Rarely reported orca pod seen off SoCal 

By Heather McRea

This week in Coast Lines: Ocean watchers are excited by a rare appearance of a pod of orcas that has only been spotted a handful of times and never documented off Orange County’s coastline.

Plus, San Clemente will talk with Border Patrol about manning cameras along its shores and artist Wyland has been restoring his original Whaling Wall mural in Laguna Beach.

Here’s what’s happening along the Southern California coast.

Interesting visitors

Orcas aren’t spotted off our coast as often as other dolphins or whales, so their appearance often drums up excitement. And then CA56, CA56A, CA133 and some friends popped in and folks got really excited. 

The pod of killer whales isn’t spotted often and it has never been recorded off Orange County, but there they were, swimming near Newport Beach the other day. And we’ve got photos.

Besides being cool, Alisa Schulman-Janiger, lead research biologist for the California Killer Whale Project, said visits like this tell researchers a lot. 

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Immigration concerns

San Clemente officials are going to invite U.S. Customs and Border Protection to place cameras along the beach city’s coastline to monitor for boats delivering people looking to enter the country illegally. They decided against installing the cameras themselves.

“I like the idea of more surveillance,” Councilmember Rick Loeffler said. “North Beach is the first place to get cars in north of the (Border Patrol checkpoint on the 5 Freeway). It’s very obvious why they come here. Maybe we can partner with CBP and have them monitor and respond.”

The council was less united on partnering with Huntington Beach in a challenge of the state’s sanctuary city law.

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Big repairs

The recent winds shredded the giant canvas artist Wyland used when he painted a massive mural of a mother whale and her calf on the side of a Laguna Beach building.

It’s the mural that started his series of murals that are now found on buildings around the world, so he decided to restore what the winds destroyed and people flocked to be able to see the legend paint.

“It means everything, this is my original,” Wyland said. “This is my child right here.”

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What else?

Rancho Palos Verdes officials are confident in the landslide mitigation and winterization efforts made. 
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Why were Dodgers players taking a dip in the frigid waves at Manhattan Beach?

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As the 2028 Olympic Games near, Long Beach shares more about how it is prepping for the international stage.

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In the water

Sea lions rehabbed by SeaWorld San Diego were released at a beach on Camp Pendleton. Camp Pendleton’s 17 miles of coastline are pristine grounds and base environmentalists work hand-in-hand with military commanders on wildlife preservation. 

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