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!
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.
Everyone needs a little structural work done after a hundred years or so, and we are so grateful that John S. Meek Company, Inc. was here to give the Santa Monica Pier a thorough nip ‘n tuck. The skilled folks at Meek also used their expertise to keep the water flowing to our tanks at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium during the 14-month project and ultimately helped relocate the Aquarium’s pumping station to a new and improved location at the west end of the Pier. Meek’s crew was amazing to work with, and coupled with support from the city of Santa Monica’s engineering department and the Office of Pier Management, the Aquarium’s animals continued to thrive throughout the project.
Kudos to Grammy Award-nominated musician, surfer and environmental champion Jack Johnson for helping us fight Big Oil in Hermosa Beach. Through his Johnson Ohana Charitable Foundation, Jack has agreed to match donations we receive to preserve Hermosa Beach’s moratorium on oil drilling. E&B Natural Resources has launched a campaign to authorize a slant drilling operation in the middle of Hermosa Beach that includes the establishment of 30 oil wells to extract up to 8,000 barrels of oil each day from beneath the ocean floor. We are so grateful to Jack for helping us fight the proposal to allow drilling in the South Bay.
Heal the Bay’s Key to the Sea program teaches elementary school students and their teachers about the hazards of oil spills and other environmental dangers to marine life. Special thanks to Santa Monica Seafood for renewing their support of this important program!
Heal the Bay’s Santa Monica Pier Aquarium still has a few spaces left in Science Adventures Camp for kids entering kindergarten through fourth grade. Here, Amanda Jones, our Aquarium Camp Manager, adapts a favorite camp song to explain:
Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh!
Greetings from Camp, by the water
Having so much fun, by the pier
Discovering creatures from deep and seashore near
Open Ocean and Rocky Shore
Are two habitats we’ll explore
Sea cucumbers are full of goo
They’ll teach us about sharks, fishes and big whales too
Plastic bottles and pollution
Not the smartest evolution
Kids empowered will save the day
Marine habitats are cleaner, thanks to Heal the Bay!
Camps are weeklong or just one day
This gives you parents time to play
Arts and crafts, instruction, too
Teachers Jake and Amanda wait for you!
Sign up right now, or you’ll miss out
If this happens, your kids will pout
It is simple, sign up online
We promise their experience will be sublime!
(with thanks to Amilcare Ponchielli and Allan Sherman)
Register today! Or call (310) 393-6149, ext. 103, for more information.
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.
Heal the Bay couldn’t have produced last Saturday’s amazing Nick Gabaldon Day without the support, generosity and guidance of a number of co-presenters and community partners. First and foremost, we thank the Black Surfers Collective for providing their inspiring vision and on-the-ground organizing skills in co-producing the event. And if it wasn’t for the Surf Bus Foundation, we wouldn’t have witnessed the birth of the next generation of groms!
We’re also grateful to LA County Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Zev Yaroslavsky for making the event possible; the Santa Monica Conservancy and the Santa Monica Co-Opportunity for their contributions; and LA County Lifeguards for ensuring the safety of all surfers.
We stayed warm, nourished and expertly outfitted with donations from Clif Bar, the Association of Surfing Professionals and Body Glove.
Thanks to all, and be sure to check out the event’s Facebook photo album here!
Extra special thanks to Main Street Santa Monica and the Main Street Business Improvement Association for donating a portion of proceeds from Summer SOULstice 2014 to Heal the Bay. Be sure to cruise Main Street this Saturday, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., for sidewalk sales, live music and more!
Programs director Meredith McCarthy says the shared history of L.A.’s beaches isn’t always black and white.
“History is messy.” That’s what local historian Alison Rose Jefferson told me when we started planning a day to honor Nick Gabaldón. By designating a day to commemorate Nick, we celebrate our shorelines and also recognize the struggle for equality of beach access. In the post-WWII years, Nick became the first documented surfer of color in the Santa Monica Bay. With our partners the Black Surfers Collective and SurfBus, we are again celebrating his passion and legacy on Saturday, June 14, at Bay Street beach in Santa Monica.
In honor of Nick, we are offering free surf lessons and beach exploration with Heal the Bay naturalists and docents from the Santa Monica Conservancy. In the afternoon, there will be free admission to our Aquarium at the Santa Monica Pier. No cleanups, just fun – especially for children visiting from underserved inland communities, many of whom have never even seen the ocean, let alone surfed it. We want people to understand how special Nick Gabaldón was and the incredible backstory of Bay Street.
Referred to by many whites as “the Inkwell,” Bay Street beach was a safe haven for local African American beachgoers during a time of de facto segregation. I told Alison I didn’t feel right mentioning “the Inkwell” on the flyer announcing Nick Gabaldón Day. “People need to know their history,” she said, and spoke of the importance of remembering places with ugly names—especially as our society continues to grapple with issues surrounding race and ethnicity.
As a young man of African American and Mexican American descent, Nick faced many challenges learning to surf in Jim Crow America, but none of them stopped him from getting into the water. Since he didn’t have access to a car for many years—and you just didn’t see a black man carrying a surfboard on a bus to Malibu in 1949—Nick would sometimes paddle the 12 miles to his favorite spot in the lineup at Surfrider. His grueling trek forces us to recognize how far we’ve come on our shorelines—and how far asea we were when we started. (Tragically, Nick died surfing the Malibu breaks he loved in 1951.)
After watching a documentary about Nick’s life called “12 Miles North: The Nick Gabaldón Story,” I was ready to jump on a board and join the paddle-out for Nick at our inaugural event last year. There was just one problem, though. I can’t surf. I am terrible at it. But by helping to organize Nick Gabaldón Day, I hope I’m doing my part to link people together in a meaningful way.
It’s time to face the messiness of our shared past and address the fact that 70% of African Americans can’t swim. I want to undo all that fear and ignorance that promulgates the misperception that the beach isn’t for everyone. The beach belongs to all of us, and I face the guilt and the ignorance with hope in my heart.
Please join us on June 14 to paddle out for Nick. Or, you can join me on the beach, where I’ll be standing and cheering.
Paddles up! Big thanks to the Santa Monica Pier Paddleboard Race and Ocean Festival for bequeathing Heal the Bay and our Santa Monica Pier Aquarium with a portion of the net proceeds from the event! And don’t worry — it’s not too late to register for the race this Saturday!
And deeply soulful thanks are due to the Main Street Santa Monica Summer SOULstice festival, coming up on June 22. Live music, sidewalk sales, food and incredible shopping discounts all month long are at the heart of this citywide shindig. Best of all, a portion of event revenues will support our work at Heal the Bay! One love.
Last but not least: Where would we be without Rubio’s. Hungry and bagless, that’s where. From catering our events to donating thousands of reusable bags in honor of this Sunday’s World Oceans Day, our favorite fish taqueria is truly deserving of our kudos.
Our Santa Monica Pier Aquarium this month has unveiled a very special exhibit: the endangered tidewater goby. We are only one of two aquaria where the public can see this special local species. Aquarium Operations Manager Jose Bacallao writes about his relationship with this unique little fish — and a friend dedicating his life’s work to its survival.
About 10 years ago a young man applied for an aquarist internship position at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium. This guy spent his teenage years playing baseball and racing, wrecking cars and trucks. He had recently enrolled in a local college, knowing that he wanted to work in the ocean, within the ecology of our Bay, but unsure where to start.
He started working for me at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium feeding animals, cleaning tanks and learning about local sea life. I took him on and quickly learned that this kid was great – really hard working, funny and hungry, really hungry, for knowledge.
He quickly became a special part of our Aquarium family so we hired him to help with our programs and made him part of the staff. Before long he was off to San Diego to finish his bachelor degree and then he started working as professional aquarist at the Birch Aquarium. From there he went on to work and receive his graduate degree from Cal State Northridge and today he has begun working on his doctorate at UCLA.
This story was supposed to be about the tidewater goby – and it is, but it’s more because the story of the new tidewater goby exhibit is tied to Brenton Spies. Brenton is very lucky to be one of the few people on this planet to work with the tidewater goby. I am very proud of this man and the work he is doing. Long gone are the days of wrecking racecars. Now he spends his time mucking through the marshes and lagoons of California, studying and protecting the tidewater goby.
The tidewater goby, Eucyclogobius newberryi, is a federally endangered species. It is a tiny bottom-dwelling fish that lives in marshes and lagoons, in the creeks and estuaries of California. It feeds mainly on super tiny animals, like mysid shrimp, amphipods and aquatic insect larvae — baby bugs. This goby is an important source of food to many shore birds, the southern steelhead and the ever important California halibut. It is an important player in the complex food web of our estuaries and it is endangered. They are pretty cute, measuring about two inches long. But they are pretty tough.
Tidewater gobies have been found in extreme water salinities ranging from 0-42 ppt. They can also deal with huge temperature changes from the “burrrr…. I’m turning blue” 46F to the “meet me at the poolside lounge” of 87F. They even survive in natural pools with super low oxygen levels! Yet, as mighty as these tiny fish are, they cannot survive the intense pressures and impacts of the human species. The tidewater goby has been severely impacted as a result of coastal development, the degradation of its habitat and the alteration of naturally occurring water flows.
As for Brenton Spies, I am thrilled to be working with him again. With the support of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium has the pleasure of exhibiting the tidewater goby. I hope that over the next few years this partnership will flourish, and that the work of Brenton and Heal the Bay will support public education about this special little fish and increased restoration for its habitats. I invite you to all come visit and be sure to see the gobies in the Dorothy Green Room.
Heal the Bay’s annual Beach Report Card and River Report Card grade breakdown includes a full year of water quality data across California beaches and LA’s river recreation spots, so you can better understand the pollution trends shaping the places you swim, surf, and visit most.