Looks like the answer is still "no" to activists trying to spring the last two Puget Sound orcas being held in captivity at sealife amusement parks in Miami and San Diego: "No to a million dollars, no to pressure from celebrities and no to the romantics who believe a fairy-tale ending is possible," writes Judith Lavoie in the Vancouver Sun.

The likes of Harrison Ford, Johnny Depp and Elton John are getting involved, but without result so far. I did notice on a recent visit to South Florida that the Miami Seaquarium had taken Lolita the killer whale out of its logo and replaced it with dolphins, presumably to promote its "swimming with dolphins" program. Those have had their own problems, of course. (Warning: That link's a PDF.)

I covered the Lolita story here and here. We also recently covered release of the National Marine Fisheries Service's recovery plan for the orcas (unlike that other daily newspaper in Seattle, which advanced the plan but provided readers none of the details once the plan actually came out.)