Tragedy on Christmas Eve
A rope has been placed to protect seals at Casa Beach during pupping season ” but anyone can cross the rope at will because laws protecting the seals are ignored. On Christmas Eve day, this apathy had a tragic result. A beach jaunt ” actively encouraged by San Diego lifeguards ” to retrieve a child’s lost flip-flop frightened dozens of terrified seals into the ocean at Casa Beach. One of the panicked animals was pregnant, due to give birth in about a month and a half. The stress of one too many human intrusions was too much for her body to handle. A very premature baby miscarried as she fled.
The mother stopped; even the approaching human male running toward her could not push her to abandon her helpless infant. The tiny seal pup was white and wrinkled, without enough body fat to keep warm after the abrupt expulsion from his mom’s comfortable womb.
As night fell this Christmas Eve, the seal mother wrapped her own body around the pup, keeping him warm during the death vigil. She nuzzled her infant, so he would know love and tenderness in his cut-short life. Although the mother rolled on her side, the baby was too weak to nurse. In the morning, the helpless pup was swept away by the tide and drowned.
Why are San Diego lifeguards so antagonistic to the survival of these fellow creatures? Why are the city and federal laws that would prevent people from crossing the rope at Casa Beach not enforced? This shameful incident must not be repeated! Please, make your voice heard and call San Diego lifeguards, your City Council member, and the mayor to demand that the remaining seals be protected, starting today!
Janice Stanger, Pacific Beach

Human harassment not to blame
The following letter was sent to the National Marine Fisheries Service.
I was informed that human harassment was claimed as the cause of a premature harbor seal birth at the Children’s Pool on Dec. 24. I want you to know the following:
1. I observed the female seal in question starting to give birth one hour before the supposed human harassment took place on the beach; therefore, human harassment was not the cause of the premature birth.
2. Premature harbor seal births are very common with up to 50 percent of the total number of births in a harbor seal population being premature. The causes of premature birth are many and cannot be determined without scientific evidence.
Kent Trego, La Jolla

Read it, heed it
All you folks who don’t know for sure what they take and what they don’t take in the blue recycling bins, take heed (“Category of questionable,” Letter to the Editor, Village News. Nov. 30, page 8).
Last week’s The Curbsider mailing has come out that tells you all you need to know about your recycling program and collection schedule. Read it. Heed it. Post it on the side of your fridge with the provided magnet for future reference. And for more info, visit www.sandiego.gov/environmental-services/recycling/.
Ben Harness, Point Loma

Baffled
I’ve been going to San Onofre State Park just north of Oceanside for 20-plus years, it’s a family tradition and we like to get away from the crowds. There’s not enough coastal camping sites for millions who live in southern California, so it’s a very popular place. Plus, the hiking and surfing there is excellent.
I’m baffled why some City Council members, including my Councilman, Kevin Faulconer, would think it’s OK to put a pay to drive highway through the park!
No doubt the toll road is supposed to help the Orange County developers sell more houses, but do the developers have influence over the San Diego City Council as well as Orange County city councils?
I wish the City Council would revisit this one, and get it right. No Toll Road thorough San Onofre and Trestles!
Belinda Smith, Chula Vista