From Santa Monica Close Up:

"In a swift response to an emergency call, Los Angeles firefighters successfully extinguished a fire that broke out in a trash dumpster at the picturesque Venice Beach earlier today. The incident occurred on Friday, June 16, 2023, causing temporary disruption but no injuries were reported."

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:

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Join the organizations behind the restoration of Topanga Lagoon for an overview and update of the project on Saturday, June 17 from 10 a.m to 12 p.m. in Calabasas. The meeting will be both in person, streamed live, and a recoding will be posted on the project website in about two weeks.

About The Topanga Lagoon Restoration Project



California State Parks, along with partners including the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains, Caltrans, and Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors are working on a project funded by the California State Coastal Conservancy to restore Topanga Lagoon.

Topanga Lagoon is located at the mouth of Topanga Creek, which drains from a watershed within the Santa Monica Mountains. The lagoon is currently approximately 1 acre in size and is crossed by the Pacific Coast Highway. The historic lagoon area has been filled and developed over the years with buildings and hard-scape infrastructure. The beach adjacent to the lagoon hosts millions of visitors per year and is an important regional coastal access and recreation location. Though reduced from its historical size, Topanga Lagoon still hosts important natural resources, including the federally endangered tidewater goby and federally endangered Southern California steelhead trout. The lagoon area also includes remnants of the Historic Topanga Ranch Motel.

The Topanga Lagoon Restoration Project seeks to restore ecological values by expanding Topanga Lagoon from 1 acre to 7-10 acres and reconstructing an existing PCH bridge to accommodate the wider lagoon. The project also seeks to improve visitor services and coastal access.

California State Parks and the Resource Conservation District of the Santa Monica Mountains are seeking public input on the proposed restoration of Topanga Lagoon and the efforts to protect and enhance its biological, cultural, and recreational resources.

For more info, Click Here

APD respond to an alleged assault that took place at the Sidewalk Cafe. Officers locate the suspect at an encampment off the boardwalk. As they question the suspect, she laughs at them and tells them to “relax” then walks away to light up a cigarette.

Body Glove is having a Father's Day sale, 25% Off sitewide. Use code: dad25 at BodyGlove.com

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

Ocean Water Use Warnings for beaches at Malibu Pier, Las Flores, Escondido, and Ramirez Creek due to bacteria exceeding state standards. County Of Los Angeles Public Health advises not coming in contact with ocean water as it may cause illness.

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.

Malibu pier approx. 1910 Point Dume in the distance. (From The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens)

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.

Inglewood's Edward Vincent Park is the home of a new pump track...for bicycles, but it seems skaters have been enjoying it more.

The City of Inglewood has stated that the new pump track will serve as a place for families to enjoy cycling, bike education and awareness classes, special events, and more. The site will also be eligible to host future Red Bull World Pump Track Competitions, sanctioned by Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI).

It is uncelar whether or not the pump track has officially opened yet, but it's being riddden/skated by many already. The track is inside Edward Vincent Jr. Park at 700 Warren Ln, Inglewood, CA 90302





Construction began on the track just over 1 year ago:

"Los Angeles is the second largest city in America, so it took us a whole lot of miles and meetings to find the best location to successfully accommodate LA’s very first pumptrack. We looked at dozens of communities and parks throughout the city, but none of them held the sense of wonder and hope that Inglewood does. The history of the neighborhood, often told through famous 90s hip hop lyrics, is a standard bearer of a better future for those who have not had equity in the California Dream. Inglewood’s commitment to bring past and present together to build a more dynamic future is something we deeply tap into because that's the whole impetus of our existence: to create sustainable cycling access where none existed before. The Grow Cycling Pumptrack is being built in a public park, where everyone is welcome to ride on a World Championship track. Inglewood’s leadership, from the Mayor to the Director of Parks to its residents, are committed to building a 21st century community around their youngest residents, and in doing so, they are changing the view of what an "inner city" park looks like and functions like. Grow is committed to expanding the story of cycling’s culture, of "who" a cyclist is and where "they" belong. When boys and girls around the world see a World Championship Velo Solutions pump track built in a public park in Inglewood, California USA with kids and some sports heroes riding there who look like them, we hope they can envision a gateway of opportunities and just how far their dreams and their bike can take them. The best delivery system ever invented for an idea is a story. There is no place we'd rather show and tell the Growing story of cycling than in Inglewood. We're growing the state of mind from "Why Inglewood?" to "Why not Inglewood?" - Grow Cycling Foundation