San Diego, CA
Blocked channel leads to fish die-off in San Elijo Lagoon
The mouth of the San Elijo Lagoon, where a $120 million restoration was completed three years ago, is filling with sand faster than ever, a condition that endangers the wildlife there.
Last week’s warm temperatures turned areas of the closed lagoon hypoxic for the first time this year, said Jennifer Bright, chief operations officer and philanthropy director for the Nature Collective.
That means fish, mostly small anchovies, began dying because of the low oxygen levels in the stagnant water, Bright said Monday.
Fortunately, the weather turned cooler this week. The die-off slowed or stopped, and shore birds quickly cleaned up most of the evidence. Still, the winter rains that naturally restore the lagoon are months away.
The lagoon’s outlet usually is bulldozed open once each summer, Bright said. This year it’s been done twice, and it’s needed again. The first time waves took a few weeks to refill the opening with sand. The second time it took just days.
The restoration, a project 20 years in the making, widened and deepened the lagoon channel to expand and improve the wetlands habitat. A healthy and biodiverse wetlands supports hundreds of important species of plants, fish and birds that help to keep a balanced ecosystem.
“We saw a lot of success with that,” Bright said.
Eelgrass thrives in the shallow water, where the plant provides a nursery for fish. Endangered species of native birds, such as the California least tern, feast on the fish and build their nests on the shore.
“By widening the channel (in the restoration), we get three times as much tidal flow into the lagoon,” Bright said. “But what it’s also doing is bringing more sand in.”
The sand is carried farther into the lagoon than in the past, reaching the channel beneath the railroad bridge between Coast Highway 101 and Interstate 5.
Hayne Palmour IV / For The San Diego Union-Tribune
The train trestle that crosses a portion of the San Elijo Lagoon in Encinitas on Monday.
The Nature Collective, formerly known as the San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy, has overseen the care and preservation of the lagoon for nearly 40 years.
Almost every year the nonprofit uses bulldozers, skip loaders and trucks to open the lagoon after the summer waves build up a berm on the beach, closing the connection to the ocean.
“We knew we would still have to continue opening the inlet,” Bright said. However, the maintenance has become more than expected.
Now, in addition to another beach opening, the lagoon’s caretakers need to dredge the sand that has accumulated at the railroad bridge, an area that is harder to reach. That will require more money and heavy equipment, and probably a boat-based dredge.
A rough estimate of the work needed is $1 million, Bright said. The Nature Collective has issued a request for proposals that will help determine the cost, but so far it does not have all the money. Mitigation funds could be available from Caltrans or the San Diego Association of Governments. The lagoon restoration was paid for by Transnet, the half-cent sales tax approved by voters and administered by SANDAG.
Every year, sand from the opening is used to widen nearby beaches. During the restoration, thousands of additional cubic yards of sand dredged from the lagoon were used to expand more than half a mile of the shoreline at Cardiff State Beach.
Called the Cardiff Living Shoreline project, the sand was placed atop a buried rock revetment and planted with native vegetation to help protect Coast Highway 101 from the steady erosion of high tides and winter storms.
Hayne Palmour IV / For The San Diego Union-Tribune
An egret viewed from the Solana Beach side of the San Elijo Lagoon on Monday.
All of San Diego County’s coastal lagoons would naturally close up each summer without human intervention. Some, like Agua Hedionda and Batiquitos in Carlsbad, have been modified with rock jetties and periodic dredging to stay open year round.
Sand from those projects also is placed on nearby beaches to slow the effects of coastal erosion. A number of additional local and regional replenishment projects have been completed and more are planned to dredge offshore sand and place it on the shrinking shoreline.
All that sand placement also could be affecting the lagoons, filling them up faster, but the process is complicated and more studies are needed.
California’s wetlands were once considered wastelands, only fit to be drained, filled and developed. More than 90 percent of the state’s coastal wetlands have disappeared over the last century.
Only recently have people realized the value of their special coastal habitats and passed laws to protect them.
Gloria relents on December Nights, some community cuts in budget revise, but arts funds still on chopping block
by City News Service | Times of San Diego
Some library and recreation center hours and December Nights support were restored in Mayor Todd Gloria’s revised Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Wednesday, but city funding for the arts could still be gutted.
Gloria was joined by civic leaders Wednesday morning to announce changes to his initial proposed budget, released last month. He added “targeted protections” of certain neighborhood priorities and maintained police and fire service levels while arriving at a balanced budget.
Proposed additions include protecting rec center and library hours in Council Districts 4, 8 and 9, represented by Henry L. Foster III, Vivian Moreno and Sean Elo-Rivera, respectively.
Read more
The Learning Curve: He’s San Diego Unified’s Next Trustee – No Race Needed
By Jakob McWhinney | Voice of San Diego
The primary is still nearly a month away. The general election is even further out. Still, it’s already clear that Hayden Gore will be San Diego Unified’s next trustee. That’s because he’s running unopposed to fill the seat left open by current Trustee Cody Petterson, who opted not to run for re-election.
Though he’s a political newcomer, Gore was the early choice of San Diego Unified’s union. In fact, he was recruited by the former president of the San Diego Education Association to run for the seat.
It’s not hard to see why. He’s an avowed progressive and a longtime educator who led the then-newly formed union at High Tech High to its first contract. Exactly the kind of resume that would have SDEA champing at the bit.
Read More
Join Us Friday, July 17, 2026 for the 11th Annual USD School of Law – RJS LAW Tax Institute
By RJS Law
The Institute is the premier annual tax event in San Diego. The region’s top tax attorneys, enrolled agents (EAs), certified public accountants (CPAs), law and business school professors will discuss topics including government loan relief and abuses, challenges in cross-border transactions, and practical and realistic solutions in trust, estate planning, and tax matters.
DATE AND TIME
Friday, July 17, 2026 from 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
LOCATION
Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, Theatre
5555 Marian Way, San Diego, CA 92110
EVENT STATUS
Open to the Public
Read More
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – For many families, libraries are a safe space for kids after school and a place to study.
After community outcry, the city is scaling down some of its proposed budget cuts, bringing the original $6.3 million in cuts to libraries down to $4.8 million.
Patrick Stewart, CEO of Library Foundation SD, said the change is a step in the right direction.
“We are very pleased. I think this moves the needle in the right direction.”
Mayor Gloria’s revised budget proposal restores funding focused on youth-centered programs, which includes bringing back library hours in Council Districts 4, 8, and 9 — those in underserved communities.
“This is City Heights and San Isidro, Barrio Logan, and Oak Park, and traditionally, those are smaller branches. And the kids and the families in those communities frankly, they use their library very differently than in a lot of other communities, and it’s a lifeline to them,” said Stewart.
The City Heights library is among those included in the mayor’s revised budget to restore funding. While library officials say this is a good first step, there is still concern about long-term financial challenges.
In order to voice concerns about how deep the cuts go, the Library Foundation has created a way for supporters to express that through postcards. Thousands of cards have been mailed directly to Mayor Gloria and councilmembers.
Stewart said the effort is making an impact.
“They’re seeing that this is hundreds and hundreds of people that are taking this very seriously, so it helps them to know immediately what their community feels like when it comes to these proposed cuts,” he added.
The restored funding would also keep Monday hours at Carmel Valley Library and protect the North Clairemont Library branch from closure.
Library officials remain optimistic as the revised budget heads back to the City Council.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
A man suspected of a fatal shooting in Barrio Logan was arrested Tuesday.
Benito Garcia Jr., 31, was arrested in the 3600 block of Grand Avenue in San Marcos at about 1 p.m. Tuesday for allegedly gunning down 64-year-old Raul Torres near the east end of the Coronado Bridge, according to the San Diego Police Department.
Patrol officers responding to an anonymous report of a shooting found the mortally wounded victim on a sidewalk in the 2000 block of National Avenue, near Chicano Park, shortly after 10 p.m. last Tuesday. Torres died at the scene, SDPD Lt. Lou Maggi said.
Police have not disclosed a suspected motive for the slaying.
Garcia was booked into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of first- degree murder. He was being held without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
-
Alaska6 minutes ago
Governor Dunleavy Names Stephen Cox his new Counsel to the Governor – Mike Dunleavy
-
Arizona12 minutes agoHow to buy Arizona Cardinals tickets, 2026 NFL schedule release
-
Arkansas18 minutes agoBerlin Wall Segments Arrive in Arkansas for National Cold War Center
-
California23 minutes agoLive Updates: Candidates face off in the CBS News California and San Francisco Examiner Governor’s Debate
-
Colorado30 minutes agoFinal minute, full 2OT from Northwestern-Colorado lacrosse quarterfinal marathon
-
Connecticut35 minutes agoRemaining GOP candidates for Connecticut governor vie for Erin Stewart supporters
-
Delaware42 minutes agoU.S. Foreclosure Filings Spike 18%: Delaware, South Carolina, and Florida Top the List
-
Florida48 minutes agoFive Florida Panthers Named to Rosters for 2026 IIHF World Championship | Florida Panthers