Pups born to mothers poisoned by algae bloom head to SeaWorld to join pup posse and then ocean

• October 21, 2023

This summer’s poisonous algae bloom that sickened and killed hundreds of sea lions and dolphins off Southern California left behind a crop of young pups at local marine mammal rescue centers.

Now that the young sea lions have a few months under their belts experts at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach, the Marine Mammal Center Los Angeles and San Diego SeaWorld are betting the long hours of dedication from their care teams will pay off and the pups can make it to the ocean.

Historically, animals younger than 6 months raised in rescue facilities are placed in captivity, but these pups are showing they can hunt, capture and kill fish on their own.

This weekend, three sea lion pups born at PMMC and raised in the red barn along Laguna Canyon Road since early June will join three other pups at San Diego SeaWorld in preparation for their release.  PMMC’s pups, Raindrop, Miley and Kenny, were each born to mothers poisoned in the toxic bloom that began off Ventura County and spread during the summer into ocean waters off Los Angeles and Orange County.

Dr. Alissa Deming, PMMC’s head veterinarian, said while the bloom was likely the most devastating in recent times, she was thankful it began in late May, close to the full gestation terms for the pups. Often, spring blooms come when pups are not fully developed and their prognosis is dim.

Labor was induced in the mothers who were stranded on local beaches to stop the toxic exposure to the pups and to give the moms the best chance to survive. Deming and her staff held their breath, she said, hoping the pups wouldn’t present with seizures or other neurological conditions brought on by the poisoning.

The vet staff had wanted to keep the pups with their mothers, but the toxins made at least one dangerously aggressive.

So, Deming pulled the pups together and Rainbow, the most tranquil sea lion mom, stayed with her own Raindrop and became a surrogate for Miley and Kenny. The pups were able to nurse from her and get important nutrition from the milk that helps build their immune systems, the doctor said.

“We wanted the pups to be together like they are on the islands so they could learn from each other,” Deming said. “Sea lions learn from other babies. They hang out together and play when their moms leave them there and go out to fish. They hang out in little groups called posses and then go out and fish together.”

The center considered keeping the moms with the pups once they were recovering, Deming said, but decided because the breeding season for sea lions started in August, it made sense to release them.

“We wanted them to go out and meet a boy so they would have a pup for the next summer,” Deming said, adding that most sea lion moms are raising a newborn while carrying an enbryo. Female sea lions become sexually mature at 5 years old and, if all goes well, they continue to have a pup each year.

Once the moms were released, feeding the pups became harder, Deming said.

“We tried to stay hands-off and no talking around them, but we had to tube-feed them,” she said. “It did take a lot of effort to make sure they were putting on the weight and eating at night.”

A high-fat content formula did the trick and the babies grew plumper. Then, totally uncommon when working with sea lion pups, Deming kicked up the efforts and tried to feed them with cut-up herring.

“To eat fish, the pups would pick up tiny fish pieces to suckle and once in a while, they would swallow,” she said. “After three weeks, they were diving in the pool like big sea lions.”

All the while, the veterinarians at the region’s rescue centers were discussing what would give the pups their best chance at going to the ocean. Dr. Lauren Palmer from the Marine Mammal Care Center Los Angeles and veterinarians at SeaWorld also had young pups from the algae bloom.

They decided the PMMC pups, three more at SeaWorld and six at MMCLA could be a sample set to see if a new rehab plan could work.

“A lot of credit goes to Dr. Palmer,” Deming said, “she’s recognized how many pups have stranded and then got back to the point you can’t see a difference between them and other sea lions.”

On Friday night, PMMC held a farewell party for the pups before they headed this weekend to SeaWorld and Deming said she’s excited by what they will learn with more exposure to other sea lions their age.

PMMC is also about ready to move operations to a temporary spot by the city’s dog park while it undergoes a $14 million expansion, so keeping the pups would have been hard.

“SeaWorld will be good for them,” Deming said. “They will be exposed to the other pups and even older sea lions. They’ll learn something isn’t good behavior and they’ll adjust and become polite little sea lions.”

Matt Schuiteman, a zoological specialist with SeaWorld’s rescue team, said he also looks forward to their arrival and seeing their progress. They will join one pup born at the facility and two rescued from the beach.

“PMMC did a wonderful job in getting their animals on fish so quickly,” he said. “We were blown away with their success.”

Schuiteman said his seal lions were bottle-fed and only recently have they tried fish. While all have shown an interest in hunting the fish in water and then catching and killing them, the difficulty has been getting them to swallow the fish.

“The swallowing action is the toughest thing to do,” he said. “It extends muscle action and they need to trust it’s food. Getting that large fish in is a pretty big deal.”

His goal is to get their pups eating before they meet up with the PMMC pups. One, named 23 and found on the beach as a premature pup, has made the biggest strides in trying to eat fish. She, Schuiteman said, will be the ambassador to meet the PMMC pups first, who he imagines might be a little scared in the new facility.

“Having the ambassador is great; they’ll have a new animal in their own size to check out,” he said. “If that’s a positive interaction, it’s a sign they’ll do well. Sea lions are naturally sociable animals. If there is aggression, we’ll find a different way to interact.”

Related links

Harbor seal rescued and rehabbed in Laguna Beach travels to new home in Niagara Falls
Fur seal saved by Newport Beach workers is recuperating at PMMC
4 sea lions released back to wild as 5 more are rescued
A Laguna Beach harbor seal rescued at just hours old gets forever home in New York aquarium
50 years, 10,000 rescues make Laguna Beach’s marine mammal center ocean health experts

Once the pups are introduced, they will go into a large area with a pool, a playground environment with slides and other enrichment toys to help them progress. Mostly, he said, the key is to keep hands-off and let them develop their sea lion personalities.

The rescue teams are optimistic about the pups’ planned release back to the Channel Islands – with satellite tags attached.

SeaWorld released three young pups in May – with help from Palmer at MMCLA – and according to data from their satellite tags, Schuiteman said they’re doing well. The two girls have stayed together and traveled to San Francisco Bay and back; the boy has foraged out on his own a bit, hunting for territory and exploring.

“We followed LA’s lead on that,” he said. “They showed you can have success.”

Deming added that the timing to improve new pup rehab is critical because the number of toxic blooms appears to be increasing.

“We want to know their success,” she said. “That will be critical in helping manage future blooms and we’ll know if it’s the right decision. If they were euthanized right when they were born, we would never know.”

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​ Orange County Register 

Teen surf phenom Simmers, of Oceanside, named “Rookie of the Year”

• October 21, 2023

Oceanside’s Caitlin Simmers earned a spot on the coveted World Tour and spent the year surfing against the best of the best.

She dominated against more experienced surfers, with strong enough results to have a shot at a world title.

Not to mention the 18-year-old surf phenom landed on Team USA and will compete at the 2024 Olympics.

With those feats, it’s no surprise Simmers was named “Rookie of the Year” by the World Surf League.

While she wasn’t able to clinch the world title during September’s finals at Lower Trestles in north San Diego County, she put the surf world on notice that she’s a contender. If Simmers is able to claim a championship in coming years, she’ll be the only other San Diego surfer since Debbie Beacham, of La Jolla, in 1982, to claim the prestigious title.

“I don’t know if it’s soaked in yet,” Simmer said while on a rare stint home a few weeks ago.  “It still doesn’t feel real.”

Simmers’ love for the sea came from childhood beach trips to Oceanside with her parents and younger brother Timothy, first starting off on a bodyboard before graduating to a surfboard, she said.

“They didn’t really force anything to happen, we were just always at the beach,” Simmers said.

It was her sibling rivalry with her brother, just one year younger, that helped light her fire, she said.

“That’s probably part of the reason I’m so competitive, because of my brother. We always competed and wanted to be better than each other,” she said. “Even today, he’s so good at surfing and pushes me. I want to be better than my brother.”

Simmers was about 11 when she started entering competitions, she said.

“The first contest I did, I made one heat. I lost the second one, but I really was so happy I made the first heat,” she said. “I definitely fell in love with competing then for the first time. I just started doing competitions and then it worked out for me. It was never what I needed to do. I loved to do it, so I kept doing it.”

She never had dreams of making the world tour, or aspirations to be a world champion, she admitted.

“It was never like, I don’t know, my like one destiny or whatever. I just really liked to do it,” said Simmers, also an avid skateboarder.

Her love for skateboarding translated onto the waves in competition and soon she was winning – a lot.

It was in 2018 that the surf world took notice. She was named the National Scholastic Surfing Association’s Rookie of the Year and earned a national title.

In 2019, she became a key member of Team USA, earning gold in the under 16-division at the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships in Huntington Beach.

Caitlin Simmers takes first place in the girls under 16 division during the ISA World Junior Surfing championships in Huntington Beach on Sunday, November 4, 2018. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Then, she started entering pro contests on the WSL Qualifying Series, the minor leagues of the sport, and there, too, dominated at events. In 2021, at just 15, she won the US Open of Surfing in Huntington Beach alongside San Clemente’s Griffin Colapinto, a mega surf event considered the world’s largest action-sports contest.

Her results were so strong she earned a spot at age 16 onto the prestigious 2022 World Tour to compete against the sport’s best women, some who have been on the tour since she was a toddler.

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But she did something only one other surfer,  Australian Taj Burrow in 1997, has done: She passed.

“I guess I just did that so I could enjoy being at home. I wanted to make a surf movie (which she edited) and focus on being a better surfer, just enjoy being at home with my friends and family before I sacrificed my life to competitive surfing,” Simmers said. “I guess that was the reason. I just don’t think I was ready. I still don’t think I’m ready.”

This year, she was ready for the elite level.

In March, she won the Rip Curl Portugal Pro and later the Rio Pro. She earned second place at the Tahiti Pro, all results that allowed her to secure her spot in the WSL finals.

“It’s been a long year, but also a really fast year. It’s weird thinking back on it. I wasn’t expecting to do this,” she said. “It wasn’t even really in my head. It doesn’t feel real. I’m just thankful surfing has taken me here.”

She’s earned fans that span generations, appealing not just to the youngsters with similar surf dreams, but older surfers excited to see the new wave of female surfers dominating in competition.

When four-time world champion Lisa Andersen met Simmers for the first time in September, she greeted the youngster with a gushing compliment.

“I’m such a fan,” said Andersen, who revolutionized women’s surfing in the ’90s, an icon who was the inspiration for the surfwear brand Roxy.

“She’s incomparable, there’s no one who surfs like her,” Andersen said. “She’s her own, unique self.”

Simmers is often described by surf commentators as having a rock-star style, a nonchalant attitude that allows her to surf relaxed, yet fierce, drawing inspiration from her skateboarding and being comfortable both in bombing barrels and above the lip doing aerials.

When Simmers recently joined a gathering of young girls to give advice before having a surf session with the youngsters, she spoke with wisdom beyond her years.

“Be grateful. If you’re stressed about something, remember that you have the basics. You have a house and a home and family and people who love you,” she told them. “And that makes everything better.”

And one other piece of advice: Listen to your mom.

Simmers hasn’t quite settled into her fate as a role model, but is nonetheless soaking in the moment.

“It doesn’t feel like I should be, because I still don’t have anything figured out,” she said of being a mentor. “It’s really sick to see when a little girl comes up to me and thinks what I’m doing is cool – that’s what makes me keep doing it.”

Simmers is set to join Hawaii’s Carissa Moore and Florida’s Caroline Marks as a third competitor on Team USA for the Olympics at Teahupo’o, Tahiti, provisionally qualifying, awaiting official NOC nomination.

“We are incredibly proud of Caity’s outstanding performance in her rookie year. For her to win an event in her rookie year and finish fourth in the world is a fantastic achievement and cements her status as one of the best up-and-coming talents,” WSL Chief of Sport Jessi Miley-Dyer said. “She’s pushing the progression of women’s surfing both in and out of the jersey.

“Her journey inspires and sets a shining example for young surfers worldwide,” Miley-Dyer said, “and we look forward to witnessing her future successes.”

​ Orange County Register 

This is the time for gardeners to plant these vegetables, trees and ground cover

• October 21, 2023

5 things to do in the garden this week:

1. This is prime time for planting your fall vegetable garden. Plant the following vegetables from seed: bulb onions, shallots, leeks, chives, garlic, peas, radishes, beets, spinach, lettuce, chard, fava beans, celery, cabbage, kohlrabi and kale. This is also the time to transplant baby specimens of the following, many of which you will find in the nursery at this time or can receive through online vendors: artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, parsley, and a large variety of herbs. 

2. When it comes to winter squash, whether you grew it for edible or decorative purposes, cut with two inches of stem when you harvest each squash. This will prevent deterioration during storage which would be a shame since these squash can stay fresh for up to six months. Before harvest, make sure the squash is fully ripe, which is indicated when the rind is hard enough to resist penetration by your fingernail. Winter squash got its name not from the season it’s harvested since that happens in the fall but rather from the fact that, at one time, people had so-called root cellars where they would store these squash – along with root crops such as potatoes and onions – throughout the winter.

3. At the website of Tree of Life Nursery (Californianativeplants.com) in San Juan Capistrano, there is a chart where native plants are associated with specific months of the year, based on when they flower. Thus, by planting the species recommended for each of the 12 months, you can have some native flowers blooming at all times. For October, certain species and cultivars of California lilac (Ceanothus) and monkeyflower (Mimulus), as well as western redbud (Cercis occidentalis) and Cleveland sage (Salvia clevelandii) are the monthly bloomers listed. Bear in mind that microclimate, soil type, sun exposure, and other factors can influence the bloom time of any plant.

4. This is the time to plant ground covers for refurbishing your soil, especially where you may have harvested abundant vegetable crops this summer and fall and wish to replenish the soil for spring planting. Choose from legumes such as clover, vetch, and fava beans which, after being plowed into the ground next spring – and allowing a month for decomposition – will add an abundance of nitrogen to the soil. And don’t forget lady or tansy leaf Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia), a California native that is an excellent pollinator plant, grows quickly up to four feet and scavenges nitrogen and calcium for soil enrichment when it’s dug into the earth – as soon as six weeks after germination – prior to planting the crop of your choice. It has highly attractive purplish flowers as well.

5. Small trees make excellent focal points or accents in the garden and there is no better time to plant trees of any kind of tree than in the fall. Among the small trees you will want to consider are river birch (Betula occidentalis), a California native with highly attractive reddish bark, Little Gem Magnolia, Japanese maples (Acer palmatum), dwarf conifers, Chocolate Summer mimosa (Albizia julibrissin) with bronze foliage, smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria) and, last but not least, Chinese fringe tree (Chionanthus retusus), a species only 20 feet tall at maturity that is covered with the most delightful wedding white, fragrant flowers each spring. 

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​ Orange County Register 

Exploring the book called ‘How to Forage for Wild Food Without Dying’

• October 21, 2023

After recently writing here about Esperanza (Tecoma stans), a plant that flowers virtually non-stop with golden yellow, gramophone-shaped blooms, I received an email mentioning that, according to one report, this species is highly toxic to pets and people. 

Upon closer examination of the literature on this subject, the evidence is not conclusive as to Esperanza’s toxicity. Still, I would not recommend eating any part of any plant that you are not entirely sure about; check with an expert to ensure that it’s edible. As for pet cats and dogs, I would not allow them to consume any plant, including those eaten by us, since these are carnivorous animals and vegetation of any kind should not be part of their diet.

Addressing the dilemma of plants that look good enough to eat, but shouldn’t be eaten, “How to Forage for Wild Food Without Dying” (Storey Publishing, 2023), by Ellen Zachos, forays into the recent craze of foraging. Whether it’s the movement to simplify our lives by relying more on mother nature for our sustenance, or merely an interest in saving money on groceries, foraging has more adherents every day. Yet the author issues this warning at the outset: “Never put anything in your mouth that you’re not 100 percent sure what it is.” Exactly.

You don’t have to go into the wild to forage, however. Many of our common weeds, including dandelion, pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus), and lamb’s quarter (Chenopodium album) have edible foliage. The only caveat is that the foliage of these three plants should not be consumed in large quantities due to the oxalates they contain. Yet spinach, chard, endive, and French sorrel are also rich in oxalates and so caution is advised in their consumption as well.

I learned from this book that flowers of our two most widely planted magnolia species are edible and “ginger, cardamom, and clove” are among the flavors that may be experienced when chewing on the flowers of these trees. The species in question are bull magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), an evergreen possessing huge white flowers and leathery sea-green leaves with cinnamon undersides, and saucer or tulip magnolia (Magnolia x soulangeana), a deciduous tree that blooms in late winter with pink to purplish to burgundy flowers  

If you have an oak tree in your backyard, consider it a free source of nutty flour for baking purposes. Acorn flour is coming into favor as a comestible product of sustainable gardens and landscapes since oak trees yield abundant crops yet require no inputs of water or fertilizer. Whether driving north as you approach Santa Clarita or west on the way to Thousand Oaks, the dominant tree on the hills is coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia), an evergreen. However, another oak native to this same area, although less commonly seen, is the deciduous valley oak (Quercus lobata), whose acorns are meatier than those of coast live oak. 

First, check that you’re following the proper safety guidelines and know that you have edible acorns in hand. If you have done your safety check, the first step in turning acorns into flour is to remove their shells with a rubber mallet; place the acorns in the folds of a towel before striking them. After you have the acorn meats separated from their shells, cold leaching to remove tannins is recommended. You may have to repeat this cold water treatment three or four times – tasting the acorns after each treatment – until bitterness caused by their tannins disappears. You can leach acorns in hot water, too. However, hot water removes acorn gluten so, in this case, you will have to combine regular flour with your acorn flour for baking purposes. Once your acorn meats have been leached, pound them with a mortar and pestle or grind them with a coffee bean grinder until they turn to flour from which you can make acorn pancakes, for example, for breakfast.

Banana yucca (Yucca baccata) is another California native that is worth foraging, and it is a candidate for garden growing as well. The fruit is sweet and a mature plant yields dozens of them, but to be fully enjoyed they are best frozen and then roasted. Yucca moths that pollinate yucca flowers lay eggs that hatch into larvae which feed on the fruit before tunneling through, dropping to the ground, and spinning their cocoons. So your harvested fresh fruit is likely to contain larvae, yet when you freeze it, the larvae burrow out of it before they die, leaving the worm-free fruit behind. Having killed the larvae, you still have an issue with the multitude of seeds found in each fruit. Roast the fruit at 400 degrees for 30 minutes to soften it, slice it in two, and strip out the seeds before you indulge in the sweet pulpy treat. Yucca baccata flowers are edible too.

California native of the week: Although I have never planted a redwood tree and don’t have enough room to do it justice on my lot, I have long been searching for the ground cover that grows in California’s redwood forests. It’s called redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana) and, in the words of Carol Bornstein in her book “California Native Plants for the Garden,” it possesses “tenacious character.” It’s “a plant that will thrive in mature gardens with deep shade and plenty of root competition from established trees.” It is one of the few species that will grow under oaks and pines as well as redwoods. Three-leaflet leaves have the appearance of clover although individual leaflets are heart-shaped. Redwood sorrel grows four to eight inches tall and carries one-inch flowers in white or pink during the spring. Stems and leaf undersides are burgundy. This plant is native to northern California and will not grow in the desert. It is most suited to coastal climates but I think it would grow in shady spots in the greater Los Angeles area. If anyone knows where this plant or its seeds are available from local or online vendors, please advise.

If you have foraged successfully and have a wild plant or two to recommend, please send your experience to [email protected]. Your questions and comments regarding any gardening practice or problem, as well as your photos (taken horizontally for possible publication) are always welcome.

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​ Orange County Register 

Groundswell’s “Shaping Tomorrow” free anti-hate webinar series starts Oct. 25

• October 21, 2023

Groundswell, the new name for the OC Human Relations Council, is hosting a new nine-part series of free webinars to help combat hate speech, racism and more by talking about it.

At the first community webinar on Wednesday, Oct. 25, organizers will discuss addressing racial slurs in schools. The online event begins at 6 p.m.

In 2022, 27% of reported hate crimes and incidents took place at schools, according to the latest Orange County Hate Crimes Report. The county saw 450 hate crimes and incidents last year, with more than half of those “motivated by race, ethnicity or national origin bias,” according to the report.

Other topics in the virtual series include understanding DEI, different levels of racism, de-escalating conflict, exploring implicit biases, and combating toxic masculinity.

The series will run monthly until July 2024. Each webinar will be recorded and available for viewing up to a week after airing.

Groundswell organizers issued a statement “urging vigilance and care” after the Oct. 14 death of Illinois Palestinian American boy Wadea Al-Fayoume, who was killed in what police determined a hate crime.

Marginalized communities “continue to be harmed with misinformation and political rhetoric,” the Oct. 19 statement read. “We want to share resources to better prepare our communities against hate and bigotry… Violence only leads to more violence and diminishes the possibilities of dialogue and reconciliation.”

As part of Groundswell’s services and trainings, officials said to be on the lookout for upcoming hate prevention programs.

To report a hate incident, you can fill out a form online at hatecrime.211oc.org, email [email protected], call 2-1-1 and press #6, or text OCHATEACTIVITY to 898211 to receive a direct link.

For more information and to register for the “Shaping Tomorrow” series, visit wearegroundswell.org/shaping-tomorrow-series.

Related links

Muslims come together in Orange County to mourn boy stabbed to death in Illinois
Hate crime in Orange County ‘on a steady incline,’ annual report says
OC Jews, Palestinians mourn those killed following surprise Hamas attack
California leaders encourage people to report amid rise in hate crimes, and pledge support to victims
‘White lives matter’ rally goers are vastly outnumbered in Huntington Beach
Bystander training guides Asian communities on how to safely intervene when attacks arise

​ Orange County Register 

Will rate cuts rescue Orange County’s homebuying slump?

• October 21, 2023

Can falling mortgage rates – whenever that happens – revive homebuying in Orange County?

Let’s first look at the lethargic sales pace. In the 12 months ending in August, just 28,981 Orange County homes sold, according to CoreLogic data. That’s 42% below the homebuying pace of two years earlier.

This drop is linked to drastically falling affordability in the pandemic era.

The county’s median price in August hit $1.09 million – the highest ever – and is up 45% since February 2020. Meanwhile, mortgage rates soared to 7.1% from 3.5%. A typical OC buyer saw house payments surge 117% to $5,839 monthly, assuming a 20% down payment.

My trusty spreadsheet reviewed how homebuying moved against big rate swings dating back to 1988. This 416-month span was sliced into thirds – ranking the results by one-year moves in the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate from Freddie Mac.

We contrasted the periods when rates surged the fastest vs. times when they tumbled the most. Both groupings averaged 1 percentage-point moves over 35 years.

The swings

Ponder how OC homebuying gyrates during these rate-swing extremes.

Let’s start with pricing. When mortgage rates were in their steepest jumps, home values in OC averaged 8.5% one-year gains.

Yet when mortgage rates were in their steepest drops, median home prices in OC saw 2.3% gains.

By the way, the local median price has appreciated 5.1% since 1988. So cheaper financing for house hunters could mean softer pricing, too.

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And falling rates modestly boosted the OC homebuying pace, historically speaking.

Sales gained an average of 4.4% in the 12-month periods with the largest rate drops.

When rates increased rapidly, however, the pace of closed transactions fell – averaging 7.9% one-year losses.

The secret sauce

There’s a catch to lower rates – housing’s three magic words: “Jobs, jobs, jobs.”

Rates are usually rising when the overall economy is strong – even too strong – and hiring is plentiful. Remember, you need a solid paycheck to be a successful house hunter.

Yet rates tend to dip when the economy is sour, and that’s not a great backdrop for a major purchase such as a home. So, let’s peek at California’s job market since 1988.

When rates surged over the past 35 years, California employment grew at a 2.7%-a-year pace. But jobs shrank at a 0.7% annual pace when rates tumbled.

Bottom line

This isn’t just some housing quirk for Orange County. Falling rates come with pricing weakness in many places.

Across the six-county Southern California region, the sharpest rate jumps were in step with 8% average one-year price gains. The largest rate drops came with 2% average price gains.

And nationally, soaring rates meant an average 7.5% one-year gain in the Case-Shiller US index vs. 2% appreciation when rates were cascading.

History is not a forecast. And maybe it’ll be different this time. But 35 years is a good guide to what’s possible.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at [email protected]

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​ Orange County Register 

Master Gardener: When pineapples are ripe and ways to protect figs

• October 21, 2023

Q. We have been growing pineapple plants from cut-off tops for about 15 years and have harvested about 6 in that time. Could you please tell me how to tell when the fruit is ripe and ready to cut from the plant?

Growing pineapples from the part of the fruit that usually ends up being discarded is a fun project that I used to do with my kids. We never were lucky enough to get any flowers or fruit, though.

Pineapple, a member of the bromeliad family, grows well in zones 11 and 12 (Hawaii). In Southern California, they can be grown in a sheltered spot outside or inside where they can get at least 6 hours of sunlight per day. They can grow to be quite large – 5 feet tall and 6 feet wide – so make sure you plan for that. They grow best at temperatures between 68 and 84 degrees. At temperatures higher than 90 or lower than 60 degrees, they will stop growing and may show their displeasure in other ways.

If you can keep it happy for 1 ½ or 2 years, it will form a flower spike from the main stem. These flowers are self-fertile and will form berries that fuse together to form the familiar blocky fruit.

Once the bottom third of the fruit turns yellow, it should be ready to harvest. Other signs of readiness include flattening of the berries and formation of “eyes” and, of course, that wonderful smell!

Q. I covered my fig tree from top to bottom with bird netting, however, some night creature keeps eating my ripe or nearly ripe figs. What could it be and how can I protect my fruit?

Figs are super attractive to all types of birds, so the netting is not a bad idea. Unfortunately, other creatures of the night will show up and help themselves once they discover your tree.

Opossums, raccoons, rats, and mice all like to feast on the soft fruit and can climb the tree to get it. Motion-activated sprinklers may deter the opossums and raccoons, but the rats and mice are too small to set them off. Depending on your situation, an electric fence may work (there are electric fences that can be set up temporarily, then taken down after the fruit is harvested.)

Trapping mice and rats can be a never-ending task since there’s a never-ending supply of rodents.

I’ve found that the only way to save my figs is to harvest them when they’re not quite ripe, wrap them in tissue paper (to protect them from bruising), and allow them to ripen on my kitchen counter for a day or two.

Los Angeles County

[email protected]; 626-586-1988; http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/

Orange County

[email protected]; http://mgorange.ucanr.edu/

Riverside County

[email protected]; https://ucanr.edu/sites/RiversideMG/

San Bernardino County

[email protected]; 909-387-2182; http://mgsb.ucanr.edu

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​ Orange County Register 

Ballots mailed out in Santa Ana recall election

• October 21, 2023

Santa Ana residents in Ward 3, the north and northeastern part of the city, are receiving their mail-in ballots and voter guides for a recall measure asking if Councilmember Jessie Lopez should be removed from office.

The recall effort gathered enough signatures earlier this year to force the public vote; Ward 3 voters now have until Nov. 14 to cast their ballot.

Lopez’s term ends in November 2024. If she is recalled, it would be up to the City Council to appoint someone to finish the term, or they could call another special election to fill the seat.

The recall effort, led by the Santa Ana Police Officers Association, accuses Lopez of “defunding the police” and supporting “destructive policies that have encouraged landlords to raise rents,” according to its statement in support that is included with the voter guide. It also lists her opposition to a 2021 ordinance targeting street racing and support of an “outrageous hike” to fees charged housing developers.

“The Police Officers Association, yes, has been at the forefront, but they’re not the only people that are behind this. There’s a lot of grassroots people that are behind this recall. The issues are not just about the police,” Tim Rush, chair of the recall effort, said. “She’s completely out of sync with her ward, along with, I think, a majority of people in the city.”

Rush said the recall effort against Lopez is driven by her stance on issues such as rent control, public safety and police funding.

“I would just encourage people to think carefully and to make their selection,” Rush said. “You need to stop and ask, ‘What has Jesse done for our ward? What has she done?’ And the reality, is she’s she’s done next to nothing.”

Lopez, who voted in favor of rent control and establishing a police oversight commission, said that from the very beginning of her term there have been unjust expectations placed on her for being a young woman of color.

“I don’t come from a political dynasty. I wasn’t supported by any party. I didn’t receive any developer money. I grew up in a working class household,” Lopez said. “They thought, ‘How is this young Latina going to add anything of value?’ And I think we’ve been able to prove a lot of people wrong and defy some of those very negative stereotypes.”

Having grown up in Santa Ana, Lopez said she ran for City Council because of frustrations that the voices of her community were not being heard by the city leaders.

“I was always told growing up that if I had any grievances that there was a process in place for me to follow, which was come to the council and let your voice be heard. And we learned very early on that in this city that was not the case. Our voice was not going to be respected,” Lopez said. “That’s really why it was so important for for me, and so many people that supported me in 2020, to give this a try, because we knew that no matter how much research we presented to the council, how many community members came to the council, we did not have people out there that were 100% invested in seeing our community flourish in an equitable way for all Santa Ana families.”

Some of her highlights as a member of the council, she says, have been her work in getting pubic streets repaired, ensuring sidewalks are ADA compliant, adding amenities to public parks and adding more street lights for the safety of the public.

“Even when the council said there was no money, my job is to go and find it. And I did that for our residents,” Lopez said. “That was based on many conversations that we had with the neighborhood and what they wanted to see.”

Both Lopez and Rush encouraged residents to participate in this special election.

Rush said voters should ask what Lopez has done for their ward. The answer, he says, is close to nothing.

“Ward 3 residents need to decide if they want special interests to continue running their city,” Lopez said. “Or if they want people that were born and raised in the city that know it very well, that understand all of the complexities and the needs of their community to help make those policies that will impact Santa Ana families in a much better way.”

Voting centers will open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nov. 4-10; from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 11-13; and from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 14, at the OC Health Care Agency’s Public Health Learning Center, 1729 W. 17th St., and at the OC Registrar of Voters, 1300 S. Grand Ave.

Secure ballot dropboxes are also available for walk-up at the OC Health Care Agency center, for drive-thru at the Orangewood Foundation, and for walk-up and drive-thru at the OC Registrar of Voters. The ballot drop boxes are open 24/7 until 8 p.m. Nov. 14. Mailed ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 14 and received within seven days.

More information on the voting guide and options can be found at santa-ana.org/elections.

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