Bergeron said one theory is that small schooling fish — favorite food for shore birds — are seeking colder water deeper in the ocean, beyond the birds’ reach. So they do not have enough food to eat. “We have had very regular concerns with brown pelican starvation events, but this one does feel a little bit different,” Bergeron said. “We’re seeing a lot more dead birds than living ones being found.”
The current ocean warming began last May near Eastern Asia and spread across the Pacific. Some waters have had little break since mid-2025, with more than 200 days of elevated temperatures, according to researchers with Climate Central, who said human-caused climate change has significantly intensified the marine heat wave.
Up to 45% of the ocean impacted “is experiencing conditions that are at least six times more likely due to human-caused warming,” Climate Central said. Without climate change, they wrote, the heat wave’s footprint would be 36% smaller.
An El Niño event can weaken winds and slow the upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water, which could further intensify the marine heat wave. Without that strong mixing, warm water lingers at the surface, causing temperatures to spike. “All the ingredients are there for a strong El Niño,” said Tom Di Liberto, media director and climate scientist with Climate Central. “If you’re making cookies, you’ve already mixed the dough, but haven’t baked them yet. We still have to wait to see if, in the summer months, these cookies get put in the oven to see if we have that strong El Niño form.”
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Nithya Raman gained enough votes by Sunday evening to edge out reality TV personality Spencer Pratt, putting her in second-place for now in the closely-watched race.
The L.A. City Council member and the reality star are separated by about 3,100 votes in the race for a runoff spot against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in November. Votes are still being counted, and the L.A. County Registrar of Voters will receive ballots postmarked by Election Day up until seven days later.
On election night, Pratt had collected enough votes to put him squarely in the second spot, with a significant lead over Raman. But by late Friday, Raman had gone from just over 20% of the vote on election night to about 25%. Meanwhile, Pratt lost a couple of percentage points since Tuesday night’s early returns.
Paul Mitchell, a Democratic strategist whose company tracks ballot return data, said Republicans were reflected heavily in the early returns, but as the vote counts continues, more Democrats will be represented.
L.A. County election officials said they plan to release new vote count results every day until June 12, and regular updates until June 26. The county’s final official results must be certified by July 2.
In rural eastern Fresno County, a growing number of Orange Cove residents are speaking out after they say they were volunteered for a controversial clean-energy trial without their consent.
More than 650 of them — nearly 20% of the electorate — signed a petition presented to the city council April 22 that voiced their opposition to the city’s participation in a short-term hydrogen blending project planned by the Southern California Gas Co.
During public comment at the council meeting, several members of the citizen’s group Orange Cove United urged city leaders to hear their concerns regarding the potentially detrimental health and safety impacts associated with a demonstration project that would change the chemical composition of the natural gas piped to the stoves, furnaces and water heaters in their homes. “I’m asking you to withdraw your support, please,” Orange Cove resident Estela Juarez implored council members during the meeting. “Please listen to us.”
In 2022 SoCalGas, along with three other of the state’s investor-owned utility companies, petitioned the California Public Utilities Commission to begin blending hydrogen with natural gas into the existing gas infrastructure of select municipalities as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Because hydrogen releases only water and heat when burned, it is considered a “clean” fuel. That’s opposed to natural gas, which is primarily made up of methane, a hydrocarbon that contributes to climate pollution by emitting carbon dioxide when burned.
In February 2024, SoCalGas announced it had chosen the isolated farm town of Orange Cove in eastern Fresno County as the site for one of its demonstration projects. One month later, without informing residents, the city council unanimously passed a resolution directing city staff to work with the utility company on its development. Plans call for SoCalGas to construct a hydrogen blending facility on an open parcel of land adjacent to the Orange Cove High School football field for the purpose of injecting natural gas with up to 5% hydrogen gas and delivering it to the city’s utility customers. The $85 million project would be funded by ratepayers. At the conclusion of the 18-month trial, the city would return to 100% natural gas.
