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Consider the underappreciated sea otter

Consider the underappreciated sea otter

Like Rodney Dangerfield, sea otters get no respect.

Since their reintroduction to the Pacific coast in the 1970s, the sea otters’ rapid recovery and voracious appetite for tasty shellfish such as sea urchins, clams and crabs has brought them into conflict with coastal communities and fishers, who rely on the same valuable fisheries for food and income.

But the long-term benefits of sea otter…

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Coronavirus stimulus looks like junk mail

Coronavirus stimulus looks like junk mail

Orvie Nix, a retiree in Amarillo, Texas, had expected his family would receive its $2,400 in stimulus funds with a lettersigned by President Trump, or by direct deposit in his bank account, as he had seen on the news.

Instead, Nix got an envelope in the mail from “Money Network Cardholder Services”, containing a prepaid debit card. The plain envelope seemed typical of the unwanted financial…

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Safari Park re-opening to people June 20

Safari Park re-opening to people June 20

Not that the animals minded at all, but officials announced Wednesday that the San Diego Zoo Safari Park at San Pasqual Valley near Escondido and the zoo’s main campus in San Diego will reopen on June 20, ending the longest closure in the organization’s 103-year history.

Both parks were shuttered in mid-March to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Before the official reopenings, the Zoo and…

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When are the Hunters going to jail already?

When are the Hunters going to jail already?

Who knew that the easy part of Duncan and Margaret Hunter taking the heat for their campaign finance fraud would be arranging plea agreements sending them to prison.

The hard part, apparently, is for them actually to serve time in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to use over $250,000 in campaign funds for personal expenses.

Last week, Margaret Hunter’s sentencing was moved to July 6 in…

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We're having a (minor) heat wave

We’re having a (minor) heat wave

A rare late spring windy Santa Ana heat blast from the east is expected to cause temperatures to rise as much as 20 degree over seasonal averages, meteorologists say.

Hot temperatures are expected Tuesday throughout San Diego County amid a heat wave that will last through Thursday, according to the National Weather Service.

KGTV-10 News Meteorologist Megan Parry says temperatures are expected to…

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COVID-19: SD County Farm Bureau acts

COVID-19: SD County Farm Bureau acts

The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting shelter-in-place protocols and safety concerns disrupted rural communities and markets for agricultural products, according to California Farm Bureau’s AgAlert.

. Around California, county Farm Bureaus responded with innovative solutions intended to help their members ensure safety of themselves, their families and their employees, and to promote and sell crops…

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Identifying surveillance at protests

Identifying surveillance at protests

The full weight of U.S. policing has descended upon protesters across the country as people take to the streets to denounce the police killings of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless others who have been subjected to police violence. Along with riot shields, tear gas, and other crowd control measures also comes the digital arm of modern policing: prolific surveillance technology on the…

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Fairy shrimp are real and were at Escondido

Fairy shrimp are real and were at Escondido

Escondido Creek Conservancy biological surveyors recently discovered Fairy Shrimp (Branchinecta lindahli) at the Mountain Meadow Preserve near Hidden Meadows.

This elusive species is fairly uncommon in San Diego County due to the loss of preferred habitat — vernal pools. And while they won’t grant you three wishes — most vernal pools in San Diego have been destroyed by urban development — making…

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Poems and stories found in a box

Poems and stories found in a box

    COME, THE REVOLUTION

  Juan was at

The winter solstice.

But so was everyone.

His last name.

Didn’t catch,

Anonymously equal

Under the setting sun.

  Light comes from

Many directions.

Juanita from her skew line.

Pablo across his fault-line

Falling, falling, falling

Towards wide white lines

Covering ice-cream earth.

  Fernando Real

Knows nothing is real

If you don’t feel

It blowing through the…

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Welk Resorts to pay $3.5 million for fraud

Welk Resorts to pay $3.5 million for fraud

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan has announced  announced a settlement against Welk Resorts Inc. (Welk) for its alleged misconduct in connection with the offering and sale of timeshare interests.

Welk is a California corporation that develops and operates vacation timeshare resorts in both the United States and Mexico. Today’s…

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'Round Town: Panache, puppies, meals, mo'

‘Round Town: Panache, puppies, meals, mo’

(Here are a few random items relating to Escondido, Rancho Santa Fe and Valley Center that might have missed in the rush to societal protest and coronavirus relief…)

Coronavirus be damned, time for some Panache

Panache is the most important event on Escondido Arts Partnership Municipal Gallery (EAP)’s busy calendar of exhibitions, educational programming, and special activities benefiting San…

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Police using rubber bullets on protesters that can kill, blind or maim for life

Police using rubber bullets on protesters that can kill, blind or maim for life

In cities across the country, police departments have attempted to quell unrest spurred by the death of George Floyd by firing rubber bullets into crowds, even though five decades of evidence shows such weapons can disable, disfigure and even kill.

In addition to rubber bullets — which often have a metal core — police have used tear gas, flash-bang grenades, pepper spray gas and projectiles to…

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California’s National Guard role in protests

California’s National Guard role in protests

IN SUMMARY

The National Guard — now deployed to some California cities where property damage and a few incidents of violence occurred — are being welcomed by some but not all.

As Californians continue to protestthe death of George Floyd and what it signifies about broader racism, thus far two counties and the mayors of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Sacramento have requested — and received from…

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Small farms struggle amidst justice protests

Small farms struggle amidst justice protests

Following peaceful protests over the weekend that sometimes turned violent, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department instated a curfew on Monday, June 1, 2020 and protests have still continued. According to Martha Montoya, who sits on the State Board of Food and Agriculture, the protests have been disrupting access to markets for small farmers, who are already struggling to adapt during the…

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Escondido take a knee for George Floyd

Escondido take a knee for George Floyd

Escondido took a knee at high noon Wednesday, June 3 as Mayor Paul “Mac” McNamara, Council member Mike Morasco, Escondido Police Chief Varso, Yusef Miller of Racial Justice Coalition San Diego, Rev. Meg Decker of Escondido Together and other leaders and community members held a peaceful vigil at City Hall.

With the coronavirus devil still in the air, invisible, but not forgotten,…

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Three-Dot Lounge Coronavirus Edition

Three-Dot Lounge Coronavirus Edition

We are going to consider a few outstanding three-dot items stripped from below, well blow, today’s coronavirus headlines. But first, a reminder and salute about he who pioneered the tree-dot way

Herb Caen at his office, Dec. 31, 1993/Nancy Wong

It’s been over 20 years since famed San Francisco journalist Herb Caen (1916-1997) died. For journalists and San Franciscans, Caen was a superstar. Known…

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Look who's local playing college, pro sports

Look who’s local playing college, pro sports

Maybe it’s the weather allowing people to play a variety of sports full-time year-round. Maybe it’s the local San Diego County sports clubs and programs.

Fact is, this county has been one of the nation’s leading producers of college and professional athletes in th nation. Local sportswriter David Willauer has compiled a list of local athletes playing baseball and football at the collegiate and…