OCTA declares emergency for rail protection so able to act fast on sand replenishment, projects

• October 2, 2026

The Orange County Transportation Authority board declared an emergency along the coastal rail line in San Clemente this week, authorizing its CEO to expedite efforts to protect the train tracks from ongoing erosion ahead of the El Niño season.

The move allows CEO Darrell Johnson to advance shoreline protection with about 690,000 cubic yards of sand in areas of San Clemente where the rail line has been damaged in recent years or is vulnerable to future threats. It also attempts to move forward an “engineered shoreline protection structure” and repair existing riprap along about three-quarters of a mile south of San Clemente State Beach.

The declaration should help Johnson “move quickly to secure specialized contractors, materials, marine dredging equipment and sand sources as they become available, attempting to avoid delays that could leave the railroad vulnerable to additional storms and high-wave events,” OCTA officials said in an announcement.

The coastal railroad through San Clemente is part of the 351-mile Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo, or LOSSAN, Rail Corridor and carries Metrolink and Amtrak Pacific Surfliner passenger trains, as well as freight and military transportation.

The tracks, where they run beachfront in south San Clemente, in front of the Cypress Shores community, have been damaged several times since 2021 by overtopping waves and high tides. The ocean is reaching the rail line because of continued erosion in the area that has eliminated a beach buffer.

There are also threats from the inland side of the tracks, with landslides happening in several areas along the rail line that have also required extensive repairs. A160-foot-long catchment wall and beach trail repairs are wrapping up at Mariposa Point since a slope failure earlier this year.

Rail operations through San Clemente have been interrupted multiple times because of coastal bluff failures, beach loss, erosion of the railroad embankment and deterioration of shoreline protection.

Damage occurred again in recent weeks, causing the rail line to temporarily close again to passenger service while crews performed emergency stabilization work.

The area would receive about 450,000 cubic yards of sand, the remaining 240,000 cubic yards planned between North Beach and Mariposa Point. A final design is still in the works for an engineered shoreline protection structure, OCTA officials said.

The OCTA’s board action follows Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Sept. 21 state of emergency proclamation in preparation for the developing 2026-27 El Niño conditions, as well as the county’s and several coastal cities’ similar declarations.

“For the past five years, OCTA has taken all possible steps to speed up work to protect this critical link in Southern California’s transportation system and it’s important to acknowledge our board’s leadership in this effort,” Johnson said in a release, thanking Newsom and state partners for recognizing the “emergency that requires strong partnerships and expedited action.

“We look forward to continuing that collaboration and working with our federal partners on an expedited schedule so we can get the necessary permits to put these protections in place as quickly as possible.”

The declaration does not eliminate environmental review or permitting requirements from agencies.

OCTA will continue working with the California Coastal Commission, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other regulatory agencies to secure necessary approvals, officials said.

The OCTA is looking offshore of Surfside-Sunset near Huntington Beach as a viable source of beach-compatible sand, the same material used in a large federally led program that added about 200,000 cubic yards of sand on the north and south sides of the San Clemente Pier. 

The source has been approved by the Southern California Dredged Material Management Team, which includes representatives from federal and state regulatory agencies.

Delivering hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of sand to vulnerable areas near Cyprus Shore and San Clemente State Beach presents another challenge: With the railroad squeezed between the bluff and ocean and limited access from land, large-scale sand placement will require specialized marine dredging equipment capable of pumping it ashore.

“The number of large, U.S.-qualified hopper dredges capable of such work are limited, and many are committed to major projects around the country months in advance,” OCTA officials said. “That limited availability is one reason OCTA is moving now to advance design, permitting and contracting simultaneously, providing greater flexibility to secure appropriate equipment and move forward when a work window becomes available.”

OCTA has secured more than $300 million in state and federal funding for its coastal rail stabilization projects.

The transportation authority has had the funding sitting in a bank account for the last few years waiting to be deployed, but “needless bureaucracy and red tape at the state and federal level delayed our ability to proactively protect our beaches,” OCTA Vice Chair and Fifth District OC Supervisor Katrina Foley said.

The latest declaration, she said, provides “flexibility and the ability for quick action to save our beaches and critical coastal rail infrastructure in anticipation of a heavy El Niño winter storm season.”

​ Orange County Register 

When do clocks fall back? 2026 daylight saving time start and end

• October 2, 2026

By Kevin J. Hardy, The Detroit News

DETROIT — Daylight saving time will end at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026, when clocks turn back one hour.

The annual “fall back” means an extra hour of sleep and a return to standard time. It also means an earlier sunset, with darkness arriving noticeably sooner in the late afternoon and evening.

And despite a push in Washington to end the twice-a-year clock changes, Americans will still need to change their clocks this fall.

The U.S. House voted 308-117 in July to approve the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent across most of the country. But the Senate has not approved the legislation, meaning the existing federal schedule remains in place.

Under current law, daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. This year, that puts the end of daylight saving time on Nov. 1.

Daylight saving time begins again March 14, 2027.

When do clocks fall back in 2026?

At 2 a.m. Nov. 1, clocks will turn back one hour, from 2 a.m. to 1 a.m.

Most smartphones, computers and other internet-connected devices make the change automatically, but clocks on appliances, vehicles and other devices might need to be adjusted manually.

The November time change gives people an extra hour overnight, but it also abruptly shifts evening daylight. Sunrise and sunset occur about an hour earlier by the clock after the change.

Does every state observe daylight saving time?

No.

Hawaii and most of Arizona remain on standard time year-round instead of changing their clocks. Several U.S. territories, including American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, also do not observe daylight saving time.

Congress established a national framework for daylight saving time with the Uniform Time Act of 1966. The current schedule — beginning on the second Sunday in March and ending on the first Sunday in November — took effect in 2007.

Daylight saving time shifts an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening during the warmer months. The practice has long generated debate over its effects on energy use, health, traffic safety and daily routines.

Supporters of permanent daylight saving time favor having more daylight in the evening. Critics, including sleep and medical experts, have raised concerns about darker winter mornings and the effects of daylight saving time on people’s circadian rhythms.

Will daylight saving time become permanent?

Congress came closer to ending the clock changes this year.

The House passed the Sunshine Protection Act on July 14 in a bipartisan 308-117 vote. The legislation would make daylight saving time permanent, eliminating the annual November switch back to standard time for most of the country.

The measure was sent to the Senate, where it was referred July 15 to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. The Senate has not passed the bill.

President Donald Trump has backed permanent daylight saving time and called for an end to the twice-yearly clock changes.

But with no change in federal law, the Nov. 1 time change remains in effect.

When does daylight saving time begin again?

Daylight saving time will return Sunday, March 14, 2027, when clocks “spring forward” one hour at 2 a.m.

The November change brings earlier sunrises and earlier sunsets, a shift that becomes increasingly noticeable in December during the shortest days of the year.

The winter solstice arrives Dec. 21, marking the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. After the solstice, the amount of daylight gradually increases until daylight saving time returns in March.

©2026 www.detroitnews.com. Visit at detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

​ Orange County Register 

Lakers’ Jake LaRavia hopes summer reflection pays dividends before new season

• October 2, 2026

EL SEGUNDO — Jake LaRavia was asked to do a lot for the Lakers last season.

He played in all 82 regular-season games, starting in a career-high 43. The 24-year-old wing rotated into that starting rotation as LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves dealt with prolonged absences due to injuries, keeping him on the court often.

“He’s brought a really high level of consistency, particularly on the defensive end, and with his effort throughout the season,” Coach JJ Redick said after the Lakers’ regular-season finale last season.

But by his own admission, LaRavia wasn’t at his best when the season ended. After the All-Star break, his field goal percentage and 3-point percentage slipped as his shot attempts decreased.

Last March, Redick referenced his blow-by rate on defense before LaRavia found a resurgence as the regular season crawled to a conclusion.

Ultimately, however, as the Oklahoma City Thunder swept the Lakers in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs, LaRavia turned persona not grata – ‘DNP (coach’s decision)’ – in the final two games back in Los Angeles.

LaRavia took the offseason to reflect and reassess – something he hopes pays dividends this season.

“This summer was a summer of reflection and intentionality for me,” LaRavia said Monday during the team’s annual preseason media day. “I think the way that the second half of the season went last season was not the way that I intended it to go. You hit mental lapses in the season. I hit a mental lapse last season and I wasn’t able to shake back from it. …”

“And as a professional athlete, that can happen, but when you play on this stage, that can’t happen. So this summer, a lot of it was just mental reflection for me and working on that side of the game.”

The Lakers signed LaRavia to a two-year, $12 million contract in the summer of 2025 after targeting him partly due to his “disruption numbers” – steals and deflections – with the Memphis Grizzlies and Sacramento Kings, Redick said on March 30, something the Lakers ranked in the bottom half of the NBA in during the 2024-25 season.

With the Lakers, LaRavia’s defensive work rate has been his calling card, averaging a career-high 1.3 steals per game last season and recording 104 total steals, just one fewer than Doncic, who led the team.

LaRavia said he knows he’s going to play hard, play defense and crash the boards. Offensively, however, is where he spent most of his offseason effort for improvement.

“Consistency with the shooting was a very big thing for me,” LaRavia said Monday. “So that was definitely the main thing that I focused on this summer was just being consistent with my jump shot and just working on that. So now we see.”

Speaking with the media after practice on Thursday, LaRavia called this season’s training camp “the best one that I’ve been a part of since I’ve been in the league,” noting the intensity and physicality on display. LaRavia said his goals are to stay aggressive whether he’s making or missing shots, as well as playing through fatigue to get back into peak basketball shape for the regular season.

“I think I (have) had a great training camp from a mindset perspective and what I had going into it,” LaRavia said. “And from what I’ve worked on this summer also, bringing that into training camp, I thought I did a really good job, so I was very happy with the way it went.”

Redick has made it clear that there are still two starting spots up for grabs.

Early tealeaves point to guard Quentin Grimes likely filling one of those spots, but LaRavia returns the second-most minutes on the roster. Whether LaRavia takes one of those spots – or another wing/forward such as Ziaire Williams stakes his claim – joining Doncic, Reaves and center Walker Kessler in the starting five, or not, the second-year Laker is seeing commitment across the board from his new and old teammates alike.

“Everyone’s bought in and willing to sacrifice what it is for us to succeed,” LaRavia said.

​ Orange County Register 

SCE hits $1 billion mark in offerings to Eaton fire survivors; advocates say it’s not enough

• October 2, 2026

Southern California Edison’s wildfire compensation plan has reached a milestone, making $1 billion in offers to 15,300 Eaton fire survivors with two months left in the program.

The plan, launched in late October 2025, was pitched as a way to get money into the hands of survivors quicker than litigation. Those paid by the fund would have to forfeit their right to sue. Applicants not accepting the offers are free to proceed to court.

“It’s good to see that meaningful relief is reaching thousands of people,” SCE spokesman David Eisenhauer said. “It just underscores that the program is designed to provide fair and fast compensation.”

Los Angeles County and state fire investigators have determined the giant blaze that destroyed more than 9,000 structures and claimed 19 lives was ignited by sparks from a long-dormant SCE transmission tower. Attorneys for survivors suing SCE estimate that damages will range from $10 billion to $15 billion.

So far, 3,850 applicants to SCE’s compensation program have accepted $535 million in payouts.

Almost half of the money has gone to people who sustained total loss of property in the January 2025 fire, Eisenhauer said. Another 40% went to residents whose properties sustained smoke and ash damage. More went for loss of life, but SCE would not disclose the amount or percentage.

“Right now the Wildfire Recovery Compensation Program is the most expeditious process for settling their claims,” said Eisenhauer, who expects a rush of applications as the plan nears its expiration date on Nov. 30.

Attorneys and advocates for the fire survivors believe the SCE offers are about half of what survivors could get through litigation.

“Just because they make offers doesn’t mean they are fair,” said Joy Chen, executive director of Every Fire Survivor’s Network, an advocacy group. “Many people who are taking them are taking them out of desperation.”

Almost two years after the blaze, advocates say people are running out of money for housing and other expenses. Chen’s organization tried unsuccessfully to get Edison to give each displaced household $200,000 up front to prevent survivors from going homeless. Edison balked.

Richard Bridgford, one of the attorneys suing Edison, said he was underwhelmed by the $1 billion in offers made from the utility’s compensation program.

“It’s $10 billion to $15 billion in damages and they’ve offered $1 billion. Their plan has been an abject failure,” Bridgford said. “They haven’t even settled 5% of the problem.”

Bridgford and other attorneys say that going through SCE’s wildfire program may no longer be the fastest way to get a settlement. Trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 27, 2027, for the first batch of plaintiffs, called the “bellwether” group.

Edison attorneys are expected to argue in court on Oct. 8 for a continuance. If it is denied, Edison is faced with going to trial, which the utility has avoided in past fires.

“Either they settle this case or they go to trial and get teed up,” said Gerry Singleton, another attorney who is suing Edison. “The reckoning is coming due.”

Singleton said he’s been trying to get Edison to the settlement table for 18 months and the company has refused. But the looming trial should hasten settlement talks, he said.

“You could save a couple months (by going through the SCE compensation plan), but it’s definitely not worth 50%, which is what they’re asking you to compromise,” Singleton said.

Meanwhile, SCE is out pitching its program at community townhall meetings, saying survivors don’t have anything to lose by applying. If they don’t like the offer, they can walk away.

Registration for virtual sessions can be made here or at sce.com/directclaims for the Oct. 28 and Nov.19 meetings.

An in-person townhall will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1757 N Lake Ave., Pasadena.

​ Orange County Register 

You might be surprised by how many birds of prey there are in Southern California

• October 2, 2026

Local raptors

The Big Bear bald eagles Jackie and Shadow have become household names in the U.S., but since October is Raptor Month, we thought you should know a little about some of the other not-so-famous birds of prey in our area.

Here’s a breakdown of some of our local raptors from University of California, Riverside Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology professor Christopher Clark.

Local hawks and hawk relatives

Red-tailed hawks are perhaps the most common species, they are generally pretty wary of people, tend to eat rats, squirrels, rabbits and the like. They perch in the open on the tops of telephone poles, etc. so people will see them a lot.

There are red-shouldered hawks, basically a slightly smaller hawk that also eats rats and mice. They are somewhat less shy of people and will sometimes nest in a person’s backyard.

Cooper’s hawks are smallish hawks with a long tail and long legs and a beady red eye. They eat a lot of birds, especially doves. They will lurk in the shady underside of a tree, then burst out, trying to surprise a little bird to eat. The doves can actually out-fly them: on the level, the doves simply fly faster than the hawks to escape.There are bald and golden eagles. They are hawk relatives, and huge, eating big prey. The golden eagles especially eat rabbits and other large mammals.

In wetlands, we have northern harriers. Harriers are like owls: they find their prey by listening for them, and float just above the reeds of wetlands when they hunt ducks, coots and voles.

Finally, for hawks we have the white-tailed kite. These guys are ghosts: they float over grassy fields, hovering and looking down for prey. We don’t know why their numbers are declining so much in California.

Falcon family

Merlins are a tiny falcon that dart around, and eat a lot of dragonflies in the winter.

American kestrels, which are small falcons that eat a lot of lizards, mice and insects.

Falcons were once thought to be closely related to hawks, but it turns out they are in a completely different part of the bird tree, closer to parrots. So now ornithologists sometimes call them “murder parrots.”

The largest falcons we have are peregrine falcon, which like to nest on cliffs and sometimes treat human buildings as cliffs, i.e. they sometimes nest in downtown areas or on campuses (such as on a bell tower). Unfortunately their numbers are down due to West Nile Virus. Their cousin, prairie falcon, is similar but found in our grasslands and deserts.

The owl family

We have several in SoCal: Great horned owls named after their ear tufts on their head. They are everywhere, and eat a ton of rats and gophers, skunks and other owls. They will kill and eat anything up to about 2 pounds. I do not know if they actually do eat small dogs, but I would never take a puppy near one, or leave a small dog alone in the yard at night. They are the owls people hear hooting at night.

Barn owls are a nearly all-white owl that eat almost exclusively gophers, rats and other rodents. You see them floating over open fields, and unfortunately because they fly low, they are often hit by vehicles.

We also have a lot of western screech owls. These guys don’t screech (that’s barn owls, confusingly), and they love to eat mice and insects. Many of your readers will have them in their back yard and never know it! They are amazingly good at hiding during the day.

Another fun owl are Saw-whet owls, they are tiny and eat a ton of rodents. In Southern California, you only see them up in the forests on the mountains, they are forest specialists.

Burrowing owls: These little guys are daytime owls. They live inside abandoned ground squirrel burrows. Their babies have an amazing defense. If a predator comes near a burrow they hiss and it sounds exactly like the rattle of a very angry rattlesnake! That would make a predator think twice about trying to stick a hand down there. It’s a trick, they are 100% harmless.

Ospreys and vultures: Ospreys are a hawk that only eats fish. They have fish-gripping pads on their toes that help them hold onto slippery prey.

Turkey vultures are named for their bright red head (like a turkey’s head). Vultures are technically related to hawks (and so they are technically a raptor) but they have weak feet because they almost never have to grab their food, unlike a regular raptor. Their stomachs can handle bacteria loads that would sicken or kill most other animals. Turkey vultures have a natural defense: if they get worried about a potential predator (such as raptor biologist), they vomit! Their horrible-smelling, fetid, rotten stomach contents are enough to put off most potential predators. And raptor biologists. It takes a special kind of person to want to study a vulture.

Other raptors in our area:

Flammulated owls, spotted owls, long- eared owls and short-eared owls, pygmy owls, as well as Swainson’s hawks, Harris’s hawks, common black hawks, ferruginous hawks. These are all pretty rare species, so birders would know them but a generalist reader likely wouldn’t.

Sources: Christopher Clark University of Riverside, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; California Department of Fish and Wildlife, birdcount.org, Audubon.org, Illustrations by SCNG artists

​ Orange County Register 

In a 99-cent AriZona Iced Tea can, echoes of childhood autonomy and fleeting freedoms

• October 2, 2026

By AARON MORRISON

NEW YORK (AP) — Four quarters used to buy a can of AriZona Iced Tea. You’d crack it open and savor the artificially flavored, high-fructose-corn-syrup-sweetened drink between fits of giggling on the walk home from school.

For some, the can symbolized childhood autonomy. It was among the first solo purchases a kid made or a reward for satisfactorily completed chores.

With inflation, a 99-cent thirst-quencher is a matter of nostalgia for adults with matured beverage tastes. An AriZona “tallboy” — the printed price on the can serving as a measuring stick for the value of a dollar — remains especially affordable and instructive for American youth with allowance, disposable income from part-time wages or birthday money.

Founded in 1992, AriZona Beverage Company first launched drinks in Brooklyn, New York. The 99-cent cans launched in 1997. Popularity — and profitability — of the drink came soon after. But it was the price sticker that promoted a kind of utilitarianism — a warning to shop owners looking for a higher profit margin.

Countless American preteens and teenagers across class have paired AriZona drinks with their bagged snack of choice and candy — a trifecta downed before reaching the front door and discovering … dinner. Allowance and childhood disposable income, however, have never been universal. Some could count on receiving a few dollars irregularly or not at all.

Still, when most other prices went up, the AriZona drink’s price permanence was something that didn’t necessitate debit cards or parental approval. Coins and dollar bills sweetened the experience of forging friendships on the journey home.

Just who gets the privilege of experiencing money as freedom makes the AriZona can more than just a bodega staple. It shows how much culture can be concealed in ordinary consumer transactions.

On Feb. 26, 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin left the gated residential community in Sanford, Florida, where his father lived en route to a 7-Eleven. The hoodie-wearing Black teenager was filmed on surveillance purchasing a watermelon-flavored AriZona drink and a pack of Skittles. When he discovered he was being tailed by a neighborhood watch volunteer, Trayvon confronted him. The teen didn’t survive the encounter; George Zimmerman shot him in the chest.

The AriZona drink and Skittles became evidence in a homicide investigation, and soon after became one of the earliest protest symbols in the Black Lives Matter movement sparked by Zimmerman’s acquittal. More than 13 years later, some still associate these items with questions of who in the U.S. is truly free to move through public spaces without being regarded as suspicious.

Aaron Morrison is the race and ethnicity news editor at AP. This story is part of a recurring series, “ American Objects,” marking the 250th anniversary of the United States. For more stories on the anniversary, click here.

​ Orange County Register 

Florida’s dengue outbreak is now the largest in the continental US in decades

• October 2, 2026

By MIKE STOBBE

NEW YORK (AP) — Florida’s current dengue outbreak appears to be the largest in several decades in the continental United States.

State health officials reported this week that more than 250 locally acquired cases of the mosquito-borne disease have been tallied so far this year. The vast majority of them were in Hillsborough County, home to Tampa.

Federal health officials say their data on dengue outbreaks is limited. But available information from state health departments and medical journals suggests the Florida outbreak marks the most cases in a calendar year for any state since at least the 1940s.

Puerto Rico is consistently hit hard by dengue, with numbers much higher than what’s seen in any of the 50 states. But in the continental U.S., Florida usually gets the most locally transmitted cases. The state’s previous worst year was 2023, when just under 200 locally spread cases were reported.

Officials in Hillsborough and surrounding counties have declared local emergencies, and workers in the Tampa area are spraying day and night to tamp down the population of disease-transmitting mosquitoes.

What is dengue?

Dengue (pronounced DEHN’-gay) is caused by a virus spread by a type of mosquito.

Many infected people don’t get sick, but some experience fever, flu-like symptoms and — notoriously — aches. It’s been nicknamed “breakbone fever” for the excruciating pain some people experience. Severe cases can cause bleeding, shock and death.

There has been one dengue death in Florida this year — an elderly Tampa woman on Sept. 4.

There are four types of dengue virus, simply known as 1, 2, 3 and 4. When someone is first infected, their body builds antibodies against that type for life. If they get infected with another type of dengue, the antibodies from the first infection may fail to neutralize the second type — and actually can help the virus enter immune cells and replicate. That’s made it difficult to develop an effective vaccine.

Most people in the Tampa area don’t have prior immunity to any form of dengue, said Dawn Wesson, a Tulane University expert on dengue and other diseases spread by mosquitoes.

How does dengue spread?

The warm-weather mosquitoes that spread dengue live in Florida and some other hotter U.S. locales, but experts say they have been expanding their geographic reach because of climate change.

For decades, most continental U.S. infections were found among people who caught the virus while traveling internationally, along with locally acquired cases in Puerto Rico.

But in 2009-2010, Key West, Florida, reported the first dengue cases acquired in the continental U.S. outside of the Texas-Mexico border since 1945.

The largest outbreak of dengue in any U.S. state since then occurred in Hawaii, where 264 locally acquired cases were reported over a six-month span in 2015-2016. The Tampa-area outbreak, which first came to light in July, is already on the verge of surpassing that.

Across the world, more than 2.2 million infections and nearly 1,200 deaths have been reported this year, according to the World Health Organization.

There have been nearly 1,900 locally acquired U.S. cases this year, most of them in Puerto Rico, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Why is it so bad in Tampa?

Florida tends to get a lot of dengue in part because the state receives a lot of travelers who have been to Puerto Rico or other places where the disease is present, Wesson said.

Usually most cases are in southern Florida, around the Miami area. It’s hard to say what’s happening in the Tampa area this year, but the surge may be at least partly related to travel patterns, she added.

Locally acquired cases in Florida have actually surpassed travel-associated cases, by a count of 252 to 245 as of last week. But it’s close, and at least 13 Hillsborough County cases were diagnosed in travelers, according to the state.

Traditionally, the CDC would be highly visible in a situation like this, but it hasn’t been this time, Wesson noted.

The U.S. public health agency has to be invited in by state officials, however, and Florida officials have not asked for CDC disease investigators to come in, CDC spokesman Jason McDonald said. The agency has provided $800,000 in assistance to the state health department, he added.

What can you do to prevent infection?

The current outbreak is centered just north of Tampa, and workers have been spraying to kill mosquitoes. They also have been checking properties for pooled water, including in tires, where mosquitoes might breed.

People in an outbreak area can take their own steps for protection, experts say.

The virus-carrying mosquitoes can bite any time of day, so it’s important for people in an outbreak area to apply EPA-registered insect repellents containing active ingredients like DEET, experts say.

Wear loose-fitting, long-sleeved shirts and long pants to cover the skin and make it harder for mosquitoes to bite. Staying indoors, behind screens or in rooms with air conditioning will also lessen the chances for a bite.

Those steps are especially important just after sunrise and around sunset, when mosquitoes tend to be most active, researchers say.

People should also check their property and get rid of any pooled water where mosquitoes might breed.

Climate conditions and persistent mosquito populations will likely make local dengue outbreaks a more frequent problem, Wesson said.

“There’s a good chance that this is the new normal,” she said.

The Associated Press’ health and science coverage receives financial support from the AP Fund for Journalism and private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

​ Orange County Register 

Want to vote by mail? Yes, you can still do that in California

• October 2, 2026

Ballots for California’s 2026 midterm elections will soon land in residents’ mailboxes, and, as usual, voters will have a few weeks to cast their ballot – including by mail if they choose.

Nothing has changed in terms of the procedure for mailing in one’s ballot in California since the last election, despite an executive order that President Donald Trump issued in March that would have changed and limited the vote-by-mail process.

But the nation’s highest court last month rejected the changes so close to the election — a decision hailed by voting rights groups and many state election officials worried the last-minute changes would upend elections.

“The uncertainty is behind us. Now, let the people vote!” California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said the day the U.S. Supreme Court rendered its decision.

“Now, we can finally move forward and get back to what we do best: conducting our elections without a dark cloud hanging over us — fairly, openly, for the people, by the people. No questions asked,” she added.

So where does that leave things for voters?

It means that in California, all registered voters will continue to receive a ballot in the mail. And, as before, they may return their ballot by placing it in a mailbox, depositing it in a designated drop box or turning it in at an in-person vote center.

For those who elect to vote by mail, as long as their ballot is postmarked by Nov. 3 and received by county election offices within a week of Election Day, it will count.

But a word of caution: Although voters may vote by mail up through Election Day, the California secretary of state’s office recommends those planning to use the U.S. Postal Service to mail back their ballot by Oct. 27, one week before Election Day.

Voters who vote by mail closer to Nov. 3 — and especially on Election Day itself — are encouraged to go inside a post office to request that an employee postmark their ballot then and there. This is to ensure the ballot is postmarked by the deadline date. Simply dropping your ballot off in a mailbox on Election Day won’t guarantee it will be postmarked the same day, meaning you risk not having your vote count.

Starting Monday, voters can go to caearlyvoting.sos.ca.gov to look up locations where they may drop off their ballots. There is also a link to county election offices, where voters can get more information specific to their county.

Whether voting by mail or in person, after casting one’s vote, voters can sign up to track the status of their ballot to confirm when it’s received and counted by registering at california.ballottrax.net/voter.

Both Weber and local election officials maintain that all forms of voting in California are safe and secure. This includes voting by mail, though Trump continues to allege, without proof, that there is widespread fraud in the mail-in ballot system.

The president ranted against the U.S. Supreme Court last month following its decision to block his executive order to restrict mail ballots.

He called it “another bad decision from the United States Supreme Court, one that the Court System took forever to give, and then blamed it, in part, on no time left to implement a solution to our totally CORRUPT and out of control Mail-In voting ‘disaster.’”

“The Supreme Court has really let our Country down!” Trump said on social media.

Meanwhile, voting by mail remains the most popular method for casting one’s ballot in California. During the June primary election, approximately 89% of voters statewide — including 82% of L.A. County voters, 87% of Orange County voters, 92% of Riverside County voters and 89% of San Bernardino County voters — voted by mail, according to the secretary of state’s office.

​ Orange County Register