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City of San Diego may have final say over Children’s Pool seals


By Staff, City News Service

Thursday, July 9, 2009 4 comments  |  read comments  |  post a comment

The state Assembly voted unanimously Thursday to approve a bill that gives the city of San Diego more authority over the fate of a colony of harbor seals at the Children’s Pool in La Jolla.

The Senate voted 30-4 in April to approve Senate Bill 428, authored by Sen. Christine Kehoe, D-San Diego, which now goes to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for his signature.

“If this bill is signed into law it will return local control to the city of San Diego and with it the right to decide what uses are permissible at the Children’s Pool,” Kehoe said in a statement.

A 1931 trust designated the beach as a bathing area for children.

Kehoe’s bill would amend the trust to also allow for a marine mammal habitat and gives the San Diego City Council the authority to decide whether to keep the seals at the Children’s Pool. It’s unclear whether the council would vote to keep the seals.

In February, the City Council voted to ask Kehoe to draft the bill in an effort to end costly lawsuits over the colony of harbor seals that have occupied the beach in recent years. A Superior Court judge ordered the city to honor the trust and restore the Children’s Pool by dispersing the seals, but a federal directive was later issued temporarily blocking the removal of the animals.

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Comment by: waternuts Posted: July 9, 2009, 2:19 pm

Either the city of San Diego gets rid of the seals or I and my friends have legal ways of disturbing them and flushing them into the ocean time after time and we will eventually drive them off the Children’s Pool beach for good. BYE BYE SEALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comment by: Scott Posted: July 9, 2009, 11:19 pm

Waternuts, it is people like you that needs to have their heads checked. We have so many beaches along this coast, find another one. Hopefully on the east coast. Leave the seals alone.

Comment by: Charles Posted: July 10, 2009, 10:33 am

When the Children’s Pool was for Children, there were no children there to begin with. That water, even in the summer time is rough and unsafe for kids anyway. This “pool” was built in 1931, a time when so one knew the effect of the environment (let alone cared about the environment, plus after building it the are written records saying that the pool is not very safe for kids ANYWAY! Leave the seals where they are? Why do you want to rid them? Is it the posh La Jolla monies? Wake up! the seals are a natural attraction that infuses money into the city of San Diego. So, if you want the seals to go then I suggest that you, Waternuts, are selfish and …oh. I don’t get people like you.

Comment by: b4goodnow Posted: July 20, 2009, 10:23 pm

Waternuts - you and your friends? so now you’re in a conspiracy to violate the law. do your friends know that you will also be jailed under the rico act just like they drove the klu klux klan into bankruptcy for their collective illegal acts because there is no legal way to drive the seals back to the sea unless you’ve received a permit so now you have just announced your intention to do an illegal act. please do so we can jail you, please, i beg you.

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