Dateline: Thursday, July 13, 2017 at and after 11 a.m. along Santa Monica State Beach between the Santa Monica Pier and Ocean Park at lifeguard tower #28 and back to the pier... where I observed a great deal of #beachtrash and plant debris, etc. near the water's edge that "obviously" had not been hand picked up by the City of Santa Monica today.
This in spite of the City's repeated public statements that its staff does hand pick up #beachtrash EVERY DAY, as recently as last month (June 17, 2017) when its Mayor so stated.
excerpt: City of Santa Monica Mayor Ted Winterer stated, and I quote:
“The City of Santa Monica has a dedicated beach maintenance team that uses specialized equipment and handpicking to keep the beaches clean every day.” (emphasis added).
The truth of the matter is that the City of Santa Monica does NOT hand pick up #beachtrash, plant debris, etc. near the water's edge on a daily basis or EVERY DAY.
And to make matters worse, the failure to daily hand pick up #beachtrash during the summer places children at special risk of injury and harm! That Folks is what you get for your tax dollars and beach parking fees in the City of Santa Monica.
Below are the photos I took today which obviously show that the City did not hand pick up #beachtrash near the water's edge along the shoreline south of the Santa Monica Pier to Ocean Park, including plastic bottles, aluminum cans, sharp bamboo shafts, etc... and even a dead bird.
Below, SMPD "Eye In The Sky" set up near the bike path south of the Santa Monica Pier in preparation for the Summer Thursday Nite concert series...
#Beachtrash below just south of the Santa Monica Pier, namely, two empty plastic bottles near the shoreline... uncollected and not disposed of by the City of Santa Monica...
Prop shot, below: I set this empty plastic cup from Starbucks up with the name "Miguel" on it. Maybe Miguel should learn to throw his trash away... just sayin'...
Why can't the City of Santa Monica find the time to have at least ONE PERSON stop and pick up this plant debris below that a child could step on and cause an injury.
Below, two empty cans of beer right in front of Hotel Casa Del Mar... here are your City Hotel Taxes and Beach Parking Lot Fees at work, Folks!... You've just paid nearly $10 to park at the beach parking lot and you walk out to the shoreline and set up your beach kit and you get to enjoy... sitting next to #beachtrash that could have easily been hand picked up by the City of Santa Monica if it wasn't so incredibly incompetent and uncaring.
Welcome to Santa Monica State Beach!...
Graffiti on the lifeguard tower at Bay St. (Tower #20) is an obvious indication of gang activity here at night, which the City is well aware of, and yet despite this knowledge the City cannot seem to be able to clean the beach up by hand picking up #beachtrash near the water's edge in this area each and every morning, though the City claims that they do so.
I almost stepped on this partially buried sharp stick of bamboo, below, near the water's edge...
Below, just one of the five (5) kids summer day camps that I counted today between the Pier and Ocean Park... In spite of the fact that each of these groups has paid for a permit from the City of Santa Monica to use the beach, the City still does NOT daily hand pick up #beachtrash, plant debris, etc. near the water's edge. This continuing failure to diligently hand pick up #beachtrash, etc. on a daily basis puts children especially at risk of injury. Should a child be injured due to this continuing failure, it will be an obvious case of liability for the City, in my opinion. Too bad City Hall doesn't seem to get this!... or it is a risk that the City doesn't care to address and resolve.
Below: What a beautiful and wonderful natural resource is this public beach! Too bad the City of Santa Monica does not care to make it clean and safe for the beach going public on a daily basis near the water's edge. The City seems to only be able to devote its substantial resources to using its so-called specialized (mechanical) equipment, namely, a tractor that pulls a rake. This method of #beachtrash collection, however, is not used below the tide line by the City. Thus, there remains this area between the water's edge and the mean high tide line that is not hand picked by the City of Santa Monica on a daily basis, in spite of the City's misrepresentations to the contrary.
Below: Trust me this is not the last straw... though it ought to be in terms of the State of California, let alone City Hall, responsibly addressing this issue and demanding and enforcing that the #beachtrash, plant debris, dead birds, etc. be DAILY hand picked and disposed of near the water's edge all along Santa Monica State Beach.
And it wouldn't be Santa Monica State Beach if there wasn't the remains of a dead bird near the water's edge uncollected by the City of Santa Monica... and RIGHT NEXT TO THE WORLD FAMOUS SANTA MONICA PIER!...
Close up...
How many more days must go by before the State of California acts to require and directly supervises the City to DAILY hand pick up #beachtrash, plant debris, dead birds, etc. near the water's edge?
In the meantime, public health and safety remain at risk.
Respectfully submitted,
William Maguire,
Concerned citizen,
Attorney at law,
and business owner in the City of Santa Monica
(All photos by & Copyright William Maguire 2017.)
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