Heal the Bay Blog

Our friends at Upwell have created this handy-dandy TV guide for Shark Week programs. We encourage you to binge on as much toothy TV as you can stomach this week — while being mindful that some shows are purely sensational. Let us know what you think: Leave comments about what you watched on our Facebook page!

When your eyes are too glazed over to take any more, head down to our Santa Monica Pier Aquarium next Sunday for some in-the-flesh shark-tivities!

Heal the Bay is grateful!

We’d like to thank Xceed Financial for encouraging those who join their credit union family to also become Heal the Bay members. One of the requirements to join this financial institution is to be a member of one of a select list of nonprofit organizations, including Heal the Bay. New customers of Xceed have donated many thousands of dollars toward clean waters in 2014.

And a shout-out to Michael Ernstoff, who donated his recent windfall to Heal the Bay on behalf of windsurfers who appreciate our efforts toward a clean and healthy ocean. A film studio paid Ernstoff for the use of his property for their next movie, Ernstoff explained. “(The money) is being passed on to Heal the Bay on behalf of the many windsurfers, like myself, that are thankful for Heal the Bay’s efforts to clean up coastal waters,“ he said.

 “Changing people’s lives, one bathroom at a time,” is One Week Bath’s motto, but in the case of their marathon week at our Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, the Van Nuys company is making three times the difference – and still all in one week! Matt Plaskoff – who’s been surfing the Santa Monica breaks his whole life  – wanted his 2,000th bathroom remodel to be a free remodel and a special commemorative project that would have a big impact.

“I grew up in the area, went to Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica College, raised my kids on the Bay, and I surf – the health of the Santa Monica Bay is something I am very passionate about,” said Plaskoff. “Knowing that these bathrooms are going to serve millions of kids that come to the Aquarium to learn about marine biology makes this one of the most meaningful projects in my career.”

The Aquarium staff is ecstatic to have two gorgeous new bathrooms for its visitors – and a remodeled staff bathroom as well.  Thanks to One Week Bath, its workers who donated time after hours to complete construction without disrupting Aquarium operations, and to the following companies that donated the materials for the project: Daltile, Ferguson, Kohler, BY Marble, Wellborn, Dunn Edwards and Home Depot.

Great news from Sacramento: Gov. Jerry Brown just signed AB 2403 into law, making it easier for public agencies in California to fund and build projects that capture and reuse stormwater and urban runoff.

Recognizing that stormwater has become a valuable source of heightened local water supply, AB 2403 formally clarifies the definition of “water” under 218 to include urban runoff and all other potential sources of water.

Written by Assemblymember Anthony Rendon, the new law enables public agencies to more easily secure funding for multi-benefit projects that capture and infiltrate stormwater for use in recharging groundwater supplies. In the past, agencies would have to take a stormwater fee measure to voters, and secure at least two-thirds approval from the general electorate – a high bar to meet. Under the streamlined process in AB 2403, 50% of landowners would have to protest to prevent an agency from imposing a fee.

Heal the Bay played the lead role in shepherding AB 2403 through the Capitol: “After years of working on this issue, we are gratified to see the state treating stormwater as a resource rather than a nuisance,” said Kirsten James, Heal the Bay’s science and policy director for water quality. “We now look forward to working with progressive agencies to implement smart, green infrastructure both here in Los Angeles and statewide.”

Urbanized areas of California have the potential to harness nearly half-a-million acre feet of water via stormwater capture each year, according to a recent study by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Pacific Institute. That’s enough to meet all the water needs of 1 million families for an entire year.

Beyond making it easier to increase local water supplies, AB 2403 will enable agencies to greatly reduce the amount of pollution funneled onto California shorelines each year. Urban runoff remains the No. 1 source of pollution in our oceans and beaches statewide. For example, a single typical day of rainfall spews an estimated 10 billion gallons of runoff into Santa Monica Bay, untreated and unchecked. That’s the equivalent of roughly 100 Rose Bowl stadiums’ worth of dirty water.

Advocates also note that investing in green infrastructure will stimulate the economy and create jobs. At least 120,000 new jobs would be created in the state of California if public investment in stormwater management programs reached levels recommended by the EPA, according to a recent study by Green For All.

As the largest consumer cooperative in the country, REI walks the talk–or hikes the hike, as it were. Champions of environmental stewardship and outdoor education, they donate millions of dollars and volunteer hours each year to support the vital work of nonprofits like Heal the Bay. Check out their unique GeoStories site for a multimedia peek into the environmental causes they support around the country.

Our Stream Team program has been the lucky beneficiary of REI’s generosity for years. Without REI’s support, we wouldn’t be able to accomplish our critical Malibu Creek water quality monitoring and habitat restoration efforts.

Heal the Bay believes in curious, conscious, continual exploration and preservation of our aquatic environment, and REI embodies those values.

Thanks, REI, for helping us heal the Bay!

Corporate Healer cleanups in recent weeks chalked up some impressive numbers: collectively, employees of these civic-minded corporations amassed more than 300 pounds of trash and more than 3,000 cigarette butts!  Thanks so much to the following ten Corporate Healers: AOL, Shopzilla, Avery Dennison, Symantec, Lionsgate Entertainment, Horizon Media, Salesforce, Ares Management, Disney VoluntEARS and Performics.

Thanks also to the Santa Monica Rotary Foundation for supporting our Santa Monica Pier Aquarium and we’re grateful that Safeway Foundation is once again committed to helping with Coastal Cleanup Day.  And last but not least, we thank the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for their generous support of our Sustainable Fisheries work.