Free Republic

A man on a boogie board was killed by a shark off the coast of central California on Friday. The attack happened around 10:40 a.m. at a Morro Bay beach known as “The Pit,” according to KSBY. The shark bite appeared to be from a Great white shark, first responders told the outlet. The victim had not been identified, and his age was unknown, the station said. Swimmers and surfers were banned from going into the water for the next 24 hours, according to the report. It appeared to be the first reported fatal shark attack of the year in...

The pact that would float hundreds of turbines off the coast of Morro Bay and Humboldt Bay was touted as a breakthrough to eventually power 1.6 million homes and help the state and federal government reach ambitious climate change goals through clean energy production. The plan includes floating 380 windmills across a nearly 400-square-mile (1,035-square-kilometer) area that is 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Morro Bay. The California wind farms would produce a combined 4.6 gigawatts, with the Morro Bay operation providing two-thirds of that output. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said he included $20 million in his revised budget...

California authorities are investigating the fatal shooting of a protected southern sea otter that had been rescued and returned to the ocean last year. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife said Tuesday that the dead otter was found floating in Morro Bay in September and a necropsy determined it was killed with a pellet gun. A numbered tag identified the animal as an otter that had previously been found tangled in a fishing line. It was rehabilitated and returned to the wild in July 2016. Southern sea otters, which are also known as California sea otters, are listed as...

Charles C. Lynch seemed to be doing everything right when he opened a medical marijuana dispensary in the tidy coastal town of Morro Bay, Calif. The mayor, the city attorney and leaders of the local Chamber of Commerce all came for the ribbon-cutting in 2006. The conditions for his business license, including a ban on customers younger than 18 and compliance with California’s medical marijuana laws, were posted on the wall. But two years later, Mr. Lynch was convicted of multiple felonies under federal law for selling marijuana. He is one of hundreds of defendants and prisoners caught in the...