California

Southern California Is the Whale-Skeleton Capital of the World

Published

2 years ago

July 14, 2024

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Southern California Is the Whale-Skeleton Capital of the World

The discovery of dozens of remains off the coast of Los Angeles is stumping scientists.

Illustration by The Atlantic. Source: Getty.

July 14, 2024, 7:59 AM ET

This article was originally published by Hakai Magazine.

A pair of scientific surveys recently turned up a few surprises on the seafloor off the coast of Los Angeles. First, there were the thousands of naval weapons. And then, researchers found the remains of whales—seven confirmed and likely more than 60 total skeletons in the dark depths, a phenomenon known as “whale fall.”

Eric Terrill and Sophia Merrifield, oceanographers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD who led the surveys in 2021 and 2023, had set out to assess waste scattered across 135 square miles of seafloor encompassing the San Pedro Basin. The area—twice the size of Washington, D.C., and centered about 15 miles offshore—had been used as an industrial dumping ground in the early to mid-1900s. A large number of the objects the survey found turned out to be barrels containing the banned pesticide DDT and its toxic byproducts.

Before this effort, scientists had found only about 50 whale falls in all the world’s oceans since 1977, when a deep-sea naval vessel spotted the first specimen off Santa Catalina Island, near Los Angeles. When these large marine mammals die and sink, they form biological oases on the resource-poor seafloor. Whale falls provide nourishment and even habitat for a wide range of creatures—from scavenging hagfish and sleeper sharks to microbes, mussels, clams, worms, nematodes, crabs, and members of the jellyfish family.

Greg Rouse, a marine biologist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography who helped with the surveys, says that the remains belong to gray, blue, humpback, fin, sperm, and minke whales. The number of skeletons is “higher than I would have expected, based on our regional calculations,” by a factor of three to five, says Craig Smith, a professor emeritus of oceanography at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa who led the first-ever expedition to study a whale fall in the late 1980s, but who wasn’t directly involved in the new survey. Smith has published estimates of how many whale carcasses would likely be found in various locations, including off North America’s west coast. Those estimates are based in part on the assumption that whale falls last an average of 12 years before disintegrating or being covered by sediment. But even if they stick around for up to 70 years, Smith says, “you still don’t get up to the densities we’re seeing in the San Pedro Basin.”

Read: The unending hunt for an invisible whale

One potential explanation is simply that “this is the highest-resolution survey in an area of this size ever done,” says Smith. Understanding the typical number of whale falls across oceans would require conducting similar high-resolution surveys elsewhere. A lack of oxygen in the water also likely contributed to the number of intact skeletons. The basin’s deep trough plunges down 2,600 feet and is surrounded by sills that discourage mixing with more oxygenated waters. That leaves oxygen-poor zones where the microbial and biological processes that break down whale bones proceed very slowly, Smith says. For example, when Terrill and others used underwater autonomous vehicles to collect photos, videos, and other data from seven of the carcasses in 2023, they found no bone-eating worms—red creatures with feather-like gills that are among the most common denizens of whale falls—coating the skeletons. Another factor in the number of visible whale falls may be that no rivers flow into the ocean nearby, so there’s less sediment input to cover up sunken objects.

Researchers think it’s unlikely that the toxic waste and weapons dumped here played a part in killing the whales, but the area is heavily trafficked by ships, and it’s possible that more whales die here by ship strike than in other places. The United States’ two busiest ports—in Los Angeles and Long Beach, California—are just northeast of the study site, with shipping lanes extending throughout the region. Meanwhile, thousands of gray whales migrate through each year, and blue whales feed here regularly, says John Calambokidis, a marine biologist at Cascadia Research Collective, a nonprofit based in Washington State.

Scripps Institution of Oceanography researchers plan to eventually return with a remotely operated vehicle to collect more photos and videos of the whale falls, which will help them confirm which species are among the dead and potentially reveal signs of ship-strike trauma. Smith and Rouse would also like to retrieve bone samples from the skeletons to determine how the whales died and learn more about their lives.

The abundant whale falls provide a concentrated opportunity to learn more about the food webs that these biological bounties support and the lives of the creatures that depend on them. They may also reveal more about the role decomposing whales play in the ocean’s carbon and nutrient cycle. If they last for many decades in other places beyond this basin, “the big oceanographic picture would be different,” says Rouse, because it would mean that these behemoths are transporting and sequestering more carbon on the seafloor than previously thought.

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California

PlayOn Sports fined $1.1 million by California watchdog over student data violations

Published

2 hours ago

March 4, 2026

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PlayOn Sports fined .1 million by California watchdog over student data violations

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (FOX26) — California’s privacy watchdog has ordered PlayOn Sports to pay a $1.10 million fine and change how it handles consumer data after finding the company’s practices violated state law in ways that affected students and schools in the state.

The California Privacy Protection Agency Board issued the decision following a settlement reached by CalPrivacy’s Enforcement Division.

The decision is the first by the board to address privacy violations involving students and California schools.

Schools across the country use PlayOn Sports’ GoFan platform to sell digital tickets to high school sporting events, theater performances, and homecoming and prom dances, with attendees presenting tickets at the door on their mobile phones.

Schools also use PlayOn Sports’ platforms for other sports-related activities, including attending games, streaming them online, and looking up statistics about teams and players.

In California, about 1,400 schools contract with PlayOn Sports for these services.

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GoFan is also the official ticketing platform for the California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports.

According to the board’s decision, PlayOn Sports used tracking technologies to collect personal information and deliver targeted advertisements to ticketholders and others using its services.

The company allegedly required Californians to click “agree” to tracking technologies before they could use their tickets or view PlayOn Sports websites, without providing a sufficient opt-out option.

“Students trying to go to prom or a high school football game shouldn’t have to leave their privacy rights at the door,” said Michael Macko, CalPrivacy’s head of enforcement. “You couldn’t attend these events without showing your ticket, and you couldn’t show your ticket without being tracked for advertising. California’s privacy law does not work that way. Businesses must ensure they offer lawful ways for Californians to opt-out, particularly with captive audiences.”

The decision also describes students as a uniquely vulnerable population and warns that targeted advertising systems can subject students to profiling that can follow them for years, expose them to manipulative or harmful content, and develop sensitive inferences about their lives.

Instead of providing its own opt-out method, PlayOn Sports directed students and other users to opt out through the Network Advertising Initiative and the Digital Advertising Alliance, which the decision said violated the company’s responsibility to provide its own way for consumers to opt out. The company also allegedly failed to recognize opt-out preference signals and did not provide Californians with sufficient notice of its privacy practices.

“We are committed to making it as easy as possible for all Californians — from high school students to older adults, and everyone in between — to make the choice of whether they want to be tracked or not,” said Tom Kemp, CalPrivacy’s executive director. “Californians can opt-out with covered businesses, and they can sign up for the newly launched DROP system to request that data brokers delete their personal information.”

Beyond the $1.10 million fine, the board’s order requires PlayOn Sports to conduct risk assessments, provide disclosures that are easy to read and understand, and implement proper opt-out methods.

The order also requires the company to comply with California’s privacy law prohibiting the selling or sharing of personal information of consumers between 13 and 16 without their affirmative opt-in consent.

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California

California bill to bar police from taking second job with ICE advances in state Assembly

Published

14 hours ago

March 4, 2026

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California bill to bar police from taking second job with ICE advances in state Assembly

Wednesday, March 4, 2026 4:43AM

CA bill to keep police from moonlighting with ICE advances

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KABC) — A bill that would prevent police officers from moonlighting with federal immigration enforcement agencies, such as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is advancing through the California State Assembly.

AB 1537 passed the State Assembly’s committee on public safety on Tuesday.

The bill also requires that officers report any offers for secondary employment related to immigration enforcement to their place of work.

Those failing to comply could face decertification as a peace officer in California.

The bill was introduced by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, whose district includes Mar Vista, Ladera Heights, Mid-Wilshire and parts of South Los Angeles.

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California

Can’t win in primary election? Drop out, California Democrats say

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

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Can’t win in primary election? Drop out, California Democrats say

California Democrats running for governor, your party has a message for you. Think carefully about your candidacy and campaign ahead of the swiftly approaching filing deadline.

California Democratic Party Chair Rusty Hicks urged candidates looking to assume the state’s highest office to “honestly assess the viability of their candidacy and campaign” as March 6, the final day to declare candidacy, nears. Hicks said that concerns about the crowded field of Democrat candidates “persist” in an open letter on Tuesday, March 3.

It comes as five leading candidates, several of which are Democrats — Katie Porter, Eric Swalwell, and Tom Steyer — are in a “virtual tie” per a recent poll, the Desert Sun reported, which is part of the USA TODAY Network.

Two Republican candidates pushing out California democrats in the gubernatorial bid may be “implausible,” but “it is not impossible,” Hicks said of the reasoning behind his latest message. Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, both Republicans, lead in RealClear Polling’s average of various polls.

The party chair spotlighted the need for California Democrats’ leadership, particularly over Proposition 50, the voter-approved measure that will temporarily implement new congressional district maps, paving the way for Democrats to secure more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“If in the unlikely event a Democrat failed to proceed to the general election for governor, there could be the potential for depressed Democratic turnout in California in November,” Hicks said. “The result would present a real risk to winning the congressional seats required and imperil Democrats’ chances to retake the House, cut Donald Trump’s term in half, and spare our nation from the pain many have endured since January 2025.”

During a press conference on March 2, Gov. Gavin Newsom said that when he is out in communities, people aren’t talking about the governor’s race. It’s an observation he called “interesting,” considering voting in the primary election starts in May.

“It’s been hard, I think, to focus on that race,” Newsom said, pointing to the attention on President Donald Trump, redistricting, and other matters.

What exactly is California Democratic Party asking of candidates?

In his open letter, Hicks gave directions to candidates.

First, assess your candidacy and campaign. If you don’t have a viable path to the general election, don’t file to get your name on the ballot for the primary election in June. Also, be prepared to suspend your campaign and endorse another candidate by April 15 if you decide to file but can’t show “meaningful progress towards winning the primary election.”

When is the next California election? Primary election in 2026

California voters will trim the field of candidates for governor on June 2. Only the two candidates who receive the most votes, regardless of party preference, will move on to the November election.

Paris Barraza is a reporter covering Los Angeles and Southern California for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at pbarraza@usatodayco.com.

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