TimesOC: Doctors’ visits could help save the whales
Good morning and welcome to the TimesOC newsletter.
It’s Friday, Oct. 1. I’m Ben Brazil, bringing you the latest roundup of Orange County news and events.
For the last few years, California gray whales have been mysteriously dying off and washing ashore. Southern killer whales have been suffering from high levels of toxins.
Things are looking bad for the whales.
Luckily, with the help of a $55,000 grant from the Laguna Beach-based Pacific Marine Mammal Center, a team of researchers and scientists are developing wellness checks on endangered Southern Resident orcas — kind of like a doctor’s visit at sea.
My colleague Sara Cardine wrote this week that a team of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration biologists and other scientific advisers have developed the wellness check method, which includes using thermal cameras to check for infection and drones with petri dishes to check for respiratory illnesses.
The biologists collaborated with the Pacific Marine Mammal Center and Washington-based nonprofit SeaDoc Society to collect data over a two-week period on a population of orcas that migrate along the Pacific Coast and spend summer and fall in Puget Sound, Cardine wrote. The data collection wrapped up last week.
The findings could eventually lead to the ability to do doctor’s visits on whales locally.
“This award is a major milestone in [our] expanding reach and impact on ocean health and conservation,” PMMC chief executive Peter Chang said in an earlier statement. “We are excited about this collaborative effort in terms of what it can do for this critically endangered population of whales.”
MORE NEWS
The son of a former “Real Housewives of Orange County” cast member is getting a $595,000 settlement after suing the county, alleging that his phone calls were recorded and sheriff’s deputies had him attacked in jail. The Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the settlement this week for Josh Waring, who pleaded guilty last year to a host of felonies, including assault with a firearm and leading police on a chase, and assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury. He’s currently a fugitive after failing to appear in court on unrelated drug cases.
Conservationists who have long sought to preserve the Banning Ranch property in Newport Beach received some help from the federal government this week. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Department provided the Banning Ranch Conservancy with an $11-million grant to help purchase the property. The conservationists now need another $14 million to purchase the land. Reporter Lilly Nguyen wrote that they have until April to get the money.
Community college students regularly suffer from hunger and homelessness. Luckily, there’s a group in south Orange County seeking to solve that crisis for local students. “The number of youth who are going to community colleges who are hungry is staggering,” said LaVal Brewer, president and chief executive of South County Outreach. “There are some who don’t have a roof over their head, don’t have any food, and the ability for them to still make it through college and better themselves is much more difficult when those two issues arise.”
The saga of the project formerly known as the “Orange County” Great Park is long and troubled. Bogged down for years with accusations of cronyism and improper management, the park hasn’t lived up to its original billing. Now, the city of Irvine is considering an update of its master plan of the park.
LIFE AND LEISURE
Live plays are returning Saturday to Costa Mesa’s South Coast Repertory with “A Shot Rang Out,” a one-man show about love and loss written by Tony Award-winning playwright Richard Greenberg. Reporter Sara Cardine wrote this week that the themes are sure to resonate with audiences who have experienced loneliness and disconnectedness during the pandemic.
How do local chefs and home cooks get their fresh produce? They get lessons from Heirloom Potager on the ins and outs of creating an edible garden. Most recently, the Santa Ana-based culinary garden design and coaching company helped Chef Michael Reed design a garden for the Anaheim Packing District’s Poppy & Seed restaurant. My colleague Sarah Mosqueda has the story.
Continuing with this week’s garden theme, reporter Gabriel San Román wrote about a new garden that’s meant to imitate the sunset at the Muckenthaler Cultural Center in Fullerton. The “Sunset Garden” was part of a project to resurrect a long-neglected patch of land at the museum and transform it into something that could be beneficial to the community. The idea was thought up by artist-in-residence Marsha Judd. “What if we could bring heaven to earth and earth to heaven?” Judd told San Román.
SPORTS
We have a couple of stories this week on Angels star Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani and his team decided it’s best if he doesn’t pitch again for the rest of the season, reporter Jack Harris wrote. With the team limping through the final games of the year, Ohtani will finish up as the club’s designated hitter. Team manager Joe Maddon said Ohtani exceeded expectations on the mound this year. San Román wrote about the pride Japanese Americans in Orange County have in Ohtani, who may end up being the MVP of the American League. “He’s definitely a bright spot in our community,” said Kihei Otani, president of the Orange County Japanese American Assn. “Japanese Americans here are all excited to see him playing. I can’t imagine any Japanese American not rooting for him and not going to his games to support him.”
The Huntington Beach girls’ volleyball team is on a roll, claiming its 14th straight win this week against Newport Harbor. The team fought through an injury to one of its starters during warmups to keep the streak alive. “We all really work together,” sophomore outside hitter Haylee LaFontaine said of going into the match without one of their starters. “We knew that it wouldn’t be the same, but we just had to try to find a way to make it work.” The Costa Mesa girls’ volleyball team also put in some work this week with a sweep of Saddleback.
OPINION
Columnist Patrice Apodaca is worried about bees. The poor little insects have been flying into her home to their deaths at a higher rate this year. While she doesn’t exactly know what is causing those bees to die, it’s left her fearing for the sake of all bees. The insects have been dying at record rates. A study published early last year found that the bumblebee population in North America had declined by nearly 50% in the last five decades. “But the loss of bee populations is particularly distressing because we greatly rely on them to carry out the important job of pollinating many of the fruits, vegetables, nuts and flowers that we consume,” she wrote.
Several Orange County residents wrote to the paper this week about climate change, Newport Beach policy and hate crimes in the county. Tom Hazelleaf of Seal Beach highlighted a local group of more than 3,000 Orange County volunteers working to implement solutions to climate change.
Question of the Week
Orange County is a big, diverse community with a bustling entertainment and tourist industry. Yet the county has major hurdles to overcome — homelessness, climate change, political corruption and law enforcement misconduct. Oh, and a pandemic. We want to hear your opinions on these subjects!
Each week, we’ll ask you a new question and post some of the answers in the following newsletter.
Now for this week’s question (please keep your answer to 75 words or less):
Have you made any changes in your life to help with climate change? What changes have you made (switched to more efficient light bulbs, given up plastic water bottles, etc.)?
Send your answer to Ben at benjamin.brazil@latimes.com.
Stay in Touch
If you have a memory or story about Orange County, we would love to read it (please keep your story to 100 words or less).
We want your help in making this the best newsletter it can be. Send any tips or comments to benjamin.brazil@latimes.com or carol.cormaci@latimes.com.
Keep up with community news on our Orange County page. Follow us on Twitter at @timesocofficial.
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