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| Siamangs Eloise & Selamat (Taken Spring 2025) |
Not gonna lie, it felt pretty good watching election results roll in from across the country, but all that joy and excitement was put back in perspective as the days after the election brought us back to reality about how change can be slow, that big things can't happen until January, and California and San Diego specifically, can still feel completely embarrassing, like hearing our stupid SDPD chief defend Flock, seeing our council and mayor salivate at appeasing Fatcat Kroenke with 108 year lease deals, and the continued discussions about how Manchester still wants an AI data center --but we'll still build housing right next to it --and it's still a sad state of affairs. On a personal note, I'm gonna have to move out of my studio and then I heard my neighbor is shutting down his shop with immediate plans to sell, which certainly means my future is likely staring down a multi-level multi-year construction project with apartments nobody can afford. So yeah. All I wanna do is cut outta town with Darren, but things bound me to home and even just a few days turns into a logistical nightmare, so hopefully you don't hear from me the next few days and I've found a way to a quick staycation.
Stay safe out there. EVERYONE I know that has been on a plane in the last month has returned home sick AF, so wear a mask or stick to a roadtrip. Nolite te bastardes carborundorum.
- SAN DIEGO LOCALS:
- San Diego Is 2026’s 2nd Best Warm Destination for Winter Travel – WalletHub Study
- California Is 2026’s Most Energy-Efficient State – WalletHub Study
- Residents Who Say Gallagher Square Concerts Are Too Loud Now On Edge Of Defeat In Court. The Padres and the city got a tentative ruling in their favor. A final verdict is expected next week. - San Diego Sun (11.6.26)
- Judge Could Decide On Nov. 6 If Padres, City Conspired To Violate Noise Code At Gallagher Square. TIMELINE: A history of Gallagher Square — from grassy “Park at the Park” roots to its conversion to a busy concert venue that spawned a lawsuit. - San Diego Sun (10.14.26)
- SAN DIEGO REGIONAL POLITICS:
- City Council approves $4.2 billion Midway District makeover - Times of San Diego (11.9.26)
- Lawsuit alleges San Diego blocked its only female lifeguard captain from top job - Times of San Diego (11.9.26)
- Long but important read: Billionaire Developer's Secretive San Diego AI Data Center Pitch Exposes Trump Ties, Housing Questions And 99-Year Navy Land Deal - SanDiegoVille (10.22.26)
- ‘Monstrosity,’ ‘trash,’ ‘irreversible harm,’ — elected officials call for pause on “mega” data center - Peninsula Beacon/Times of San Diego (10.23.26)
- City council unanimously pauses data center construction, despite little power over NAVWAR proposal - Times of San Diego (10.27.26)
- (TFG) Wants Data Centers on Federal Property Like NAVWAR Site. Despite a proposed ban in the works, San Diego City Hall would be near powerless to stop it. - Voice of San Diego (10.26.26)
- “This administration has watered down NEPA to where it’s pretty meaningless these days. I don’t think people realize how much they’ve tried to neuter the laws because it’s going on in real time.”
- San Diego congressional Democrats vow legislation to block NAVWAR data center - Peninsula Beacon/Times of San Diego (10.30.26)
- San Diego police will no longer use “other” as reason for searching the city’s license plate readers - Times of San Diego (10.21.26)
- Californians revolt against police drones after rapid adoption across state - kpbs/CalMatters (10.27.26)
- County trades legal threats with feds, labels DOJ call to reject ballots ‘thinly veiled voter purge’ - inewsource/Times of San Diego (10.28.26)
- SDPD rejects call from citizens commission to limit pretext traffic stops - kpbs (10.30.26)
- CALIFORNIA NEWS:
- Gavin Newsom Issues Commutations for All 548 Californians Facing Execution. If approved by a state court, the number of people sentenced to death nationwide would drop by nearly a third. - The Marshall Project (11.5.26)
- Social media companies sue California over new law restricting use for children - LA Times (Paywall restricted | 11.5.26)
- ZOO GOSS:
- Last week, the zoo lost one of my personal favorites. Eloise was a 45 year old siamang, a type of gibbon, who lived with the orangutans. Eloise and her daughter, Sela, were so special to me because she has this really amazing story. As it's been told to me numerous times over the years, one day some guests were talking to a volunteer and asked, "how old is the baby?" At the time, Sela had already had five offspring with her partner Unkie, and was on birth control to live out her advanced age for her species. It is suspected that curious Karen, one of the orangutans, had perhaps scratched out and removed Ellie's birth control implant, like depo-provera or similar, that had been placed in the back of her neck. Sure enough, she was pregnant, unbeknownst to everyone, and had given birth overnight, to the gangly-armed Selamat. Unkie, her partner, eventually passed away about four and a half years ago, but she and Sela remained among the orangutans. As a youngster, Sela was besties with Aisha, but lately has taken a shine to Kaja, who is now nearly 5 years old. His dad, Satu, passed suddenly just a couple weeks before he was born, Unkie's death came about 6 months later...so there's this contingent of zoo animals that I deeply connect with, as we're all part of the dead dad club, which I don't mean to sound so morose, but Kaja and Aisha, Sela, Denny the gorilla, Kasai and Lulua (the Debrazza's monkeys), all lost their daddies in the same time frame that my dad was deeply ill and passed away, so my connection with all of them is a different level of empathy and kinship.
So back to Eloise. While statistics on life expectations vary, she was definitely on the upper end of age for her species, and circle of life and all, we knew the day would come, but I was sitting with the orangutans for awhile last week before I noticed that Sela was playing with the orangutans and her mom hadn't been out. When I get there super late in the day, the two of them usually have a snack and then would settle in to sleep, which they almost always did on the upper part of the climbing structure, sleeping in a face to face embrace with their little padded butts resting on the metal bar.
Later that afternoon, I saw a care specialist and asked about Ellie, and her hesitation and explanation just told me that it wasn't good news. The next day, it was beginning to circulate that Eloise had in fact passed away, that maybe she had sustained an injury but with her advanced age, the kindest and most humane thing was to let her go. I don't know what will happen now...is Sela old enough to be partnered with a male via the SSP or will she just live among the orangutans on her own? It remains to be seen, but in the meantime, the loss of Eloise is deeply felt among all the people who cared for her and all the guests who loved her over her long life. - And, since I don't want "zoo goss" to be all sad all the time...there are two new bonobos at the zoo who were beginning to explore their habitat today. They are a mother and son from the Memphis Zoo, who will no longer house the critically endangered species. Bonobos have very complex familial relationships and people say they're the most like us, though they live in matriarch-led groups. The mother is Kiri, who is the niece of resident beauty, Loretta, and the son is Mobali. And I cannot wait to meet them.
- Jungle Bells is almost back, though you should definitely check daily hours if you plan on visiting the zoo. It currently closes at 5pm, then 4pm on Thanksgiving, then 7pm through the holiday weekend (11/27-29). Then Jungle Bells kicks off to the public on December 19 (with member preview on 12/18) and runs through January 3, when the park will be open until 8pm with the exception of Christmas Eve, when the park closes at 4pm.
- Wild Holidays will return to Safari Park on select dates from November 28-January 3, with a member preview on November 27. The park will be open until 8pm for Thanksgiving weekend, 11/27-29, then again 12/18-12/23, close at 3pm on Christmas Eve and Christmas, then back to 8pm from 12/26-1/3.
- SEA WORLD GOSS:
- Two rescued ringed seals arrive at SeaWorld San Diego - Fox5 San Diego (11.9.26)
- The combination of Avian Flu, algal blooms, and warmer ocean temperatures and El Niño, California has been experiencing elevated numbers of sick and injured seabirds, and some die-offs in larger mammalian species, like the elephant seals off the central coast. Seaworld San Diego, besides actively and continuously treating local injured or orphaned seals and sea lions, has been outstanding in their care for many of the sick birds. They've also been in the news as their rescue team has been helping an elevated number of whales, dolphins, porpoises, and turtles who find themselves in precarious entanglements, as we've seen more diversity of species and rare-sightings with the change of water temps.
- It's almost time for the Christmas Celebration at Seaworld! Member preview is this Friday, and then runs through January 3, though their closing hours vary from 6pm (mostly weeknights) to 8pm or 9pm (most weekends) to 10pm on NYE. Always check their calendar before going. On inclement weather/heavy rain days, sometimes they'll close early for the safety of guests and staff.
- TRANS RIGHTS & GUN FIGHTS:
- [ed: Does this translate to all redlined communities? Don't ignore San Diego's history.] Jacksonville, Florida’s Gun Violence Is Rooted in Redlining and Homes Built on Toxic Waste. “Sometimes living here is like being in a time capsule,” a community activist said. “This is about white supremacy.” - KFF Health News (10.27.26)
- Midterm Voters Split on Abortion and Trans Healthcare Ballot Questions - KFF (11.5.26)
- POLITICS/ELECTION RESULTS:
- Three new faces are set to join the City Council. All are Democrats, but that doesn’t mean they’ll vote in lockstep - Times of San Diego (11.5.26)
- Heather Cox Richardson from Letters from an American | November 6, 2026
- These Are My Top 10 Takeaways From Tuesday’s Blue Tsunami - Kamau Bell/Who's With Me? 11.6.26
- After years of strife, Grossmont teachers union flips board supermajority in election stunner - La Mesa Courier/Times of San Diego 11.6.26
- Major media outlets sanitize Stephen Miller’s white nationalist ideas. Miller has a long history of promoting some of the core tenets of white nationalism. Media outlets, with few exceptions, chose not to describe his views in plain terms. - Popular.info (11.5.26)
- Elon Musk’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day - Oligarch Watch (11.6.26)
- Elected officials, union members and grassroots groups celebrate Tuesday’s election results - kpbs (11.4.26)
- OTHER READING:
- US GOVERNMENT DESTRUCTION:
- ICE/CBP/DHS:
- Search More Than 500 Cases of U.S. Citizens Detained by Immigration Agents - ProPublica.
- ICE detains 2 American citizens in heated confrontations caught on video. ICE later said the two women were “agitators attempting to impede operations,” though they were released hours later without charges. - NBC San Diego (9.17.26)
- SUPREME COURT:
- After Dobbs, 900+ women have been criminally charged for conduct during pregnancy. The vast majority of cases were in South Carolina, Oklahoma and Alabama. - CTMirror (10.27.26)
- COVID-19/AVIAN FLU/HEALTH/WELLNESS:
- AVIAN FLU:
- Bird flu is back, deadly as ever. Raw milkers may be especially at risk. - Animals 24-7 (11.8.26)
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