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Why you should NEVER surf Malibu



From Brad Jacobson:

"I break down why you should resist the urge to surf Malibu with examples of the pure chaos that exist there."

Friday Night Santa Monica Car Show



From Santa Monica Close Up:

"Friday night car show at Santa Monica Beach on June 30, 2023"

Santa Monica Close Up is a photo blog by Santa Monica based Photojournalist/Press photographer Fabian Lewkowicz. Fabian is the former staff photographer for the Santa Monica Daily Observer Press, Santa Monica Mirror, Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Corsair.

Support Santa Monica Closeup/Fabian Lewkowicz with Venmo or PayPal to help earn money to make these videos:

https://venmo.com/u/santamonicacloseup

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/fabianlewkowicz

Skating Malibu's $300,000 Skatepark



Cheech & Chong Visit Venice Beach



Mike, aka German in Venice, vlogs about daily life in Venice Beach, and the nearby communities.

"There’s always something going on in Venice Beach. Famous actors and comedians Cheech and Chong came to Venice Beach with their Lowrider and passed out free drinks for the Venice locals. I also visit a Memorial for local Venice beach resident Spanto, he was the founder of the company, Born x Raised ."

If you would like to support German in Venice with some gas money or you want to buy him a coffee, you are welcome to donate to his paypal account: https://paypal.me/germaninvenice

Bay Street Boards Nine Years Art Show + Party



"9 years ago we were getting ready to open the shop! A lot has gone down in those few years, but one thing remains… we throw some sweet parties! 🍻🎉🍾 Come celebrate 9 years in business with an art show, free drinks and some wicked food! It’s going down on Friday, July 7th at 7:30pm! Thanks for all the support over the years!!!"

Bay Street Boards
3216 Santa Monica Blvd, Santa Monica,
CA 90404, United States

Triage Area for Sick Sea Lions Set Up near Marina del Rey.



Marine Mammal Care has established a triage area for sea lions on the Marina Peninsula just north of Marina del Rey. This will help them care for animals sick from domoic acid. The sick animals may become aggressive when further stressed. Please STAY AWAY & keep your dogs off the beach!



MdR for All Celebration



Bring the whole family on Sat, 7/15, 2 pm - 9pm, to Burton Chace Park for the free MdR for All Celebration. Enjoy a resource fair, community art, cultural activities, free WaterBus rides, classical concert & more!

For more info, Click Here



Marina del Rey 4th of July Fireworks Show



The 4th of July Fireworks Show returns to Marina del Rey! Celebrate the holiday with a 20-minute fireworks display over the water starting at 9 PM.

The fireworks will be shot from a barge on the waters of the Main Channel in Marina del Rey. You can view the show from nearly anywhere in Marina del Rey and surrounding areas such as the Venice Pier, Playa Vista, and Dockweiler Beach.

For more info (FAQ, parking, street closures), Click Here

Fourth of July Pet-Friendly Silent Drone Fireworks at Santa Monica Pier



From Santa Monica Close Up:

"On Tuesday, June 27, 2023, Santa Monica Beach was transformed into a captivating spectacle as a fleet of three hundred drones illuminated the night sky. The mesmerizing drone light show was organized to commemorate the Fourth of July, leaving spectators in awe of the stunning visual display." >

Santa Monica Close Up is a photo blog by Santa Monica based Photojournalist/Press photographer Fabian Lewkowicz. Fabian is the former staff photographer for the Santa Monica Daily Observer Press, Santa Monica Mirror, Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Corsair.

Support Santa Monica Closeup/Fabian Lewkowicz with Venmo or PayPal to help earn money to make these videos:

https://venmo.com/u/santamonicacloseup

https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/fabianlewkowicz

WSL Gets Rid of Elo



Possibly the best thing the WSL has done lately, they parted ways with their CEO, the infamous Elo, the man responible for such craptacular WSL garbage like The Ultimate Surfer, the man who was defending the corrupt judging at that boring ass Surf Ranch contest, the man oversaw all these recent horrible changes that the majority of fans hated, even most of the die-hard WSL worshippers hated changes this doof made.

Erik Logan was an Oprah Winfrey Network executive who the WSL brought on and made the CEO, in their hopes that he bring more viewers to the WSL.

Here's the press release from the Santa Monica offices of the WSL:

Leadership Changes at the WSL Announced, Erik Logan to Depart

LOS ANGELES, Calif., USA (Thursday, June 29, 2023) - Today, the World Surf League (WSL) announced that CEO Erik Logan has departed the company, effective immediately. As the WSL begins the process of identifying a new CEO, Emily Hofer, WSL's Chief People & Purpose Officer, and Bob Kane, Chief Operating Officer & Chief Legal Officer, will jointly lead the company and continue to drive the WSL's mission to showcase the world's best surfers on the world's best waves as the global home of competitive surfing.

With Hofer's and Kane's leadership, alongside the dedicated executive team, the WSL remains well-positioned for continued success and growth. The League maintains an unwavering commitment to working alongside our colleagues, athletes, and partners to build surfing's global competitive platform, aligned with our purpose initiative around ocean conservation. Together, we will work to advance and develop competitive surfing, pushing forward to the evolution and progression of this incredible sport.

Emily Hofer has served as the Chief People Officer for the WSL since 2017, and added the role of Chief Purpose Officer in 2020. In this role, Hofer leads strategy, design, and delivery of all People and Purpose programs for World Surf League, Kelly Slater Wave Company, and the WSL Surf Ranch across the globe. In addition, she serves as the Executive Director of WSL PURE, the league's non-profit foundation, which is dedicated to inspiring and educating fans about ocean conservation.

Bob Kane has served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Officer for the WSL and the General Counsel for the Kelly Slater Wave Company since 2019. In this role, Kane oversees the operations of the WSL across North America, Latin America, EMEA and APAC, as well as staff and athlete health, safety and security. He also leads both organization's legal departments, including partnership contracts. has served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Legal Officer for the WSL and the General Counsel for the Kelly Slater Wave Company since 2019. In this role, Kane oversees the operations of the WSL across North America, Latin America, EMEA and APAC, as well as staff and athlete health, safety and security. He also leads both organization's legal departments, including partnership contracts.

Cheech & Chong Venice Beach Ride-Along



Ready for seltzer with a different kind of buzz? Join Cheech & Chong tomorrow on Venice Beach at 2PM for the launch of High & Dry. We’ll be pulling up in the Love Machine to the parking lot by the South Venice Blvd entrance.

Santa Monica 4th of July Parade



The Santa Monica 4th of July Parade RETURNS Tuesday, July 4, 2023 at 9:30am

The 2023 parade returns to its classic route! The parade kicks off promptly at 9:30am at Pico and Main Street, traveling South on Main Street before turning right onto Marine, ending at Barnard Way. Join us to watch anywhere along the Main Street route as we make our way to Beach Lot 5 South. The official grandstand announcement location will be in front of the Ocean Park Library.



Please note that the entire parade route and some streets leading to it will be closed to vehicle traffic ALL morning long, from 6AM - 12PM. Public parking can be found at lots off Neilson to the West, and please be mindful of residential restrictions to the East. We recommend walking, biking or scooting to watch the parade!

For more info, Click Here



Venice Beach Fire with Venice Healer Daisy



Video by Venice Gallerie

Born x Raised Co-Founder Chris "Spanto" Printup Has Passed Away



Sad news to report this Tuesday afternoon, it's been confrimed that Born x Raised Co-Founder Chris "Spanto" Printup Has Passed Away



In 2013, Spanto created Born x Raised brand with Alex "2Tone" Erdmann, celebrating and defending their Venice, California home.

A month aftewr starting Born x Raised, Spanto was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

He celebrated his cancer-free status in 2018.

Just a few months aog, he took to social media reflecting on his health journey and expressing how grateful he is to be cancer free.

"I just want to take a moment to take a long, hard look back and what has happened over the last ten years. I think if you would take a peek at my instagram and see the highlight reel and think it might’ve been easy - but.. from where ive started (like in the early years of my life).. growing up my dad was homeless and my mom was mentally ill - I spent a lot of time in and out of the system from an early age from central juvenile hall to many years spent in the county - I decided to create a clothing brand while the last time I was incarcerated - I cooked up bxr while I was in the hole at supermax (idk if anyone who is reading this has been there but if you’ve ever eaten juke balls for a month you know the deal). A couple years after working on bxr we started moving, things were great and one month after we launched with union I was diagnosed with terminal cancer (YES, TERMINAL) so from 2013 until now I’ve been battling cancer, did 4 years of chemo lost 100 lbs and my hair numerous times - what I’m getting at is life is hard for everyone and I want anyone to know, that if you’re feeling discouraged or like life has given you too many handicaps - ITS OKAY. you’re going to be fine things will get better."



"I’m cancer free, I’m not incarcerated and my family has a house to live in and I want to look back at all that has happened and say THANK YOU - because just 5 years ago I was in the worst place in life I’ve ever been and just this last week I’ve been in Vogue, NY Times and a bunch of other places that I am extremely grateful for. If you would have told me 10 years ago I would be hosting a dinner with Nike on the roof of Soho house for 100 of my friends I would’ve never believed you. So I again want to look at all the beautiful gifts life has given me and enjoy all of it." He ended his post by thanking all his friends and beautiful wife Ann for suporting him.



Details of his death have not yet been confirmed.

Venice Breakwater - Tuesday 6-27-2023

Here's surfing photos from Tuesday, June 27th at the Venice Breakwater.

This set of surf photos was shot by Six12 Media and brought to you by Bodyglove. From now till July 6th, use code july25 to get 25% OFF at Bodyglove.com

These are just a few of the 150+ photos from this session. If you were out there, you probably got some surfing shots, probably multiple photos, they will be in the complete photo gallery for this day, check them out, the link to the complete gallery is down below.

















You can find 100+ more photos from this session, all full size and in high-resolution, in this photo gallery:

Venice Breakwater - Tuesday 6--27-2023 Photo Gallery



If you were out there, we probably got some cool surfing shots of you, go check them out!

Wanna see photos from previous days at this and other local surf spots from this photographer?
Click Surf Spot Galleries and look for the spot and then the date.

Volunteers Needed to help Sea Lion Sickness Program



The Aquarium of the Pacific and Marine Mammal Care Center are partnering to pilot a program engaging the public on beaches in response to a large scale stranding event. Volunteers are helping to monitor for Domoic Acid (DA) and other seal and sea lion (pinniped) behaviors on beaches or near people.

Volunteers are needed to help spot strandings, educate beachgoers, and help keep these animals and the public safe. If you're willing to help, Click Here to start the process.

If you see a sick or injured animal, please call 1-800-39-WHALE. Please do not approach the animal.

For more about the sick sea lions and dolphins, Click Here.

Official LAPD Update on the MTA Bus Driver Stabbed in Venice



The Los Angeles Police Department has release their statement about the bus driver who was stabbed in his back last week at Venice Beach:

On June 22, 2023, around 2:05 p.m., patrol officers from the Los Angeles Police Department’s (LAPD or Department) Pacific Area responded to the 1700 block of Main Street for an “Ambulance Cutting” radio call.

The victim, an MTA bus operator stopped at the above location and exited the bus to check an exterior part. The suspect approached the victim and without provocation, stabbed him in the back. When officers arrived, they were directed to the suspect, who was later identified as 60-year-old Mark Charbonneaux. Officers contacted the suspect and took him into custody without incident. Pacific Area detectives and officers from the LAPD Mental Evaluation Unit responded to the scene and assisted in the investigation.

The Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics transported the victim to a local hospital. He is currently listed in stable condition. The suspect was also transported to a local hospital and treated for a medical issue unrelated to the assault or his arrest. He was later cleared by hospital staff and released for booking. The investigation revealed that prior to the officers’ arrival a security guard from a local business deployed pepper spray against the suspect.

A four-inch folding knife used in the incident was recovered at scene. Charbonneaux was arrested and booked for 245(a)(1) Penal Code – Assault with a Deadly Weapon (Booking #6628443).

URGENT COASTAL ALERT - Overwhelming Number of Sea Lions & Dolphins Suffering from Poisoning



URGENT COASTAL ALERT: California coasts are experiencing a significant increase in sea lions and dolphins suffering from domoic acid (DA) poisoning due to a toxic algal bloom. If you see any marine mammals on the beach the public should keep away at least 50 yards & call Marine Mammal Care Center's Rescue Hotline at 1-800-39-WHALE.



More on DA poisening: Pseudo-nitzschia blooms (toxic algal blooms) offshore along the Central and Southern California coast. This algae produces a neurotoxin called domoic acid, which accumulates in fish such as sardines, anchovies, and squid. The toxin then transfers to predators such as sea lions and birds that prey on the fish—causing seizures, brain damage, and sometimes death.



Symptoms of DA poisoning in Marine mammals include side-to-side head movement, seizing, bulging eyes, extending their heads back for long periods, and erratic behavior.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act states that "it is illegal to feed or harass wild marine mammals including dolphins, porpoises, whales, seals, sea lions, and manatees."



Marine Mammal Care Los Angeles ius currently caring for over 50 domoic acid (DA) patients as they strand on SoCal beaches. The increase in distressed animals reported to MMCC is putting strains on resources as they continue to deal with the many young animals already in their care following the annual pup season this spring. To care for the increased volume of patients, it is likely to cost more than $250,000. Your support is needed now more than ever.

To donate, Click Here