Country. Happy Easter also to the WEAK and INEFFECTIVE Judges and Law Enforcement Officials who are allowing this sinister attack on our Nation to continue, an attack so violent that it will never be forgotten! Sleepy Joe Biden purposefully allowed Millions of CRIMINALS to enter our Country, totally unvetted and unchecked, through an Open Borders Policy that will go down in history as the single most calamitous act ever perpetrated upon America. He was, by far, our WORST and most Incompetent President, a man who had absolutely no idea what he was doing -- But to him, and to the person that ran and manipulated the Auto Pen (perhaps our REAL President!), and to all of the people who CHEATED in the 2020 Presidential Election in order to get this highly destructive Moron Elected, I wish you, with great love, sincerity, and affection, a very Happy Easter!!! 4/20/25 5:46am

CALIFORNIA NEWS:

Menendez brothers' long-awaited resentencing hearing is delayed after dramatic day in court - GMA/Yahoo.com (4.17.25)
E-Bike Grants: The waiting room for the next e-bike incentive application window opens on April 29, 2025. Potential applicants must join the online waiting room between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. All individuals who enter the waiting room by 6 p.m. will be put in random order and have an equal opportunity to access a limited number of applications. Up to 1,000 applications will be approved.