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Rising seas are eating away at ocean-front sand at a pace that could leave Southern California with few usable beaches by the end of this century, scientists announced Monday. Research based on information from the U.S. Geological Survey’s newly created computer model, the Coastal Storm Modeling System, shows that with little human intervention up to 67 percent of the beaches in Southern California could erode completely in less than 100 years, according to a paper published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

 

The decades-old Encina Power Station, site of a 400-foot-tall smokestack that looms over Carlsbad’s skyline, may not shut down operations by the end of this year after all. State officials are considering keeping the facility open through the end of 2018, when a new power station, the 500-megawatt Carlsbad Energy Center, is expected to be completed and replace the old Encina plant. Keeping Encina open means the controversial process called “once-through cooling” that kills marine life will continue for now.

Edna Ruiz saw her two-year-old daughter Estellah’s lips start to turn purple as the child gasped for air. She had asthma attacks before, but this was the worst. When they arrived in the emergency room of El Centro Regional Medical Center about 10 p.m. in January, Estellah had a temperature of 104 degrees. “It’s really scary to know when she’s coughing, she could stop breathing,” Ruiz said. The doctor confirmed Estellah’s asthma diagnosis and prescribed medications that helped her improve and return home.

A report about areas of the unincorporated county that had water quality issues led to some residents calling the Ramona Municipal Water District with concerns, said the district’s general manager. David Barnum told the water board at its March 14 meeting that none of the areas listed in a recent report from the State Water Resources Control Board received water from RMWD, which imports its water from the San Diego County Water Authority.

Exposure to lead at an early age has been linked to cognitive impairment and behavioral problems, which is why the stories about officials allegedly covering up excessive lead in the water supply of Flint, Michigan, became a national scandal. But an alarming 2016 Reuters investigation documenting children’s exposure to lead in 21 states, including California, never got the attention it deserved. In Flint, 5 percent of children met the Centers for Disease Control elevated lead exposure threshold of 5 micrograms per deciliter of blood, double the national average.