Rosey's Diary & Newsy Things: September 2025: Trip Through California | Election Ballot Information | Tikka Is Missing! | West Nile Present | San Diego Remains Exorbitantly Expensive |

Please keep an eye out for Strawberry, aka Tikka,
missing from Normal Heights since Saturday, 10/11/25

I got back from my trip on Wednesday, and went straight to Adams Avenue Theatre to see CityNerd. My trip was great. I stayed with my cousin in LA the first and last nights, camped 3 nights at 3 different camps (Gaviota near Santa Barbara, Morro Bay, and Monterey) then stayed 4 nights with Darren's nephew in Hercules for the memorial for Evelyn in Lake Merritt and other Bay Area activities (like me driving around San Pablo Reservoir aimlessly and doing a big shopping trip to Ace Hardware to do some house upkeep.) We got in a visit with Darren's mom, and after Toby and Darren flew home, I got to visit with my niece at USF. All told, I was able to do LA Zoo on the way up, Oakland Zoo, San Francisco Zoo, and Fresno Zoo and then LA Zoo again. I saw otters and sea lions in Morro Bay and Moss Landing, stopped at a few state parks with the pass I checked out from the library, and particularly enjoyed the sunset at Seacliff, near Santa Cruz. The weather was perfect the entire trip, even with brief overnight rain in Monterey. I was lucky at the LA Zoo to see the debut of the two female chimpanzee babies on their first day on habitat, and I feel like that set the tone for the whole trip being full of surprises, like getting basically a private tour of the Fresno Zoo by a girl in the education department just by asking a couple questions. I have a lot of photos to share over time, but gotta get to listings for this week first. I definitely wanna do it again; driving California was spectacular. When I do it all again, I would make sure to also catch the Santa Barbara Zoo, which I missed when my whole trip was delayed a day for some necessary auto repairs, and Sacramento Zoo, which would just make sense for the route that I traveled. 

The whole thing was great, though now it's been dampened by the fact that my cat slipped off our balcony on Saturday night and we haven't found any sign of her. I've walked my neighborhood for hours on end, at different times of day, and nothing. Today I found out that her microchip was done before she was at the Humane Society, so I have to track down which of several companies could have done it, and it really only benefits if someone actually catches her and gets her scanned. I'm not quite ready to think of the alternatives, but let me tell you how shitty people are who post comments on PawBoost posts. I don't need your stupid advice on what I should have done. Anyway, this post had enough links built up that I'm just gonna post so I can get on with my other work. I'm not even gonna get into my whole thing with paid parking at Balboa Park and the Zoo, since the former seems to be on ice for the time being and the latter seems resolved to be free parking for members if and when paid parking is implemented. I also am aware of the government shutdown and lots of other stuff that went down while I was gone. The good thing about driving up the state, is you can't doomscroll social media while driving, so I listened to my True Crime podcasts and YouTube programs and turned my brain mostly off to the news. 

Stay safe out there. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.  

• IMPORTANT ELECTION INFORMATION!!!: 
  
• Election officials: Special Election ballots may not be counted if mailed on Election Day - City News Service/kpbs (10.3.25)
• SAN DIEGO LOCALS:
• San Diego Ranks in the Top 20 Best Coffee Cities in America – WalletHub Study
• How new San Diego homes intended for residents became vacation rentals -kpbs (9.18.25)
• School District Closes PB Park Because of Dog Poop and Holes - Voice of San Diego (9.18.25)
• More Mosquitoes Test Positive for West Nile Virus - County News Center (9.8.25)
• State Declares New Citrus Quarantine in Northern San Diego County - County News Center (9.11.25)
• SAN DIEGO REGIONAL POLITICS:
• San Diego Is the City With the 2nd Highest Inflation Problem – WalletHub Study (9.11.25)
• Elo-Rivera Wants Tourists and Wealthy to Pay ‘Fair Share’. The councilmember wants to charge fees for tourists accessing Mission Bay and Torrey Pines Golf Course, as well as tax second homes and vacation rentals. - Voice of San Diego (10.7.25)
• ZOO GOSS:
• San Diego Zoo moves closer to charging for parking - kpbs (9.10.25)
• "As a member of our family, we want to keep you informed about the latest updates on paid parking in Balboa Park. We’re actively collaborating with City officials to best understand how these changes will affect parking at the San Diego Zoo, including timelines, potential exemptions, and other details.
  When paid parking is implemented in Balboa Park, we will offer complimentary parking for San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance members at the Zoo.
  We are working through next steps to align with the city and are dedicated to making every aspect of your experience as enjoyable as possible. We’ll continue to keep you informed as information becomes available through email and at zoo.sandiegozoo.org/cityparking." - Erika Kohler, San Diego Zoo via Member Email (9.11.25)
• On Saturday afternoon, Denny broke the glass at the Zoo. It's made national news and the dumb girl whose video everyone is using stitched together two videos, which everyone seems to fail to notice, but it's all boarded up now with two steel beams and the boys have been back on habitat since Monday, though they were pulled in early Tuesday when some bamboo toppled into their moat from the crazy weather. Anyhow, here's one article about it. I'll share the press release when it's put in their archive. Apparently I'm not on the media list anymore. 
• Gorilla at San Diego Zoo breaks layer of tempered glass panel barrier. The zoo shared that Denny was not injured, and that the two gorillas who live in that area of the zoo will be cared for behind the scenes until the panel is replaced. - NBC San Diego (10.13.25)
• SEA WORLD GOSS:
• I don't have any SeaWorld goss at the moment, but when it was pouring rain on Tuesday, I was there to do my free animal interaction which was included in my membership. It was a sea lion encounter and it was super cute, and because it was pouring, most people were no-shows, so it was just me and a dad with his two young sons. We met Jay, a 14 year old rescue who was caught jaywalking in La Jolla when he was just about a year old. That's typically too young to be able to rehabilitate and release as an orphan, so he's been an ambassador ever since. And I LOVE him. Super cute. 
• CALIFORNIA NEWS: 
• About the New California "No Mask for You!" Law Banning ICE from Wearing Masks - Notes From The Front, Anne P Mitchell, Esq. (9.20.25)
• California Is 2025’s 7th Happiest State in America – WalletHub Study (9.8.25)
• California Is 2025’s Most Diverse State in America – WalletHub Study (9.16.25)
• San Diego County has the right to inspect ICE detention centers. Officials have yet to use it - CalMatters/Times of San Diego (10.4.25)
• Attorney General Bonta Sues El Cajon for Illegally Sharing License Plate Data with Out-of-State Law Enforcement - AG Press Release (10.3.25)
• US GOVERNMENT DESTRUCTION:
• TFG:
• Federal judge rebukes ( administration attempt to deploy Guard units from California, Texas to Oregon - CalMatters/kpbs (10.6.25)
• FCC: 
• Brendan Carr Isn't Going to Stop Until Someone Makes Him. In the wake of Jimmy Kimmel's suspension, experts say the FCC commissioner's conduct is flatly unconstitutional. They also expect him to keep going. - Wired (9.18.25)
• CBP/DHS/ICE:
• San Diego AAPI leaders challenge silence around ICE arrests - kpbs (10.2.25)
• Border Report: A New Tactic that Targets Immigrant Children. The Trump administration has launched a new operation to try to get children to give up their rights and leave the United States. - Voice of San Diego (10.6.25)
• CoreCivic prison company will rake in $300 million from new ICE contracts - NOTUS/Times of San Diego (10.6.25)
• EIA: 
• EIA adjusts forecast for U.S. oil production as producers set a record in July 2025 - EIA (10.7.25)
• COVID-19/AVIAN FLU/HEALTH/WELLNESS:
• WHO: 
• WHO statement on autism-related issues - WHO (9.24.25)
• "The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that there is currently no conclusive scientific evidence confirming a possible link between autism and use of acetaminophen (also known as paracetamol) during pregnancy."
• (TFG)’s Tylenol Directive Could Actually Increase Autism Rates, Researchers Warn. Experts fear that (TFG)’s anti-painkiller tirade could lead to an increase in risk factors for autism, and don’t trust the administration to assess data as it continues to search for a cause. Wired (9.23.25)