West

Sea lion numbers surge at popular California pier, reaching 15-year high

Published

2 years ago

May 4, 2024

Sea lion numbers surge at popular California pier, reaching 15-year high

San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf district is experiencing a surge in sea lions, with more than 1,000 counted this week.
The sea lions have remained a tourist attraction since appearing at Pier 39 after a 1989 earthquake.
Harbormaster Sheila Chandor attributes the sea lion influx to the abundant food, suggesting they are preparing for mating season.

They’re lounging, biting each other and generally making a ruckus in numbers not seen in more than a decade. And don’t even think about stealing their anchovies.

San Francisco’s famed Fisherman’s Wharf district is seeing a surge in sea lions.

First appearing at Pier 39 after the 1989 earthquake, the sea lions have become a well known tourist attraction. The number of sea lions — marine mammals that make loud barking calls and can weight up to a half-ton — crashing at the pier fluctuates over the seasons. On most days more than a hundred can be seen.

CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS CHARGE TOWARD STARTLED BEACHGOERS, EMPTYING BUSY COVE

But this week, Pier 39 harbormaster Sheila Chandor has counted more than 1,000 sea lions, and that’s the most seen there in 15 years. A huge school of anchovies — a favored food of the pinnipeds — brought them there, Chandor said.

Sea lions are seen on rafts along Pier 39, on May 2, 2024, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

“It’s all about the seafood. It’s all about the food,” Chandor said. “A very good way to put it is they are fueling up for the mating season. It’s spring. They are ready to rock and roll down in the Channel Islands, and we’re a nice pit stop with some great seafood.”

The spike in sea lions is indeed only expected to be temporary. But the barges the sea lions lounge on are designed to hold significant weight, and officials admit this current surge is testing their limits.

Biologists said the number of anchovies in the bay that seems to have attracted extra sea lions this spring is especially high. Chandor said the schooling fish were off the Farallon Islands.

Meanwhile, shops and businesses in the area were hoping the sea lion surge would also result in a tourist shopping spree, attracting more visitors to the area. Sea lion lovers have been flocking to the pier to catch a glimpse of the huge, noisy herd.

“I’ve never seen that many sea lions in one place. I heard about this place, and we came here a few minutes ago, and it’s awesome to see them,” said Theresa Simbeck, a visitor from Germany. “It’s very loud, of course, but it’s really nice to see all of them. And it’s funny to watch them fight and relax in the sun.”

Big numbers of sea lions have come to their pier in past years, and some 1,700 have previously arrived, Chandor said. It’s usually 300 to 400 in winter and up to 700 in spring, Chandor said.

Read the full article from Here

New Mexico

2nd inmate dies at MDC within a week

Published

18 minutes ago

April 30, 2026

Press Room

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A 36-year-old inmate died at the Metropolitan Detention Center after a medical emergency in custody.

The Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center said Julian Wilgress was in custody when staff called a medical emergency code at about 1 p.m. on April 28.

MDC said Wilgress was booked into the jail on April 27.

MDC personnel said a medical team from the University of New Mexico Hospital responded, but Wilgress died.

The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office came to the facility to investigate. MDC’s Office of Professional Standards is also investigating under standard protocol.

The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator will determine the official cause and manner of death.

This marks the second inmate death at MDC after Derrick Benavides died on Monday morning.

Source link

Oregon

Texas teaching pro takes title at PGA Professional Championship in Oregon

Published

48 minutes ago

April 30, 2026

Press Room

Texas teaching pro takes title at PGA Professional Championship in Oregon

BANDON, Ore. – It was the kind of beautiful shot golfers dream about. Pure contact, the ball soaring against a blue sky and sliding just a touch a right before touching down on the green near the flagstick on the closing stretch at iconic Bandon Dunes Golf Resort. And it was all propelled by a late bathroom break and a quick walk back into the fairway that left little time to overthink a pressure-packed situation.

This particular shot, an 8-iron from 173 yards, had significant meaning. Jesse Droemer, a teaching professional at Riverbend Country Club near Houston, was tied for the lead through 16 holes in Wednesday’s final round of the PGA Professional Championship. His lead had been as many as three during the back nine, but he had been run down by Ben Kern. Droemer needed to make something happen.

On No. 17 of the resort’s Bandon Dunes course, Droemer faced a challenging shot into the green with the flag tucked on the left behind a knob as strong winds blew off the left. He nailed that 8-iron to within birdie range. He missed the putt and settled for a par, but that proved to be enough. Kern, playing in the final group behind Droemer, soon after landed his approach on the right side of the putting surface and watched the ball slide off the green into the rough. Kern’s ensuing bogey gave Droemer a one-shot lead, and after both players parred the 18th, the title was Droemer’s.

Jesse Droemer won the 2026 PGA Professional Championship at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Oregon.

What were Droemer’s thoughts as he left the 17th tee on his way to what would prove to be the tournament-deciding shot? Probably not what you would think, as Droemer explained after receiving the trophy.

“Well, honestly, I had to use the restroom so bad, I had to run from the tee over to the Porta Potty that was like 200 yards away,” Droemer said with a smile. “[Caddie Carl Everts] got the number, and I said, ‘Give me a yardage,’ and he had it, and I just stepped up and hit the shot. No time to think, just react. I do think that was one of the shots of the tournament, for sure.”

After nearly holing a 77-yard approach shot into the par-5 18th that set up the winning par, Droemer finished with a 2-under 70 in the final round, good for a 4-under total of 283. Kern, of South Bloomfield, Ohio, shot 71 in the final round to finish in second place at 3-under. Michael Kartrude of Royal Palm Beach, Florida, was third after a closing 70 and a 2-under total. It was the second straight day of strong breezes that at times surpassed 20 mph, causing havoc for club selection and making it tough to hole putts of any length.

“I was just embracing the challenge,” said Droemer, 34. “I knew it was gonna be windy. I knew the conditions were gonna be tough, and I was just really was trying to embrace the elements. And, you know, I’m glad it was windy. I’m glad it was playing hard.”

Droemer, Kern, Kartrude and 17 other players now have a new challenge: the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club on May 14-17. The top 20 from the PGA Professional Championship qualified for the major in Pennsylvania. It will be Droemer’s third appearance in the PGA Championship, having first qualified via the PGA Professional Championship in 2023 and again in 2025. He missed the cut in both those tries, but the victory at Bandon Dunes inspired fresh confidence.

“Well, this will be my third one, and the first one was in ’23, and I realized that I was a lot more comfortable last year after that one,” Droemer said. “But going into that tournament, I’m not trying to just enjoy it. I’m trying to go out and win a golf tournament. I said it last year: I’ve never played a tournament to try to lose, so I’m gonna go out and try to win a golf tournament.”

Droemer had experience to lean on in the PGA Professional Championship. He finished second behind Tyler Collet in 2025 at PGA Golf Club in Florida, and he tied for 11th at Twin Warriors and Santa Ana Golf Club in 2023 in New Mexico.

Droemer worked for years as an assistant professional before switching to teaching full-time, and he commits long hours to combine golf instruction with his own needs to practice — such is the life of most of the contenders in the PGA Professional Championship who represented 41 PGA of America sections at Bandon Dunes.

“Sometimes I have to get to the golf course at 6:30 and practice before (giving) my 8 o’clock lesson,” Droemer said. “I have to stay until dark. But I love to compete. This is why I practice, being in situations like this. So I just have to make a lot of time for it.”

All that work in Texas, well-known for its frequently windy golf, helped prepare him for Bandon Dunes. Most people would think the toughest shots in the breeze are those up in the air, but at Bandon Dunes, it was the putting that was most difficult for most competitors. When winds exceed 20 mph, a rolling ball often breaks in unexpected ways. “Honestly, that was the hardest thing of the week, making putts,” Droemer said.

He hired Everts, who has caddied at Bandon Dunes for seven years, to help. Evert’s experience reading putts in the breezes proved invaluable in all four rounds. Droemer had played at Bandon Dunes Golf resort in the 2011 U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship and qualified for the match play portion then, so he was familiar with the resort’s typically firm and bouncy turf conditions, but he wanted all the help he could get from his caddie on the greens in this PGA Professional Championship.

“It was huge,” Droemer said. “I mean, he saved me I couldn’t even tell you how many shots, with different reads that I didn’t see. I just trusted him. I told him, ‘Just whatever you see, tell me,’ and I wouldn’t have been able to do without him. No chance.”

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Texas teaching pro takes title at PGA Professional Championship in Oregon

Source link