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Some climate models are suggesting that El Niño may return later this year, but for now, the Pacific Ocean lingers in a neutral “La Nada” state, according to climatologist Bill Patzert of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The latest map of sea level height data from the U.S./European Jason-3 satellite mission shows most of the ocean at neutral heights (green), except for a bulge of high sea level (red) centered along 20 degrees north latitude in the central and eastern Northern Hemisphere tropics, around Hawaii. This high sea level is caused by warm water.

 

Locked in mortal combat with a group seeking to dismantle its longstanding San Diego power monopoly, giant Sempra Energy and its subsidiary San Diego Gas & Electric have been busy lining up the services of local lobbyists. One member of the utilities’ influence-peddling corral is Lani Lutar, onetime chief of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association. According to a March 3 disclosure filing, Lutar’s Responsible Solutions was paid $975 by Sempra Services Corp, approved by state utility regulators to lobby against so-called community choice aggregations.

San Diego Coastkeeper welcomed a new member to its board of directors, long-time environmental advocate Samantha Murray, J.D. Murray brings the water watchdog group deep experience in state and federal ocean policy, playing a key role in the design and implementation of California’s network of Marine Protected Areas, which now covers 16 percent of state waters. San Diego Coastkeeper also announces the unanimous election of its 2017 board of director’s executive committee.

If there ever was a politically ripe time to spend lavishly on water projects, this is it. But Sacramento Democrats are settling for a drop in the bucket. Spillways got washed out at giant Oroville Dam, forcing more than 100,000 people to flee their homes. Thousands of San Jose residents were flooded out because of raging creeks and inadequate facilities. Houses, barns and roads near the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta were swamped.

Heather Slavey squinted as she stared into the badlands. She shook her head in awe of the natural montage — yellows, pinks, purples. “Wow,” she said. “It looks like something out of the Wizard of Oz.” Slavey, who does marketing for a law firm, and her husband, Robert, left their home in San Diego early Saturday morning, and drove toward Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. Like thousands of others across the Southland, they made the pilgrimage into the desert this weekend to witness a once-in-a-decade wildflower “super bloom” — the aftereffect of heavy winter rains.