Another crowded day of surfing madness at Sunset Point in Los Angeles.

The Venice community gathers at the Venice Breakwater for a memorial paddleout for Born x Raised c-founder Chris "Spanto" Printup on Sunday morning.

"In this documentary short about the evolution of the 'Venice Beach' Memorial skate park, I avoid a generic gentrified point of view with my duties as an experienced filmmaker and local. My aim in this 'close to my heart' subject, was to share an authentically genuine account of how things were, developed and put into motion in a very condensed positive way.

As I plan and organize legit funding for the publishing of a full length book, I leave you with this actual, factual account in the now. The written will detail many more aspects, history and views. In honor of our radical forefathers, last of tribe, legends and new generation pioneers. Keep Venice True Blue!" - Bart Saric

Starring : Geri Lewis, Jesse Martinez, Pat Ngoho, Bill Rosenthal, Christian Hosoi, Mark Jones and many, many more ..

Music by : LUICIDAL courtesy of Louichi Mayorga & Dale Hendersen © Luicidal 2014. DJ Samurasta © DJ Samurasta 2014.

Produced by Skater Made © Bart Saric 2014, 2023. All Rights Reserved.

"Stay Stoked 4L!"

From Brad Jacobson:

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

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!

On June 10th, hundreds showed up to Tower 28 in Santa Monica for Life Rolls On's first They Will Surf Again of the 21023 season. Six12 Media was there to photograph the event.

These are just a few of the 500+ photos from this event. The link to the complete gallery is down below.

















You can find 500+ more photos from this event, all full size and in high-resolution, in this photo gallery:

Life Rolls On - They Will Surf Again 2023 Photo Gallery

A tireless, 8 year old street performer named Gabriel B takes on the world while performing on the streets of Los Angeles as he tries to break into the city’s music scene. Faced with harsh living conditions, Gabriel strives to give his family a better life. United by divine timing, he finds triumph through interchanging love and support by spreading his soul for music under the sun of Venice Beach and city lights of Hollywood.

From Santa Monica Close Up:

"In response to a report of a violent altercation involving a parking lot attendant, Los Angeles Police Officers swiftly arrived at Venice Beach on Wednesday, June 14, 2023. However, upon interviewing the attendant, it was revealed that the alleged assailant had not physically assaulted him but had resorted to verbal aggression. The individual appeared to be under the influence of substances at the time. Since no physical harm had occurred, the police determined there were limited options for their immediate intervention."

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

This intimate feature documentary, UNZIPPED focuses on one of the country’s most iconic and increasingly income divided zip codes, Venice CA 90291. Once a mecca for artists, outsiders and a thriving Black community, Venice is now the frontline for America’s heated battles over gentrification, affordable housing, and homelessness.

With moving, personal profiles of families who struggle to remain in their rapidly gentrifying neighborhood, to bitterly contested community fights over a proposed homeless shelter, UNZIPPEDexplodes stereotypes and humanizes the lived experiences of people caught in the cross-fire of America’s growing housing divide. A topical local lens on this alarming humanitarian issue, UNZIPPEDis an urgent call to action for more equitable housing solutions for every community in America and around the globe.

The film is now avaliable on Amazon.

Trailer:

The American Shore & Beach Preservation Association raises the first-ever Blue Flag on the West Coast today at Westward Beach!

The Blue Flag is an international symbol of clean and well-maintained beaches; this is the first year that any beach in the U.S. has received a Blue Flag.

Malibu Councilmembers & City Manager were on hand as Westward Beach was 1 of 2 beaches in the US to get the Blue Flag Award for environmental education, info & management; safety & services; social responsibility & responsible tourism. were toild what happened). Also, another witness said a man who seemed like he was the apartment manager came out and spoke to the parents, telling them the owner wants them gone. Good riddance, they were stealing from all over the neighborhood. F'em.

For more info about the award Click Here:

Epic day to end the West Coast Board Riders Final event of the '22/'23 qualifying season at Zuma Beachon Saturday, May 13th.

Huntington Beach Board Riders took first place, with Malibu's Northern LA Board Riders placing second.                                                                

Epic day to end the West Coast Board Riders Final event of the '22/'23 qualifying season at Zuma Beach on Saturday.

The West Coast Board Riders 2022-2023 regular season concluded on May 13th, as the North Central Region event #2 “A New Earth Project @ Zuma” went down under cloudy skies and glassy 2-3 foot surf at Tower 12 at Zuma Beach.
Huntington Beach Board Riders took first place, with Malibu's Northern LA Board Riders placing second. 3rd and 4th places went South Bay Boardriders and Seal Beach Boardriders.

Huntington Beach Board Riders and Northern LA Board Riders are guaranteed a spot in the Wheat Cup Championship starting on Thursday May 25th at Lower Trestles, where they will be battle the top clubs from other regions in California, with the top 3 from that advancing to the US Board Riders National Championship on Saturday May 27th.

Photos from Brent Flaaten.

The first annual Venice Beach Pier Kite Festival.

Laboratory results from three local agencies are displayed on the map. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) Environmental Health Recreational Waters Program, collects ocean water samples from the mainland, once a week throughout the year. DPH collects an additional five samples from Avalon on Santa Catalina Island beginning in April through October. The Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts (SD) collects ocean water samples at selected sites on the mainland, once each week throughout the year. The Beach Cities of Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach, Palos Verdes Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes (BC) jointly collect water samples within their cities, once a week throughout the year. DPH, SD, and BC also resample sites that have exceeded State Standards for bacteria in ocean water. The City of Los Angeles, Environmental Monitoring Division, LA Sanitation (HYP) collects water samples from various sites, one to five times per week, all year round. LA City also collects samples at some DPH sites as required by their State NPDES permit.

The public is notified when a site has exceeded State Standards for bacteria in ocean water on this website, by telephone hotline, and by signs posted at the impacted beaches.

Use the map below to obtain the current water quality status of your favorite beach location. Use your mouse wheel to zoom into a particular location. Click on the marker to identify the sampling location. This map is updated as conditions change.

Thousands of purple-colored creatures resembling jellyfish, called Velella velella or By-the-Wind Sailors, are being washed up on the beaches.

The By-the-Wind sailors are also known as colonial hydroids and are similar to Portuguese Man O'War, feeding on algae and zooplankton.

Velella velella are flat, oval-shaped hydroid polyps (cousins of the jellyfish) that live in the open ocean but are often seen washed up on beaches in the spring and early summer months when strong winds push them ashore.

They have a firm and upright triangular sail attached to their body which causes them to be caught up by the wind and blown across the surface of the water, giving them their name “By-the-Wind Sailors.” Don't worry about those little blue tentacles that hang from their body! These tentacles don't sting humans but will gather up plenty of zooplankton or fish eggs for them to eat.

According to Point ReyesNational Seashore, Velella Velellas pose little threat to humans, but if you do decide to pick one up, be careful when touching your face and eyes afterward because they can cause slight irritation to your skin.

"You may come across a fresh wash-up of Velella, tinging the stretch of shoreline blue, but if they've been there a while, they will look like crinkly and dry ovals of cellophane."

There's an old legend that during the huge El Nino winter of 1998-99, Santa Monica local Donnie Wilson picked off a ride from Topanga that connected all the way past Chart House -- a distance of more than 300 yards.

On January 5th, 2023, it happened again. This time it was Michael Torquato DeNicola riding a wave from Topanga past Chart House. .

Michael Torquato deNicola is a world traveling and award-winning surfer, artist, and filmmaker.
https://iamtorquato.com/