$4M Jackpot Win + Best Places To Live + Elephants Form Protective Circle: Saturday Smiles

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA — To keep your weekend light, Patch presents some positive Southern California stories from the past week — many that hopefully will brighten your day.

Animals

'Anchored' Gray Whale Rescued From Net Off Palos Verdes Peninsula

The whale likely would not have survived without the rescue operation by a team with the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration.

Gray Whale Calf And Mom Swim With Dolphin Off OC Coast: Photos

A mother whale and her baby calf were spotted near the Dana Point Headlands this past weekend.

Meet Yosa, Seal Beach Police's First-Ever Support K-9

Yosa, who joined the Seal Beach Police Department in 2021, provides comfort to victims and witnesses of crimes.

Watch: Elephants In San Diego Form 'Alert Circle' During Earthquake

Elephants at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park protected their young during the powerful earthquake that stuck Monday morning near Julian.

Arts and Entertainment

Circus Returns To Promenade Temecula Mall, Southwest Riverside County

Get tickets to see 2 hours of world-renowned artists, aerialists, acrobats, comedians, daredevils, and more under the big top!

Coachella Round 2: Trading Heat For Wind, The Weeknd Takeover + More

Weekend 2 may be notoriously more dusty, but many of Weekend 1’s kinks tend to get ironed out by then. Here’s what to expect.

Coachella Wraps Week One, 2025: Gaga, Missy Elliott, Bernie Sanders?

Coachella, Weekend 1 brought surprise guests, sights, sounds well worth it for the 100,000 fans per day who braved traffic and the elements.

RivCo Couple Wins $4M Jackpot At Pechanga Casino Resort

A husband and wife were about to call it a night just before they stopped at a machine and hit a multimillion-dollar jackpot.

Save The Ocean 5 Art & Poetry Exhibit Underway In Carlsbad

Front Porch Gallery Carlsbad celebrates its 20th anniversary with a show featuring local artists and focuses on urgent environmental themes.

Business

14 Restaurants Added To Eater's Best In LA County List

Eater has updated its rundown of the top 38 restaurants in Los Angeles County with 14 new additions across the region.

Kids Eat Free On Easter At Applebee's In SoCal

Customers can get two free kids' meals with the purchase of an adult entrée.

Community

9 IE Cities Rank In CA's Top 20 Best Places To Live: Consumer Affairs

A Consumer Affairs research team analyzed the state's 75 largest cities. Several in Riverside and San Bernardino counties came out on top.

CA Allocates $10 Million for San Diego, OC Coastal Rail Improvements

The money will help pay for constructing a catchment wall along Mariposa Point and a revetment and seawall in the problematic area.

New Strip Center Planned For South Temecula, Near 15 Freeway

The center's location is planned just off Temecula Parkway. Quick Quack Car Wash and Dutch Bros. coffee are named as tenants.

Health

South OC Hospital Ranked Among Top Maternity Hospitals In Nation

For the third year in a row, MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center was named one of Newsweek's 2025 "America's Best Maternity Hospitals."

Schools

BHUSD Hires Alex Cherniss As Superintendent

Alex Cherniss returns to Beverly Hills Unified after years of leading high-performing school districts in Southern California.

Sports

New Pro Football League Coming to Hermosa Beach Next Month

This is the world's first professional tackle football league played on sand, according to co-founder Adam Cyril.