Most everyone has heard of La Jolla, the community of San Diego, also known as the Jewel By the Sea. Well there is a place along the coast in La Jolla called the Children's Pool, and what brings a lot of people to see this area (besides of the beauty of the coast itself) is the 50 or so seals that can be seen laying on the beach here. As most people know, there is not very much of the Southern California coast that has not been taken over by people, so for many this sort of place to see wildlife is quite a novelty.

The reason this area has attracted the seals is that a big sea wall was built many years ago to shelter this part of the beach, which is what makes it desirable for the seals. Well, the problem is that this sea wall was initially built and funded by Ellen Browning Scripps in the early 30s to create a protected place for children to play in the area, since a large part of this area is rocky and has strong currents. Thus the name Children's Pool.

So the problem now is that a Superior Court judge has ruled that this should be given back to the children, for it's original purpose. So now the seals have to go. This has been an issue for many years and has worked its way through the court system, only to have this ruling just the other day.

See this article here http://www.10news.com/news/19581131/detail.html.

My problem with all this is that humans have everything, we have swimming pools and the majority of the rest of the coast. Not to mention how many other cases there are everywhere every day of animals getting screwed by human development. Why are we wasting our time kicking seals off of our beaches? Sure, the "pool" was created with other intentions, but it is one of the few places in a city this size that people, both tourists and locals, young and old, can come see a bit of nature. I say let the seals stay.

Labels: environment, news, San Diego, seals

I have read a couple articles recently which actually don't paint the modern day Somali pirates in a negative light, and wanted to share this one that I've most recently read. And no, it's not about defending their actions or what they are doing, but it certainly paints a picture which is different from that which we read in the press.

So go and read the article and let me know what you think.

If you don't want to read this article, basically what it says is that since the collapse of the Somali government, the lack of oversight in the area is now being exploited by first world countries. Specifically by dumping waste and over fishing the areas that are around Somalia. Hopefully they're not doing these two things in the same place because that would just be stupid, but nonetheless, these actions are further hurting the now helpless Somalis by polluting their coastal waters and leaving virtually nothing left in the sea for the coastal population to make a living or even eat for that matter.

Thoughts?

Labels: news, pirates, somalia

I came across this commentary article on CNN couple weeks ago about the legalization of drugs and figured I'd share a few thoughts I have.

First of all, I truly believe that our "war on drugs" doesn't work. Just because something is illegal does not mean people don't do it. Look around, people do illegal things every day. And trust me, same goes for drugs, I was in college once upon a time. And I also don't buy the fact that making drugs legal will increase their usage. Drugs are easy to get and people who want them get them.

Secondly, though I don't think drugs are in any way a good thing, I sort of believe that what people choose to do in their own time is their own business. Granted, hard core drug users can cause other problems that don't stay in their home, I get that. But I'm mostly thinking of pot when I talk about this. What people want to do in their home should stay in their home, and I also don't believe that classifying a drug user in the same category with violent criminals is acceptable. But that's another topic.

I also truly believe that there are plenty of prescription medications and pills that people take every day and buy legally at the pharmacy, which are regulated by the FDA, are more dangerous than some of the drugs which are illegal.

Look in the news right now, the drug violence around the border and in Mexico is mostly due to illegal drug trade and trafficking. Make those drugs legal, what will happen? Sure, it won't be an overnight change, but if it's legal and regulated, then the demand for those illegal drugs will drop, and I believe that the violence that surrounds it will too. Whether the violence simply continues for other reasons, I don't know.

But what I do know is that if drugs are legal the problems won't get any worse than they currently are. Drugs will simply be handled like our current alcohol problem, hopefully parents can discuss the topic in the open, and people will hopefully still make the right decisions, the only difference will be that if they make the wrong ones they won't be criminals, and they can get support which can be provided by the taxes levied on the products they were using.

I'm curious to know where readers stand on this.

Labels: drugs, news

I'm not normally one to go for celebrity or Hollywood gossip, and obviously this doesn't quite go along with the theme of this website, but seriously this whole Joaquin Phoenix thing is really intriguing to me. If you haven't heard about it, just do a couple of google searches and then come back.

So the theories circulating are that 1) he is having a breakdown of sorts and really thinks he is pursuing a career as a rapper or that 2) he is doing this all as a mockumentary about actors who lose it and go on a downward spiral and/or actors who try to make a transition into music.

I'm leading towards believing the second for several reasons. I've read about his total immersion acting techniques, and also his brother in law Casey Affleck has been there the whole time filming his antics. I would think that if he actually was losing it that Casey would maybe lend a hand rather than film the demise. And also, well, quite honestly I think acting crazy for a year in the name of making a documentary about acting crazy is far more more interesting than actors who really do go off the deep end. Those types already seem to be a dime a dozen in Hollywood.

Either way, it's been sort of interesting to follow the whole thing. I'll be curious what comes of it.

What do you think?

Labels: news, random

Thanks to Grace for alerting me to the fact that the Obamas are planting a vegetable garden at the White House!

I think this is great, it promotes self sustainability, local and healthy eating. Congrats to the Obama's for doing this and setting a good example for the rest of us.

Related Links:

Labels: garden, news, organic

It just came out in local news here in San Diego that Mayor Jerry Sanders is proposing some serious budget cuts. Among some of the cuts are the following:

• Four of seven deputy chief operating officers will lose their jobs
• Operations suspended at nine recreation centers, seven libraries and all six of the city's customer service centers
• The number of civilians in the SDPD's admin staff and community service officers will be reduced by 37
• The number of fire companies active on any given day will decrease from 60 to 58

On the bright side, they claim that all cuts are in the office, and that the number of police officers and fire fighters won't be affected.

I realize times are tough and you have to do what you have to do, but to me Rec Centers and libraries are what make communities ... well, uh, communities. So I went ahead and wrote a letter to the mayor and my councilman. Here is what I wrote:

I am writing in regards to the recently proposed budget cuts. I understand the financial crisis and I understand doing what needs to be done. While difficult, I respect you doing what is best for the city. However, as a resident of San Diego for eight years, I have really enjoyed the community feel of the local libraries and feel that they are an important service for the people. I've always thought it was so great that every community has their own library. That said, I can understand the need to cut back, and also can certainly see that for the amount spent to maintain these services that they might not be deemed worthwhile. And of course I realize that there is a much broader impact here than just losing some libraries. I know that this extends far beyond the library closures, and that many other city services are affected. However, as a resident of Ocean Beach and a frequent library user, it saddens me to know that our local library may be closing.

I know that not many people in this day and age use the free services that the libraries offer, but the reality is that there are still many that do. When I saw that Ocean Beach was one of the branches proposed to be closed I was shocked. Each time I've gone in there it seems to be bouncing with activity and I find it hard to believe that this is one of the least used branches. I would imagine that especially in "OB" the services offered at the library would be absolutely essential. People, both young and old, and both high and low income, live in OB, and having access to free internet and reading materials is critical for many of these people, especially those without private transportation. (Which I know there are a lot of in my neighborhood.) I would urge you to reconsider these closures, as I believe local libraries (as well as Rec Centers) are an essential part of each of the unique communities of San Diego, as well as critical resources for many of our residents.

Related Links:

OB Rag discusses budget cuts and library closures
Voice of San Diego discussing budget cuts and library closures

Labels: budget cuts, library, news, politics, San Diego