San Diego, CA
Why San Diego Animal Shelters Are Severely Overcrowded | San Diego Magazine
For just over a year, local animal shelters have been sounding the alarm that there are more pets than they can support in need of permanent homes. This has happened before, but typically during brief periods like kitten season. This time around, the situation is unique in that organizations are struggling to adopt out dogs, especially large breeds such as huskies, German shepherds, and pit bulls (who also have big litters).
“Dog overpopulation in shelters right now is something we’ve never seen before,” says Dr. Gary Weitzman, CEO of San Diego Humane Society (SDHS).
According to Stephanie Filer, executive director of the national organization Shelter Animals Count, the usual flow of animals in and out of shelters has fallen out of balance since the pandemic. “We have had more pets entering shelters than have left,” she says. “The number of days that large dogs are waiting to get adopted has doubled.”
Experts are unsure why adoptions have flatlined, but the reasons for increased pet surrenders are clear.
“When owners are surrendering [animals], it’s because they literally cannot afford to care for them or cannot find a place to live with them,” Filer says.
Landlords frequently bar pets over 50 pounds or restrict certain breeds. Amid a housing crisis, renters may not have the luxury of choosing affordable residences that also accommodate large dogs. In a 2021 report, Michelson Found Animals claims 8.2 million pets could find homes if these restrictions were lifted. The organization also found that housing led 14 percent of surveyed renters to surrender animals.
“As a society, we really want people to be able to have animals and enjoy that companionship and not have those resource issues be a factor, but they are certainly what’s driving the overcrowding,” says Jill Tucker, CEO of California Animal Welfare Association (CalAnimals).

Of course, housing isn’t the only economic concern contributing to shelter overcrowding. The New York Times reported last month that the cost of veterinary care has shot up more than 60 percent in the past 10 years. Meanwhile, the number of vets has dropped—the staggering debt, relatively paltry salary, and high stress of the profession has led to veterinarian shortages across the US.
Shelters are affected by the vet shortage, too. According to a recent survey of California animal welfare organizations by the Program for Pet Health Equity at the University of Tennessee, 64 percent of organizations cannot provide certain kinds of veterinary care, such as spaying and neutering, to animals at their facilities because they are unable to fill vacant veterinarian positions or afford or even find appointments at nearby vets.
At the beginning of the pandemic, many vet surgeons ceased spay and neuter procedures amid a PPE shortage in which safety equipment was saved for human medical care. Large-scale spay and neuter programs that often fixed upwards of 50 animals in a single day were paused due to the health risk of congregating in groups.

Previously, SDHS, one of the largest shelters in the nation, received puppies transferred from Arizona and parts of the American south each year, taking pressure off shelters in those regions and allowing San Diegans to adopt young dogs. For the first time, SDHS has not been able to accept transferred animals because there are puppies entering the shelter system locally. As of May 30, “we’ve got about 140 puppies right now and they’re all from San Diego,” Weitzman says.
“For [SDHS] to not be able to help organizations who previously depended on them, because, rightfully, they need to help the animals in their community first, it does create this ripple effect across the country,” Filer adds.
Currently, SDHS is building a new veterinary facility for mass spay and neuter care, but in the interim, the organization, which performs 80 to 100 sterilization procedures per day already, has had to cut back on providing that service for pet owners in the community because they have so many animals in their own care. This only leads to more unaltered pets in the community in the future. “It’s just this exponential math problem,” Tucker says.
Amid this national crisis, overpopulated shelters face thorny decisions: Will they limit their intake of abandoned animals; house more animals in subpar conditions, like hallways lined with cages; or euthanize pets so the remaining animals have enough space? SDHS has a no-euthanasia policy, but reps have stated that overcrowding causes behavior problems, risks the spread of contagious diseases, and leads to immense stress on staff and animals.

“Shelters get stuck in a position where there’s not a good outcome,” Tucker says. She helped spearhead the first ever California Adopt-A-Pet Day on June 1, when 3,609 animals across the state found homes.
Tucker and Weitzman are also part of a coalition of animal welfare agencies lobbying for the state legislature to pass bills to address the problem. Potential solutions include requiring vet schools teach students how to perform mass spay and neuter procedures and restricting landlords’ ability to enact pet bans.
The best way for the average person to help? Adopt a shelter pet.
San Diego, CA
Military bases in San Diego County increase security following Iran attacks
SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Military bases in San Diego County and nationwide have increased security measures due to last weekend’s U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran, prompting traffic delays near base entrances, enhanced ID checks and access restrictions.
The Naval Air Station North Island on Coronado ports three aircraft carriers, including the San Diego-based USS Abraham Lincoln, which led some of the first-wave attacks on Saturday.
Naval Base Coronado warned motorists of possible traffic delays at all base entry points due to the increased security measures.
Targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps command and control facilities, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields.
The U.S. operation, dubbed “Epic Fury,” and Israeli operation, “Raging Lion,” began striking targets at 1:15 a.m. Eastern Time Saturday.
As of Tuesday, at least six U.S. service members had been killed in action.
The strikes also killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei, who had been Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, making him the longest-serving head of state in the Middle East.
Iran’s offensive forces claimed to have struck USS Abraham Lincoln with ballistic missiles, but according to an X post from U.S central Command, “The Lincoln was not hit. The missiles launched didn’t even come close. The Lincoln continues to launch aircraft in support of CENTCOM’s relentless campaign to defend the American people by eliminating threats from the Iranian regime.”
Those with concerns regarding the heightened security can contact San Diego County’s Office of Emergency Services at 858-565-3490 or oes@sdcounty.ca.gov.
Copyright 2026, City News Service, Inc.
San Diego, CA
SD Unified moves forward with layoffs of classified employees
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Less than 3 weeks after the San Diego Unified School District finalized a new contract with teachers, the school board voted unanimously on Tuesday to move forward with layoff notices for other district employees.
The layoffs affect classified employees — workers who are employed by the district but are not teachers and are not certified. That includes bus drivers, custodians, special education and teacher aides, and cafeteria workers.
The district says it is eliminating 221 positions — 133 that are currently filled and 88 that are vacant — to save $19 million and help address a projected $47 million deficit for the next fiscal year.
Preliminary layoff notices will go out on March 15, with final notices by May 15.
The district estimates about 200 classified employees will receive preliminary notices, but of them, about 70 are expected to lose their jobs based on union-negotiated bumping rules.
Bumping allows employees with more seniority to move into another position in the same classification, thereby “bumping” a less senior employee out of that role.
Lupe Murray, an early childhood special education parafacilitator with the district, said the news came as a shock after the teacher strike was called off.
“When the strike was called off, I’m like, ‘Yes!’ So then when I got the email from the Superintendent, I’m like, ‘Wait, what?’ So, I think everyone was shocked,” Murray said.
The district says it sends out annual layoff notices, as all districts in the state do.
Before Tuesday’s board meeting, classified employees rallied outside, made up of CSEA (California School Employees Association) Chapters OTBS 788, Paraeducators 759, and OSS 724. They were joined by parents, students, and the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO.
Miguel Arellano, a paraeducator independence facilitator with San Diego Unified and a representative of San Diego Paraeducators Cahpter 759.
“What do we want? No layoffs! When do we want it? Now!” the crowd chanted.
Arellano said he felt compelled to act when he learned about the potential layoffs.
“The first thing that went through my mind was that I need to speak up. I need to protect these people,” Arellano said.
Inside the meeting, the board heard emotional, at times tearful testimony from classified employees before voting unanimously to move forward with the layoff schedule.
Superintendent Fabi Bagula said the district has tried to protect classrooms from the cuts.
“We have tried our best to only, I mean, to not touch the school. Or the classroom. But now it’s at the point where it’s getting a little bit harder,” Bagula said. “What I’m still hoping, or what I’m still working toward, because we’re still in negotiations, is that we’re able to actually come to a win-win, where there’s positions and availability and maybe even promotions for folks that are impacted.”
Arellano warned the layoffs could have a direct impact on students.
“We are already spread thin, so, with more of a case load, it’s going to be impossible to be able to service all the students that we need to have,” Arellano said.
Follow ABC 10News Anchor Max Goldwasser on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
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.
San Diego, CA
Scripps Oceanography granted $15M for deep sea, glacier science
The Fund for Science and Technology, a new private foundation, granted Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego $15 million for ocean science Tuesday.
FFST, funded by the estate of the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, was started in 2025 with a commitment to invest at least $500 million over four years to “propel transformative science and technology for people and the planet.”
“Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego is pushing boundaries for exploration and discovery across the global ocean,” Chancellor Pradeep Khosla said. “This visionary support from the Fund for Science and Technology will enable Scripps researchers to advance our understanding of our planet, which has meaningful implications for communities around the world.”
The grant, the largest of its kind since Scripps joined UCSD in 1960, will go toward research in three areas: monitoring of environmental DNA and other biomolecules in marine ecosystems, adding to the Argo network of ocean observing robots, and enhancing the study of ocean conditions beneath Antarctica’s Thwaites Glacier, often referred to as the “Doomsday Glacier.”
Scripps Institution of Oceanography has used Argo floats for more than two decades to track climate impacts in our oceans. NBC 7 meteorologist Greg Bledsoe reports.
“The Fund for Science and Technology was created to support transformational science in the search of answers to some of the planet’s most complex questions,” said Dr. Lynda Stuart, president and CEO at the fund. “Scripps has a long tradition of leadership at the frontiers of ocean and climate science, and this work builds on that legacy — strengthening the tools and insights needed to understand our environment at a truly global and unprecedented scale.”
Scripps Director Emeritus Margaret Leinen will use a portion of the grant in her analysis of eDNA — free-floating fragments of DNA shed by organisms into the environment — in understudied parts of the ocean to collect crucial baseline data on marine organisms, according to a statement from Scripps.
“In many regions, we know very little about the microbial communities that form the base of the ocean food web or that make deep sea ecosystems so unique,” Leinen said. “Without data, we can’t predict how these communities are going to respond to climate change or what the consequences might be. That’s a vulnerability — and this funding will help us begin to address it.”
Using autonomous samplers that can collect ocean water for eDNA analysis, as well as conventional sampling, scientists will use tools to “reveal the biology of the open ocean and polar regions.”
According to Scripps, the international Argo program has more than 4,000 floats that drift with currents and periodically dive to measure temperature, salinity and pressure. Standard floats can record data up to depths of 2,000 meters (6,560 feet), while newer Deep Argo floats can dive to 6,000 meters (19,685 feet).
The grant funding announced Tuesday will allow for Scripps to deploy around 50 Deep Argo floats along with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory.
Sarah Purkey, physical oceanographer at Scripps and Argo lead, said this leap forward in deep ocean monitoring comes at a crucial time because the deep sea has warmed faster than expected over the last two decades.
Thwaites Glacier is Antarctica’s largest collapsing glacier and contains enough ice to raise global sea level by roughly two feet if it were to collapse entirely. According to Scripps, prior expeditions led by scientist Jamin Greenbaum discovered anomalously warm water beneath the glacier’s ice shelf — contributing to melting from below. Greenbaum now seeks to collect water samples and other measurements from beneath Thwaites’ ice tongue to disentangle the drivers of its rapid melting.
This season’s Antarctic fieldwork will “test hypotheses about the drivers of Thwaites’ rapid melt with implications for sea-level rise projections,” the statement from Scripps said.
“The ocean holds answers to some of the most pressing questions about our planet’s future, but only if we can observe it,” said Meenakshi Wadhwa, director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography and vice chancellor for marine sciences at UCSD. “This historic grant will help ocean scientists bring new tools and approaches to parts of the ocean we’ve barely begun to explore.”
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