Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Thank Goodness For "Heal The Bay"!...

"Heal The Bay" volunteers cleaning up #beachtrash

Dateline: Saturday morning, October 15, 2016. From its gathering point at Rose Ave., HEAL THE BAY (HTB) and its army of volunteers spread across the sand from the back of the beach to the waterline picking up #beachtrash left behind by the public...  The photos and videos below were shot from lifeguard tower #28 near the Venice border with Santa Monica.... where some of the volunteers continued their efforts to collect and dispose of the #beachtrash.  This is very much needed in Santa Monica, esp. adjacent to the Santa Monica Pier where the City of Santa Monica does not hand pick the #beach trash along the water line to the berm, in spite of a statement to the contrary by a spokesperson for the City of Santa Monica this past August 19, 2016 in the newspaper, Santa Monica Mirror.

x-ref:  http://www.smmirror.com/articles/News/Trash-Talk/45915

Excerpt:

"Why then the trash lining the shore?

“We can only go to the high tide line with the large equipment that picks up the bulk of trash on the beach,” (Constance) Farrell explained. “State law restricts equipment near the water line to protect microorganisms. Our team hand picks trash near the water’s edge, but it’s constant work.”"
(emphasis added).

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Comment:  The fact is that the City of Santa Monica is not hand picking up the trash near the water’s edge.  This is just not happening!  The misrepresentation to the contrary adds an additional layer of culpability to the neglect itself, in my opinion.

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In any case, Many Thanks to HTB and its army of volunteers for all their efforts in collecting and disposing of #beachtrash this past Saturday in Venice, as well as a portion of Santa Monica.

The Photos And Videos:

Below, the large group of volunteers can be seen in the two immediate photos below gathering at Rose Ave. at the back of the beach...

According to Heal The Bay, in a statement today, Oct. 18, 2016: "Shout out to the 1100 volunteers who joined us in Venice last Saturday. Together we picked up 187 pounds of trash off of the beach!"




*** Video Alert !





Below, #beachtrash I collected in less than 5 minutes between Santa Monica Lifeguard Tower #28 and #27... and later picked up by HTB volunteers as they swept the beach in their efforts that began at Rose Ave. in Venice...



*** Video Alert ! ***

Video #2: Heal the Bay Beach Clean Up, Sat., 10.15.2016

      https://youtu.be/-NePDvvijYw








*** Video Alert ! ***

Video #3: Heal the Bay Beach Clean Up, Sat., 10.15.2016

     https://youtu.be/Ei5OyFz3NLs

I urge anyone who lives or works in Santa Monica to visit the beach adjacent to the Santa Monica Pier and walk along the water line and observe all the #beachtrash from the water line to the high tide line and you will be shocked at all of the #beachtrash which does not get collected and/or otherwise disposed of by the City of Santa Monica.  Additionally, please note our numerous prior blog posts (on this blog) featuring photos and videos of this ongoing neglect by the City of Santa Monica.

Because of organizations like HEAL THE BAY there is a partial solution to this ongoing effort to keep our beaches clean. Unfortunately, the efforts of HTB are not enough when there is civic neglect of an essential municipal obligation to the beach going public, as is the case in the City of Santa Monica. It is also both remarkable and astonishing that the City of Santa Monica does not recognize this ongoing and known neglect as a potential liability risk.

Respectfully submitted,

William Maguire,
Santa Monica, Calif.

(All photos and videos by & Copyright William Maguire 2016.)

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