Latest News


Nick Gabaldón Day will take place on Saturday, October 9, 2021.

Nick Gabaldón (1927-1951) was a pioneering surfer of African American and Mexican American descent. He was the first documented surfer of color in the Santa Monica Bay. Gabaldón’s passion, athleticism, discipline, love, and respect for the ocean live on as the quintessential qualities of the California surfer.

In 2013, with the help of African American historian Alison Rose Jefferson, Heal the Bay joined forces with the Black Surfers Collective to amplify and expand their prior Nick Gabaldón efforts. Nick Gabaldón Day, in its current form, is now in its 9th year and will be held on October 9, 2021. This innovative celebration provides an amazing opportunity for broadening outreach, action, and education to connect Angelenos with their cultural, historical, and natural heritage.

The shoreline and waters at Bay Street in Santa Monica were an active hub of African American beach life during the Jim Crow era. This beach was popular from the 1900s to early 1960s among African American people, who sought to avoid hostile and racial discrimination they might experience at other southland beaches. Racial discrimination and restrictive covenants prevented African Americans from buying property throughout the Los Angeles region, but their community’s presence and agency sustained their oceanfront usage in Santa Monica.

In 2008, the City of Santa Monica officially recognized the “Inkwell” and Nick Gabaldón with a landmark monument at Bay Street and the Oceanfront Walk. In 2019, this same beach was listed as the Bay Street Beach Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places for its significance in the African American experience and American history.

Nick Gabaldón Day introduces young and old from inland communities to the magic of the coast through free surf and ocean safety lessons, beach ecology exploration, and a history lesson about a man who followed his passion and a community who challenged anti-Black discrimination to enjoy the beach.

The Black Surfers Collective, Heal the Bay, Surf Bus Foundation, and the Santa Monica Conservancy collaborate for Nick Gabaldón Day to reach families in resource-challenged communities and connect them to meaningful educational programming. Together, we are helping build personal experiences with cultural, historical, natural heritage, and civic engagement that make up the foundation of stewardship, and the development of the next generation of heritage conservation and environmental leaders.

For more info, Click Here.


Boarding For Breast Cancer is thrilled to announce the 14th Annual Skate The Coast October 23 + 24, 2021 in Los Angeles, CA.

Skate the Coast is a 19 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.

B4BC welcomes anyone on wheels of all ages and abilities to join this push for prevention as we raise funds for B4BC's education, prevention and survivorship programs. Please help us reach our $50K goal by registering today! Registration includes an event tee shirt, goodie bag and prizes for top fundraisers!

Skate-bike-roll 19 miles from the Santa Monica Pier to Dive N Surf in Redondo Beach with B4BC and friends! This is a collective push for prevention with three hydration stops along the way. The morning will start at Veteran's Park in Redondo Beach where we'll load the shuttles to the Santa Monica Pier. From there we'll cruise down the coast to Arbor Venice, Marina Del Rey, Dockweiler State Beach, Hermosa Beach and finishing off at Dive N Surf for awards and celebrations.

For more info and to register, Click Here


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

"After Labor Day weekend, the beach is really slow. I just wanted to see if there’s anything going on on the boardwalk in Venice Beach during the week. There’s really nothing going on, business wise or visitors wise, It feels like the beach is dead, no business at all. Hopefully, soon it will change since Joe Biden lifted the travel band from Europe in November. One more good news, the fishing pier in Venice has finally opened."

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


From Santa Monica Close Up:

"Construction workers replace wooden boards and support beams on the Santa Monica Pier deck, Monday, September 27, 2021."

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


"Girls love to have fun!! Especially surfing at Malibu, California!! Plus, I could not get over how our boards were Skittles vibes!!" - Tina Cohen.


Video by Jason Flaster.


Haley Isaak goes to the Malibu Skatepark for a skatepark review and tour. "This park has it all, from tiny rails to tiny bowls to tiny hips! Sensing a theme yet?"


Friday afternoon in Marina Del Rey.

Photo by @vegteri


Santa Monica Police Department detectives continue to actively investigate an early Wednesday morning shooting that left one person hospitalized and suspects outstanding.

At approximately 3:00 am the Santa Monica Public Safety Dispatch Center received multiple phone calls regarding shots fired in the area of Ocean and Pacific. A subsequent call was received from a male stating he had been shot in the face during a possible carjacking. The victim stated he was asleep in his car when two possible suspects approached his vehicle. The suspects demanded the victim provide the keys to the vehicle, abruptly shot him, and possibly fled in an unknown vehicle and unknown direction at a high rate of speed.

The victim was located by SMPD and transported to a local area hospital where he is recovering and in stable condition.

Santa Monica Police Department personnel continue to gather evidence related to the incident. Anyone with possible video footage or any additional information is encouraged to contact Detective Nicole Murphy with the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) at (310) 458-8941, Nicole.Murphy@santamonica.gov; or the Watch Commander’s office at (310) 458-2249