Santa Monica Pier will be temporarily closed. Personnel from the SMFD and SMPD will be conducting a scheduled emergency preparedness training. There will be a large number of police and fire vehicles as well as smoke and loud bangs.

On Thursday, October 12, 2023 from 6:00 am to 12:00 pm, personnel from the Santa Monica Fire and Police Departments will conduct a joint training at the Santa Monica Pier. The objective of this exercise is to train our first responders and test their response to high-risk, complex, events involving multiple agencies. While the pier will be closed to guests during this time, we believe that this training is essential to ensuring the safety and security of our pier and its visitors.

The Training Cadre will utilize simunitions and smoke simulations which look and sound real. Combined with the help of volunteer actors from the community, we aim to make this training as realistic as possible to further prepare our personnel in the event of an actual active threat.

We recognize the potential for passersby and residents to believe a real incident is taking place. In addition to this notice to the surrounding community, signage will be placed around the perimeter of the exercise along.

We also understand that this exercise may cause some inconvenience and we deeply appreciate your understanding and patience during this timeframe. Your cooperation greatly assists our efforts to ensure the safety and preparedness of our first responders. Thank you for your continued support.

Note: This training is not in response to the recent incident on the Pier, but has been scheduled since May 2023.

Boarding For Breast Cancer is thrilled to announce the 16th Annual Skate The Coast Presented by Suja Organic on October 21 + 22, 2023 in Los Angeles, CA.

Skate the Coast is a 15 mile skate-bike-roll from the Santa Monica Pier to Redondo Beach along the iconic Southern California Strand with the Pacific Ocean as the backdrop for this mellow cruise.

Participants of all ages and abilities on wheels are welcome to join B4BC as they skate-bike-roll 15 miles to promote its mission of staying healthy and being active while raising funds for its breast cancer education, prevention and survivorship programs. Participants can also join in on the fun virtually by cruising down their local trail or path and posting to social media if they can’t make it in person.

To kick off the weekend, there will be a Registration Party on October 21st from 3pm-8 pm at Firestone Walker Brewery in Venice, CA. People are welcome to swing by, sign waivers, grab their event tees and goodie bags while enjoying some good music, eats, drinks, raffles and auction​s.



The 15-mile event is taking place on October 22nd, with participants meeting up at 7:00 am at Veteran’s Park in Redondo Beach for check in and shuttles. The skating begins at 9 am at Santa Monica Pier and will end at 1:00 pm at Redondo Beach, with a three hydration stops in between. Following the event there will be a finish line party from 12 pm – 4 pm at Dive N Surf. The goal is to fundraise $75,000 and B4BC looks forward to getting the community together for some fresh air and movement, all for breast cancer awareness!

For more info, Click Here

Find out about more upcoming local events, Click Here for the Event Calendar.

Below is the official statement from the Santa Monica Police Department and 2 videos covering Monday's Bomb Scare on the Pier:

"At about 2:35 pm on October 9, 2023, the Santa Monica Police Department received a radio call of a distraught male subject climbing the Ferris wheel in Pacific Park on the Pier. A witness told officers that the man claimed to have a bomb in his backpack. Officers found the subject, later identified as 37-year-old Juan Gonzalez of Garden Grove, approximately two-thirds of the way up the Ferris wheel in the steel supports. There were approximately ten riders on the wheel, which had to be stopped with Gonzalez in the support structure.

While the Santa Monica Fire Department worked to rescue the riders in the wheel’s gondolas, members of the SMPD Crisis Negotiation Team contacted Gonzalez and started talking him down to the Pier Deck. During those negotiations, Gonzalez was very agitated and upset and continued to make bomb threats to the officers negotiating with him. The incident lasted for more than an hour before Gonzalez climbed down low enough for officers to take him into custody. Gonzalez was not in possession of an explosive device or any other weapons.

Based on the multiple threats made to witnesses as well as the continued bomb threats articulated by Gonzalez to the officers on scene, Gonzalez was placed under arrest for criminal threats (a felony), making a false bomb threat to authorities, and resisting arrest. He was evaluated by the Fire Department on-scene and transported to the Santa Monica Jail for booking. The case will be presented to the District Attorney for filing on the threats charges.

The Santa Monica Police Department thanks the members of the SMFD, Santa Monica’s Office of Emergency Management, and the professionals at the Pier and Pacific Park for their coordination and cooperation in the successful outcome of yesterday’s incident and subsequent arrest."

Join "Pura Playa" - Heal the Bay's October Nothin' But Sand Beach Cleanup celebrating the history of environmentalism in Los Angeles' Latin communities!

Help keep the beach plastic-free for the fall at Heal the Bay’s Nothin’ But Sand beach cleanup on Saturday, October 21, 2023!

Come celebrate the history of LA and its people with Heal the Bay as our Outreach team takes time to recognize the contributions of local Latino ocean and water conservation activists. Stop by our Education Table to learn about Latino Angelenos who have made massive impacts in environmental stewardship, coastal culture, and environmental justice.

We hope to "SEA" you on the sand for an awesome autumn beach cleanup, RAFFLE PRIZES, and more! We'll provide the supplies and environmental educators (look for our big blue tents near Tower 42). All you need to bring is your reusable water bottle, a light jacket, and some friends!

For more info, Click Here

Find out about more upcoming local events, Click Here for the Event Calendar.

Lowriders cruising Ocean Ave and Barnard Way along the beach in Santa Monica.

Just a random afternoon in Santa Monica's Palisades Park, where one man is passed out on the bus stop curb, another man is yelling obscenities to everyone, and police remove a homeless woman's trash.

A skate session on an inflatable mini half-pipe is set up at Santa Monica Beach.

Around 2:00PM on Monday afternoon, a man climbed up the Santa Monica Pier Ferris Wheel with a backpack on. People riding the ferris wheel reported hearing him say he had a bomb and that he had only 4 hours left to live.


Photo: Debbie Saag

Santa Monica Police and Frie Department arrived and evacuated all individuals on the ferris wheel. And closed down the Pac Park section of the pier.


Photo: YouDontOwnMe28

The Negotiations Team was able to convince the man to come down and they SMPD took him onto custody. No bomb or incendiary device was located.

As the suspect was place into the partol vehicle, he was heard saying the news media is making up lies about him being on drugs. He was taken to a local hospital for evluation.

The pier and all the rides reopened right away.

More details and all the videos will be up soon....

The culmination of the 2023 WSL Longboard Tour ended in World Title glory for Soleil Errico and Kai Sallas at the Original Sprout Malibu Longboard Championships Presented by Tractor Beverage Co. Errico surged from the No. 2 rank atop the podium to claim back-to-back World Titles at home, her career-third, in Malibu over rising star Kelis Kaleopa’a in a Title Match sweep. This marks Sallas’ maiden World Title after an all-out battle with fellow Waikiki competitor Kaniela Stewart that went down to the final minutes of their third Title Match to finish the season in all-time dramatics.

Malibu is the most iconic and revered break in all of longboard surfing. Housed in history, it’s the perfect spot to host the deciding event on tour - the Original Sprout Malibu Longboard Championships pres by Tractor Beverage Co. With the title on the line, the top eight men and eight women descend on First Point for a one-day battle to decide the 2023 Longboard World Champions.

For more on this event. Click Here