5 minute read
News Briefs
WORLD NEWS news briefs
By Katherine M. Clements
LOCAL San Clemente Plans to Ban E-Bikes
SAN CLEMENTE—On Dec 21, the San Clemente City Council met to discuss putting a ban on e-bikes in designated areas of the city. San Clemente officials are looking for more control over e-bikes on beach paths, streets, trails, sand, and the pier. The city has struggled to organize the influx of fast-moving electric bikes as they continue to rise in popularity. City officials are writing laws to reflect stricter rules prohibiting e-bikes on the beach trail, which spans the city’s coast, and banning the electronic bikes from the beach and pier. The City Council also opted to add further inland trails to the list of areas that would be banned. The decision to modify the regulations on e-bikes is not a new idea as resident complaints about unruly behavior flood the city’s inbox. In February, the City Council chose to do an “educational blitz” instead of entirely banning e-bikes at heavily trafficked spots throughout the city the event and booklet provided information on bike safety and the rules-of-the-road when on an e-bike. In addition, the city developed a “bike rodeo” in conjunction with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. It was a free event to promote bike safety, which included e-bike rules of the road. The change to city ordinances will need to return to City Council for final approval before the attempt to make the proposal a law in 2022.
The Aquarium of the Pacific Has Received a Rescued Baby Otter
LONG BEACH— The Aquarium of the Pacific officially introduced a fourteen-week-old southern sea otter to its otter habitat on Dec. 28. The otter pup requires round the clock care with feedings every three hours. The otter pup lived in the behind-the-scenes nursey until it was ready to join the aquarium’s other sea otters. The otter was recently rescued off the coast of Pismo Beach by trained responders from the Marine Mammal Center’s field office in Morro Bay. It was determined by government wildlife officials that the orphaned pup would not be able to survive on its own in the wild and deemed the pup unreleasable. The pup was then sent to the Aquarium of the Pacific, who volunteered to foster the pup. Upon arrival at the aquarium, the pup only weighed 10 pounds, and due to its strong appetite, the pup is currently up to 16 pounds. Caring for this otter pup will enhance experience of aquarium staff who will help to care for future orphaned pups as participants in the Sea Otter Surrogacy program. The program pairs resident aquarium otters with orphaned puppies to teach them the skills needed to survive in the wild. The new surrogacy area at the Aquarium of the Pacific is being built behind the scenes at its Molina Animal Care Center; it will shelter three to four rescued sea otter pups each year.
Eighteen People Detained in Newport Beach for Allegedly Entering the County Illegally Via Boat
NEWPORT BEACH— On Dec. 21, Department of Homeland Security agents detained 18 people in Newport Beach who are suspected of entering the country illegally on a boat. The boat was disguised as a fishing boat in an attempt to blend in with surroundings in broad daylight, according to police. The 18 people who were detained where then transferred to the border patrol station in San Clemente. Border Patrol agents claimed the boat was at such a full capacity, it was close to sinking.
STATE/NATIONAL/ INTERNATIONAL St. Croix Announced as Title Sponsor of 2022 Bassmaster Opens Series
PARK FALLS, WISC. —St. Croix’s announced they would be the title sponsorship of the 2022 Bassmaster Opens Series. B.A.S.S. officials announced in October the slate for the 2022 Bassmaster Opens Series, with nine tournaments in three divisions covering nine states as the pathway to some of the most coveted invitations in all of professional bass fishing. In addition to St. Croix’s title sponsorship, the St. Croix Rods Rewards Program will award an extra $1,000 to an angler who wins a St. Croix Bassmaster Opens tournament fishing St. Croix rods, or $500 to the highest-finishing top-10 angler fishing St. Croix rods. The 2022 St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series will return to a regular schedule with the first tournament, a Southern Division event, set for Feb. 3-5 on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida. After that, the Opens will wind through Tennessee, South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, New York, and Maryland.
NEW YORK— On Dec. 10, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law a legislation granting the Department of Environmental Conservation the ability to conduct inspections and the decontamination of boats and other watercrafts to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species in and around the Adirondack Park. According to a press release from the governor’s office, the new bill permanently extends the New York State Aquatic Invasive Species Transport Act, which obligates boaters to “Clean, Drain and Dry” their watercraft before launching in the state waters. The law will expand on the expired aquatic invasive species legislation from 2014. In addition, it authorizes DEC-operated “inspection stations” to be set up at any location across the park and within a 10-mile radius of the blue line. The stations would administer boat inspection and decontamination certifications and provide education and outreach to boaters. The new inspection requirement will take effect 180 days after the law is
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