Seven sea lions waddled off a boat and into their newfound home in the Pacific Ocean this morning after being rehabilitated by SeaWorld San Diego's rescue team.

Why it matters: It marked the final step of an effort to save stranded, entangled or injured marine animals that need medical attention, including those that are endangered and threatened.

State of play: These California sea lions were found emaciated or wounded around San Diego County beaches, including one with a shark bite.

• Another pup was abandoned and rescued at a few days old, so he was bottle fed, and had to learn how to eat fish and compete with other sea lions for about eight months before being released.

How it works: After loading the crate of animals onto the docked boat, the team drove out of the bay and into the ocean's choppy waters that glittered in the sun.

• They stopped about 5 miles offshore of La Jolla at a spot with a large population of the same species and a plentiful food source.
• One needed a little nudge, but each sea lion splashed into the ocean and bobbed around the boat before swimming off.
• "Have a good life, guys!" one staff member said as they all cheered and waved goodbye like proud parents.

What they're saying: "We're the 911 operators for the animals," rescue team curator Jeni Smith told Axios. They're also the ambulance and the hospital.

• The rescue team fields calls from lifeguards and beachgoers reporting stranded or injured animals 24-7, 365 days a year.
• They do triage and assess the safety of locations to determine which are the most critical to pick up.

Inside the room: At SeaWorld's medical facility, a veterinarian and other staff examine and treat the animals, usually for about six to eight weeks.

• They do bloodwork, can perform surgery and ultrasounds, treat parasites, train and feed animals back to health, among other medical services.

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More than 41,000 animals have been rescued across SeaWorld operations — in California, Texas and Florida — since the wildlife rescue program began in 1965.

Zoom in: In 2024, the San Diego team helped rescue 100 sea lions, 333 birds, four harbor seals, 20 elephant seals, seven Guadalupe fur seals, five cetaceans (whales and dolphins) and five sea turtles.

• They've released 13 animals, including sea lions and birds, so far this year.

The big picture: These rescued marine mammals are "beacons to let us know the ocean health," Smith said, including warming water that can disrupt marine ecosystems and worsen natural disasters.

• "With global climate change, we are seeing that sometimes the animals are telling us the bigger story."

👩🏻‍⚖️ San Diego has joined 40 other cities in a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration's firing of probationary federal employees, arguing they're illegal and threaten public services.

• The city attorney took advantage of a recent policy change allowing her to join lawsuits without a City Council vote. (Union-Tribune)

🥼 The county's top behavioral health official resigned Tuesday, amid the county's attempt to expand its addiction treatment services even as the federal government considers cutting Medicaid. ( Voice of San Diego)

💰Gov. Gavin Newsom is seeking $2.8 billion to fund Medi-Cal, the state's Medicaid program, and that's on top of the $3.44 billion proposed last week. (Politico)

Twenty-two percent of San Diego-area homes purchased in 2024 were bought with cash, down slightly from 2023, data shows.

Why it matters: Cash buyers, many of them investors, have pulled back after a pandemic shopping spree.

• But their piece of the homebuying pie remains historically high nationwide, according to a recent Redfin analysis.

By the numbers: The share of U.S. homes bought with cash fell to just under one-third last year — the lowest since 2021, per Redfin.

• San Diego's share of cash purchases was lower than San Francisco (26.5%), but the same as Los Angeles (22.2%).

What's next: "We are unlikely to see the share of all-cash purchases fall much lower in 2025, unless mortgage rates drop enough to drive a significant increase in sales," Redfin senior economist Sheharyar Bokhari said in the report.

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