Egypt, Sand Hills and Peggotty beaches in Scituate have reopened for swimming after being closed on Thursday by high bacteria counts.

Follow-up testing done Thursday on water samples showed almost no contamination atEgypt and Sand Hills. The bacteria level at Peggotty Beach was elevated but within acceptable limits, and the water was not retested.

The other 62 salt-water beaches on the South Shore are open.

See water quality test results for each community and for Cape Cod, the South Coast and North Shore.

For more on Quincy beaches, call 617-376-1288, or visit tpl-beaches. For more on Wollaston Beach, call 617-626-4972.

HOW BEACHES ARE TESTED

Sixy-five beaches on the South Shore are tested for intestinal bacteria found in humans and animals.

High levels indicate the possible presence of disease-causing microbes that are present in sewage but are more difficult to detect. Bacterial colonies are filtered from three ounces of water and placed on a gel infused with nutrients and chemicals designed to promote growth.

Left in an incubator, the single cells isolated on the filter grow explosively, forming colonies visible to the naked eye. After one day, the colonies are counted and if they exceed 104 colonies, the beach is closed to swimming.

If the past five samples have a mean exceeding 35 colonies, the beach must also be closed to swimming.

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All South Shore beaches open - Wicked Local Hingham

In the last few years Ive been noticing more people with their gear, Ms. Rosenberg said. She was originally looking to make a comparison between beach-spreading maximalists and just-a-towel-and-a-book minimalists. But the maximalists just won over, she said. Because thats all there really is in New Jersey. Its the maximalists.

It has become such a scourge that towns are now taking steps to rein in the expansive behavior. This year, Seaside Heights imposed limits on cooler and tent sizes and banned serving trays, warming trays, pots, pans, and other food preparation devices. Belmar has introduced legislation to ban tents. Manasquan already has similar rules, but added a ban on balls.

Its to the point that it looks like tailgating at MetLife stadium, Matt Doherty, the Belmar mayor, said. And I love tailgating at MetLife stadium, I really do. Its just not what were looking for on the beach.

On just about any given sunny weekend or weekday, evidence of the contagion is rampant.

With a tall, black pop-up cabana and the nasally vocals of Omis Cheerleader wafting across the beach, Andrea Julius and her friends from Philadelphia spread out toward the back of Jenkinsons beach here to celebrate her 29th birthday.

We like to be secluded but still connected to everyone, and this tent does it, she said, while two friends volleyed a beach ball nearby.

They were, of course, there on a Tuesday, and the surrounding space allowed them some courtesy.

Were respectful back here, Ms. Julius said. All they have to do is tell us, and well turn it down or take it down.

On the weekends the situation can get thornier.

Farther down the beach from the Weal spread, Rob Trumbo, 31, and Jessica Helfrich, 31, opted for foldable beach chairs, even though they usually bring along an umbrella, which wasnt really necessary since the sun was hidden behind clouds.

In front of them, the Roman family from Fair Lawn gathered under a navy cabana, hanging towels from the canopy as a way to maximize shade while drying the towels. The weight of small ice coolers tied with short pieces of rope to the legs of the tent added stability.

Ms. Helfrich, a medical coder from Scranton, Pa., said that families with canopies should consider setting up toward the back of beaches.

Susan Roman, 55, said she and her husband, Robert Roman, 61, had arrived early to claim a clear view of the beach, right behind a sand berm.

We stay in the back if its too crowded, Ms. Roman said.

While beach gear is often readily attainable at boardwalk shops, sometimes a simple cabana wont do.

We had a guy last year bring in a coffin, said Mayor Anthony Vaz of Seaside Heights. Im not lying, a wooden coffin with his food and his drinks and so forth. And we said, No we cant have that.

But where theres a will, theres a way to spread.

The Kiernan family, which had gone to Seaside Heights on a Tuesday, carried a tie-dyed surfboard with the word Peace scrawled across it. But tucked underneath were some table legs, and the board quickly became a table for a rousing game of cards.

In Belmar, Bobbie Sue Hoffman, 47, who had gone there for the day from Levittown, Pa., carried a tent that looked more like an umbrella when it was folded. She often checks to make sure shes not blocking anybodys view, but having arrived early on a Tuesday, beach locations were hers for the choosing.

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Reining In Beach-Spreading, Not to Be Confused With Manspreading - New York Times

Police chiefs from Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach are already planning ahead for next years July 4 festivities at the beach, and said that this years unique challenges have shaped future security and traffic control.

During last Wednesdays Beaches Watch meeting, chiefs from all three coastal cities reported average or less than average arrests during the holiday. Neptune Beach Police Chief Richard Pike said that officers only made two arrests, and Jacksonville Police Chief Pat Dooley said officers made 15 arrests on the holiday and 34 arrests over the July 4 weekend. He said thats an average number of arrests for a weekend in Jacksonville Beach.

The murder of 23-year-old Glen McNeil Jr. near the Seawalk Pavilion parking lot late July 4 have prompted the Jacksonville Beach Police Department to update the entire surveillance camera system in the downtown area. Dooley said the department has been in the process of updating the camera system for months.

Another challenge for Jacksonville Beach was closing the beach around the pier for fireworks. Due to Hurricane Matthew shortening the pier, the department had to close the area of the beach around the pier for visitors safety. The department also used smaller firework shells due to how much closer the fireworks would be to downtown businesses.

Both Jacksonville Beach and Neptune Beach recruited the help of the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office for traffic control and to assist in controlling the increased crowds.

Pike said the Neptune Beach Police Department met with Jacksonville Sheriffs Office Special Events and Homeland security before July 4 to get their feedback on its traffic and patrol plans.

With input from JSO Special Events and Homeland Security, Pike increased the security on First Street by completely closing it off to vehicles, including police vehicles. The department closed the street to parking the year before, and decided to take it one step further this year.

Our first concern is somebody entering First Street either intentionally or unintentionally running into a crowd with a vehicle out of control, said Pike. So we took the steps. We put the barricades up. We had an officer at every intersection. Not only for the safety issue, but to allow the residents in and out and their guests in and out (of the street).

The Sheriffs Office supplied 20 officers to the department at no charge.

Atlantic Beach interim Police Chief Vic Gualillo said the department faced a large increase in pedestrian and bicycle traffic over the holiday, especially on the intersection of Atlantic Boulevard and Third Street. During the day on July 4, he reported that groups of up to 40 bicyclists crossed the street. This caused cars to stop in the middle of the intersection to let them through.

Weve seen it in the last two years where we saw this unusual number of people just cruising on bikes. What we try to do is put officers down there to try to manage the cars at that intersection, said Gualillo. So we try to get the people in vehicles to realize, you know, gee theres a big bunch of bikes coming through we need to stop.

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Beaches police chiefs sound off on July 4 safety - Florida Times-Union

GUAM (Reuters) - With all the saber-rattling of North Korea and the prospect of the waters off Guam becoming a new testing ground for its intermediate-range missiles, the people of this tiny U.S. Pacific territory seem to be taking things in their stride.

There were no signs of panic or an exodus from the island of

163,000 people on Thursday, with its wide roads clogged with commuters and commercial vehicles and shops and restaurants doing brisk trade from South Korean and Japanese tourists drawn to the island's green hills and bright turquoise waters.

Clarissa Baumgartner, a 25-year old Guam resident, said Pyongyang's second threat in as many days to train its ballistic missiles on Guam wasn't something she was taking too seriously.

"I'm not really too worried about it. I feel it would be a pretty stupid idea to do that," she said.

Baumgartner, a supervisor at a high-end clothing store, said she was confident U.S. forces on the island's two bases were ready to intervene, and she bore no grudges about that military presence making Guam a North Korean target.

"Definitely, I know Guam is a pretty good target because it's important to the U.S. because of the military," she said.

"I'm pretty confident that the U.S. will protect us. It makes me feel pretty good."

U.S. forces on the island were not immediately available for comment.

In response to U.S. President Donald Trump's tough rhetoric, North Korea said on Thursday it was finalizing plans to fire four intermediate-range missiles that would land 30-40 km (18-25

miles) from Guam. [L4N1KV6U0]

It was not the first time Guam has been put on notice and similar threats made since 2013 led to the U.S. military permanently deploying a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense

(THAAD) interceptor system on the tiny island.

Guam's international airport was abuzz on Thursday with inbound tourists pushing trolleys loaded with suitcases, some of the 10,000-15,000 visitors on the island on any given day.

Japanese tourists sat outdoors in coffee shops or queued in the sun for ice cream while others perused luxury goods stores or tried on surf shorts and sunglasses.

The main beach front was busy with tourists dozing under trees or on the sun loungers of five-star hotels lined up before a calm sea where people in kayaks collided with swan-shaped pedalos and inflatable hoops.

Zhao Liang, a 35-year-old bank teller from Beijing, said she won't be cutting short her vacation over North Korea's latest missile threats.

"It's just like setting off fireworks because most of their guided missiles just crash midway through flight," she said.

"There's nothing to worry about at all and we'll just go on with our excursion and happily shop around."

Jacob Martinez, 29, a purchasing officer at a high-end hotel, said he was frustrated that Guam, an island smaller than Singapore and about 11,000 km away from the U.S. mainland, might be dragged into a major conflict.

"For me because I'm a father, so it's really concerning, you know, I wish it didn't have to come to that," he said.

"I wish that the superpowers of the world would be able to come out with a different way to fix their problems, you know, instead of having to involve other places that don't even pose a threat."

Governor Eddie Calvo describes his island to those who don't know it as a "mini Hawaii" and puts the chances of a direct missile hit at a million-to-one because of the multi layers of Pacific defences, the last being those on Guam itself.

Having experienced a Japanese invasion in World War Two and countless earthquakes and super-typhoons, there was no United States community better prepared than Guam "for any contingency", Calvo, dressed in a light blue tropical shirt, said in an interview at his office.

"We are concerned about these threats but at the same time we also want to make sure people don't panic and go on with their lives. Enjoy the beaches," he said.

Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan

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'Enjoy the beaches': Resilient Guam shrugs off North Korea threat - Reuters

WATERBURY Lakewood Beach in Waterbury is closed until further notice because of high algae levels, according to the towns mayor, Neil OLeary.

OLeary posted a message about the closure on his Facebook page on Wednesday.

Exposure to high algae levels can pose serious health problems. Symptoms include irritation to skin, nose, eyes and respiratory tract, vomiting or diarrhea, liver or nervous system problems, and the same can also be true for pets.

If you believe youve been exposed to algae, and experience any of these symptoms you are urged to call your doctor.

Connecticuts Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has also reported that 3 additional state park beaches are closed due to high algae levels including Gardner Lake State Park in Salem, Gay City State Park in Hebron, and Kettletown State Park in Southbury.

DEEP said that Indian Well State Park in Shelton is open but warns swimmers of the blue-green algae blooms in the water.

41.575630 -73.015233

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3 state beaches, 1 Waterbury beach closed - FOX 61

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hong Kong stepped up efforts on Wednesday to clean up a massive palm oil spill, with authorities scooping up more than 90 tonnes of foul-smelling, styrofoam-like clumps in one of the worst environmental disasters to blight the territory's waters.

Dead fish, shells, rocks, plastic bottles and other rubbish could still be found coated with globules of palm oil on beaches across the Chinese-controlled territory six days after the spill caused after two vessels collided in the Pearl River estuary.

The government said it had scooped up 93 tonnes of oil waste, most of it congealed, and the amount left floating on the sea surface had fallen significantly.

Stretches of some of Hong Kong's most popular beaches were still smothered with white clumps of jelly-like palm oil on Wednesday and an accompanying sour stench.

The spill has sparked outrage among some residents and environmentalists and comes just a year after mountains of rubbish washed up on Hong Kong's beaches, with labels and packaging indicating most of it had come from mainland China.

The government has closed 13 beaches since Sunday, a day after it said it had been informed of the spill by mainland authorities. The Marine Department confirmed the collision happened on Thursday.

Environmental groups have said the size of the spill could bring severe ecological consequences, although the government said preliminary tests showed few traces of oil in affected areas.

Samantha Lee, conservation manager at the World Wildlife Fund in Hong Kong, said 1,000 tonnes of palm oil spilled into the water after the vessels collided, out of a total of 9,000 tonnes.

Media quoted the Environment Bureau as saying the government was discussing the legal liability for the disaster with the shipping company involved, which it declined to identify.

The impact on the territory's marine life, which includes the endangered Chinese white dolphins - also known as pink dolphins - was not immediately clear.

On Pui O beach on Lantau Island, large stinking clumps of congealed palm oil dotted the shoreline, and a rock formation at one end that children love to climb was coated in the slippery substance.

Scores of workers fanned out to scoop up oil waste, more than 100 black bags of which were piled up early on Wednesday ready to be trucked away.

There was a similar scene on nearby Lamma Island, where authorities and residents have also cleaned up tonnes of oil.

The spill comes at the height of summer, when visitors, campers and holiday makers throng to beaches and outlying islands, especially at weekends.

Hong Kong has sweltered in temperatures of about 33 degrees Celsius (91 Fahrenheit) for more than a week, with little relief expected soon, which some environmentalists fear could worsen the problem by oxidizing the oil.

The possibility of an algae bloom formed by decaying palm oil, which would compete with fish for oxygen, would be a huge threat.

The Environmental Protection Department said it would continue collecting samples from beaches and recommend phased re-opening once the water quality is confirmed safe.

Hong Kong's coastal waters and beaches are often strewn with rubbish from mainland China, where some companies discharge waste into the sea to cut costs, conservationists say.

Additional reporting by Farah Master and Bobby Yip; Editing by Michael Perry and Clarence Fernandez

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Hong Kong cleans up 93 tonnes of palm oil; beaches smothered by spill - Reuters

Blobs of tar have been know to wash up onto our local beaches this time of year and once again it's back.

Bill Churchwell, KIII 11:17 PM. CDT August 09, 2017

CORPUS CHRISTI (KIII NEWS) - Blobs of tar have been know to wash up onto our local beaches this time of year and once again it's back.

The reports are something that has prompted a cleanup response from the U.S. Coast Guard from Corpus Christi along with the Texas General Land Office.

From Port Aransas down to the Padre Island National Seashore, giant globs of tar have been discovered on our local beaches, some as large as 4-5 feet in diameter.

Brent Koza with the Texas General Land Office told 3 News, "over the past two weeks, we've recovered about 1700 gallons of tar. It's old and weathered."

The Texas General Land Office has partnered with the US Coast Guard to patrol our coast line and properly dispose of the patties.

The phenomenon is not something new to our area. Officials say the tar can occur naturally.

Still, samples will also be taken and analyzed to see where it's all coming from.

If you step on it, the gooey tar can stick to your feet or clothing and can prove difficult to get off.

The good news is that the latest tar that has been discovered seems to be more solid. Officials are still advising people to stay clear of it. "As the tar weathers in the environment, it becomes solid. It's not sticky or tacky to the touch, which is usually when you start worrying more about public health and safety and the threat to our wildlife around here."

The funding to support the response efforts will remain open throughout the peak of hurricane season.

2017 KIII-TV

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Tar balls make appearance along Coastal Bend beaches - kiiitv.com

CORPUS CHRISTI -

Due to Hurricane Franklin waves have surged onto the beaches of Padre Island National Seashore up to the dune line.

To protect visitors the beaches at the seashore are closed to beach driving until further notice.

The public will be notified when conditions improve enough to open the beaches once again to driving.

In addition there is a very high danger of rip currents, so swimmers should think twice before going into the water.

Related Stories High tide leads to North Beach flooding Avoid beaches due to higher tide and heavy surf TAMUCC Student uses a high tech tracking device to monitor the red tide

Reading on your phone? Download theKRIS 6 News Mobile App for iOS/iPhone here.And for Android users here!

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Beaches at Padre Island National Seashore are closed to driving until further notice due to super high tides - KRIS Corpus Christi News

HONG KONG Hong Kong has closed more than a dozen beaches after a palm oil spill washed foul-smelling, Styrofoam-like clumps ashore, the latest major environmental disaster to blight the territorys waters.

The Chinese-controlled city closed two more beaches in the south of Hong Kong island on Tuesday, bringing to 13 the total shut since two vessels collided in the Pearl River estuary.

It took two days for mainland Chinese authorities to inform Hong Kong about the collision, the government said. Media said the accident happened on Thursday.

The spill has sparked outrage among some residents and environmentalists and comes just a year after mountains of rubbish washed up on Hong Kongs beaches, with labels and packaging indicating most of it had come from mainland China.

It also comes at the height of summer, when beaches and outlying islands are packed with daytrippers, campers and holiday makers, especially at weekends.

The Hong Kong government said it had collected 50 tonnes of oil so far, most of it congealed, while workers scooped up 110 bags of palm oil waste on one beach alone on the popular Lamma Island.

Conservation group Sea Shepherd said there had not been a spill on this scale in Hong Kong, as the clumps kept spreading. The impact on fish farms, helping to meet huge demand in Cantonese restaurants in the densely populated territory, was not immediately clear.

Environmental groups said that oil has seeped up to four inches (10 cm) deep into Hong Kongs sprawling, sandy beaches making it difficult to clean.

Samantha Lee, conservation manager at the World Wildlife Fund in Hong Kong, said that while palm oil is thought of as non-toxic, it would oxidize under Hong Kongs hot sun and it was not clear how harmful the new substance would become.

Apart from beaches which have been shut, the rest of Hong Kongs verdant shoreline is likely to have been impacted with the feeding capabilities of many sea creatures such as barnacles, crabs and shells affected, Lee said.

The possibility of algae bloom which would compete with fish for oxygen would be a huge threat.

Gary Stokes, a director at Sea Shepherd, said the consumption of palm oil in concentrated forms could be hazardous and said the accident was akin to the severity of a marine disaster in 2012 when hundreds of millions of tiny pellets washed up on beaches following a container spill during a typhoon.

Fish are having a feeding frenzy on the palm oil. We are still waiting to see the results of the impact on them, said Stokes, adding that he observed large clumps of palm oil floating in the middle of fish farms in the former British colony.

Media reported that 1,000 tonnes of palm oil spilled into the water after the vessels collided.

The Environmental Protection Department has collected water samples from affected beaches and said it planned to release its results later in the day.

The government said in a statement that palm oil was non-toxic and harmless, but given the large amount that had washed up on beaches and the fact that the laboratory results were not yet available, the beaches would remain closed.

Hong Kongs coastal waters and beaches are often strewn with rubbish from mainland China, where some companies discharge waste into the sea to save the cost of proper disposal, according to conservationists.

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Hong Kong beaches close over foul palm oil disaster - New York Post

August 8, 2017 A red flag, informing bathers that swimming is not allowed, flies over Tenerife's Las Teresitas beach

Authorities in Spain's Canary Islands kept beaches open to the public Tuesday but warned holidaymakers against touching potentially irritating microalgae blooms that have infested the waters.

The spreading algae, which contain a toxin that can irritate the skin, have produced a greenish brown hue in the waters off some beaches of the hugely popular archipelago near the coast of Africa that attracts millions of visitors every year.

But Jose Juan Aleman, director of public health for the archipelago, told AFP that no beach had "been closed in the Canaries due to the presence of microalgae".

"When microalgae are detected in a bathing zone, swimmers are recommended not to touch them," he said.

On Tuesday a red flag flew on part of Tenerife's Las Teresitas beachmeaning swimming was not allowed.

A yellow flagurging precautionflew on the other section of the beach.

"This morning, we detected a lot of microalgae on the beach and we decided to put up the red flag," a Red Cross lifeguard, who refused to be named, told AFP.

But despite the ban, holidaymakers were still seen swimming.

"We've been giving information all day and blowing the whistle, we get them out of the water and then they just come back," he said.

Others played football on the beach, where traces of the algae and foam could be seen.

The algae are a type of bacteria, trichodesmium erythraeum, also known as sea sawdust, Aleman told AFP on Monday.

"Its proliferation is a natural, temporary phenomenon which is going to disappear" in due course, he added, suggesting global warming was helping the algae spread.

The bacterium "contains a toxin which can lead to skin irritation, dermatitis, hence one must avoid coming into contact with it in the water and on the sand."

Marta Sanson, professor of plant biology at Tenerife's La Laguna university, told AFP that "ideal conditions are allowing proliferation of these microalgae".

Those include "an increase in water temperature" as well as a "dust cloud sweeping in off the Sahara which is rich in iron, a nutrient which micro-organisms like".

Explore further: Algae blooms irk Canaries beachgoers

2017 AFP

Microalgae blooms proliferating in hot weather in Spain's Canary Islands are irritating beachgoers, who should avoid direct contact with them, local authorities said Monday.

A clean-up operation was under way in Hong Kong Monday after a massive palm oil spillage from a ship collision in mainland Chinese waters clogged some of its most popular beaches.

Scientists have long known of the potential of microalgae to aid in the production of biofuels and other valuable chemicals. However, the difficulty and significant cost of growing microalgae have in some ways stalled further ...

Microalgae hold tremendous potential for industrial biotechnology. They are an important resource in the production of food and medications, and in many other applications. In comparison to bacteria and fungi, however, they ...

Southern California waters that draw visitors from around the world are off-limits thanks to a million-gallon sewage spill.

Swimming has been banned along sections of the Italian coastline because of blooms of toxic algae, a report said Tuesday.

A new study by scientists at Portland State University and the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado Boulder has found that the effects of climate change, which are apparent in other parts ...

Brutally windy. Unfathomably cold. Disturbingly isolated.

During the 20th century, the average temperature of the continental United States rose by almost 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.5 degree Celsius)everywhere, that is, except in the Southeast. There, until the 1980s, the temperature ...

Environmental scientists led by the Virginia Tech College of Science have discovered that the burning of coal produces incredibly small particles of a highly unusual form of titanium oxide.

While popular with conservation groups, coastal easements that prevent development in order to protect marshland from changes brought about by climate change and rising sea levels are not favored by property owners, according ...

A summer 'vortex' of cold air over the Karakoram mountain range is causing the glaciers in the region to grow in spite of global warming, scientists have shown.

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Canary Islands keep beaches open despite algae bloom - Phys.Org

MARGATE Several inches of rainwater have collected again in the drainage areas behind a new sand dune, where the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pumped out water last week after a severe storm July 30, residents and city officials said Tuesday.

Mayor Michael Becker was surveying the beach at 8 a.m. Tuesday and reported 4 to 6 inches of standing water on the bulkhead side of the dune from Mondays 1.35-inch rainfall. His observations came about two hours before U.S. District Court Judge Renee Bumb, the same judge who ruled against Margate and homeowners efforts to stop the project, was scheduled to hear arguments in a conference hearing at 10 a.m. in Camden.

They tried to make the argument that the first storm was some type of once-in-a-hundred-year event, said Dan Gottlieb, executive director of Margate Citizens Questioning the Beach Project.

You know, it can rain here sometimes for three days and we dont believe that was a once-in-a-hundred-year storm, so even if they were right ... look what happened here after a very minor rainfall.

Gottlieb was at the Franklin Avenue beach, where water pooled once again behind the recently constructed dune.

City officials have been meeting with the state Department of Environmental Protection in court-ordered closed sessions since last Friday to hammer out an agreement on how to correct the problem that has developed on Margates beach since a sand dune was built at elevation 12.75.

Atlantic County Superior Court Judge Julio Mendez, who also ruled against the city previously, called the ponding horrendous and said it must be corrected. He ordered the parties to meet every day to work out a solution and report back to him Aug. 11.

We cannot divulge the details of those meetings, Commissioner John Amodeo said before Tuesdays session. Whats hard is that we are under a gag order from the judge until we get to a point where everyone is happy. We are negotiating to find a solution.

The meetings, attended by the city, DEP and Army Corps, lasted 2 hours Friday and 1 hours Monday.

They are not long, but its all work, said Amodeo, who is out of town, but attending the meetings via conference call.

Becker said the DEP and Army Corps attended the meeting Friday, but the Army Corps was absent Monday.

I dont know why they werent in attendance, he said.

The Army Corps on Monday petitioned to have the case heard in federal court, Becker said.

Hopefully, Judge Bumb will see things our way, he said.

Whether Margate gets its wish to stop the project until a drainage system can be designed and implemented remains to be seen.

Friday will be the tell-tale when we get before the judge, Amodeo said. We feel we have a good case proving what we said would happen happened. We live there, we know our island, and we know the solutions.

Mendez ordered an eight-day work stoppage at a hearing last Thursday so the parties could meet daily on a solution. They are to report back to him at a hearing at 1:30 p.m. Aug. 11 in his Atlantic City courtroom.

Amodeo said although the project has been halted, Mendez permitted the Army Corps to continue building elevated walkways through the ponding areas from street ends to the dune crossovers, so our beach is fully accessible by the weekend. They will also be permitted to pump out standing water.

Design engineers said any water that collects behind the dune should percolate into the sand within 24 to 36 hours, but that has not happened. Instead, each rainfall left standing water that stagnated and became contaminated, prompting residents to gather atop the dune in protest. They also attended two public hearings held in Margate to express their disgust for the project.{div class=asset-content subscriber-premium}Amodeo said residents who have been quite vocal on social media need to remain calm.

They need to know we are working in their best interest, Amodeo said. I believe we have a rock-solid case against the Army Corps and their design.

Amodeo said the Corps one-size-fits-all dune plan simply will not work in Margate, where the city has a border-to-border bulkhead and where much of its stormwater drains onto the beach.

Meanwhile, in Longport, public officials last week expressed concern that if the project is delayed further in Margate, the hopper dredge would move south and start building the dune in Longport during the height of the summer vacation season.

Mayor Nicholas Russo said he spoke with an Army Corps official Friday who said no decision has been made to move the project along while Margate resolves its drainage problem.

Ventnor or Longport could be receiving sand if things are not resolved in Margate. However, we do not know which one will be first, Russo said.

If the project moves to Longport before the early September timeframe the DEP and Army Corps announced earlier this summer, Russo said, Longport would deal with it.

We got through Memorial Day, then we got through June and July and the first couple of weeks in August. If it comes here, we will be flexible, he said.

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Margate dune ponding returns to beaches - Press of Atlantic City

Myrtle Beach Sun News

Watch out for longshore currents on Grand Strand beaches Myrtle Beach Sun News A beach hazard statement has been issued through this evening for coastal Horry, Georgetown, and Pender County, N.C., and New Hanover County, N.C. due a strong south-to-north longshore current, created by a combination of gusty winds. Longshore ...

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Watch out for longshore currents on Grand Strand beaches - Myrtle Beach Sun News

ATLANTIC CITY The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers started replenishing the beaches in the resort this week, but local business owners say the timing could have been better.

The beach needed it desperately, but do it at a date or time that is the off-season, said Nicholas Dounoulis, owner of the Bungalow Restaurant, Lounge and Beach Bar.

The affected beaches are between Belle-vue and Sovereign avenues.

The replenishment is part of a $63.3 million project to place 3.8 million cubic yards of sand on eight miles of beach on Absecon Island, from Atlantic City to Longport.

Bungalow gets most of its business from the beach bar and Boardwalk, Dounoulis said.

It ruined our weekend. I think it was around 50 percent, 52 percent from what we had last week, he said.

Farther along the beach, where construction was actively taking place Tuesday, the Chelsea Beach Bar was empty. A manager said the outdoor bar is usually packed in the early afternoon.

Were happy with the decision, but the timing is wrong, manager Adam Frost said.

On the Boardwalk, the manager at Eats and Treats at the Ritz said business has been declining every year for the past five or six years, and he doesnt think the beach replenishment will affect his business too much more.

(The beach replenishment) doesnt bother us because it is protecting the city, Omar Farooq said.

The beach replenishment project came as a surprise to visitors.

We knew about Margate and all the problems going on down there, said Ron Chrupcala. We came down to go to the beach, not knowing the fact that coming down here, this is what were facing.

Chrupcala is vacationing from West Chester, Pennsylvania, with his wife, and said they and have not been able to go to the beach because of the replenishment project and Mondays rain.

I just think they should let people know, he said. Its a bad time of the year to be doing this. Were here so were going to make the best of it.

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Atlantic City beach replenishment begins | News | pressofatlanticcity ... - Press of Atlantic City

(Toniann Antonelli, Townsquare Media NJ)

The mayor of Belmar wants you to attend a public meeting on Aug. 15 in order to discuss a proposal to pass a town ordinance banning tents on the beach that are larger than 3 feet high, wide and deep. What? Thats even too small to park a stroller underneath. Why the sudden attack on beach tents?

Several NJ towns have already passed ordinances banning the practice of setting up a large tent on the beach. Mayor Matthew Doherty discussed the need for space, views and safety as reasons for the proposed ban. Waitsafety? He actually said its possible that a lifeguards view could be obstructed thereby endangering a swimmer in distress. Come on mayor, were not that stupid. Are your lifeguards sitting so far back out of the water that a tent would obstruct their views? You need better beach safety training if thats the case. Its disingenuous and a clear scare tactic to push through an ordinance that will only serve to discourage beach goers.

Typical NJ politicians looking to ban things based on a couple complaints from locals. At least thats what it sounds like to me. Heres a better idea if you really have a problem of shoobies and/or Bennies setting up shop with something akin to a Ringling Bros. Big Top. How about set up a specific area toward the beach entrance for tents? Or better yet, charge a tag fee for the privilege of bringing a tent? Why not turn this into a revenue opportunity? Better yet, maybe the mayor should focus on real problems at the shore, like drownings after the life guards go home.

NJ beaches should have beach tags available like ski lift passes. Tags already bring in millions for Jersey shore towns. How about raise the revenue and build local business at the same time; full day, half day, twilight. All doable! Have lifeguards on duty in two shifts, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 2 to 8 p.m. Encourage beachgoers to make a day of it. And you pay for it without raising taxes.

User fees workcharge more for tents. The tents will surely help attract larger groups, families and encourage people to stay longer. Have em stay long enough to outlast the cooler of food so they stop in and grab dinner before the trek back to NYC or Philly. Revenue, shoppers, dinersall great for the local summer shore economy. #SaveTheTents.

Oh and while youre at it, if you really need to ban something, how about beach umbrellas? Have you ever had to chase down someones pointed umbrella flying through the air, kicking up sand and potentially impaling someone? If it saves just one person.

Bill Spadea is on weekdays from 6-10 a.m., talkin Jersey and taking your calls at 1-800-283-1015. Tweet him @NJ1015 or @BillSpadea.

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#SaveTheTents, ban umbrellas instead on NJ beaches - New Jersey 101.5 FM Radio

by Bill Trotter, BDN Staff/WGME

Maine Department of Environmental Protection is working with town officials to place portable toilets along Old Orchard Beach after local residents complained last week about beach-goers relieving themselves outside instead of using public bathrooms. (Troy R. Bennett | BDN)

OLD ORCHARD BEACH (BDN/WGME) -- The state hopes bringing in portable toilets will help clean up Old Orchard beach.

According to the Bangor Daily News, officials are planning to install portable toilets in the town after locals complained that tourists were going the bathroom in the dunes and ocean.

There are public bathrooms centrally located on West Grand Avenue, but the beach stretches more than three miles in either direction.

One woman reports seeing 10 to 15 people a day defecating near her property.

Earlier this week, Town Manager Larry Mead urged people to contact local police if they saw anyone relieving themselves outside.

Keri Kaczor, coordinator for Maine Healthy Beaches, said that people peeing or pooping on beaches is pretty gross, but her group is more concerned with water draining from land into the sea.

Most of Maine Healthy Beaches monitoring efforts, which occur at dozens of sites along the coast between Kittery and Mount Desert Island, are at places where rivers, streams and storm drains empty into the ocean.

Harmful bacteria levels are found most often at these kinds of locations, though the source of the bacteria is usually unknown, she said. The biggest cause of beach closings and advisories is stormwater runoff, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, which used to publish an annual report on pollution at beaches nationwide.

At Old Orchard Beach on July 25, there was an enterococci bacteria count of 185 per 100 ml of water, which is over the maximum acceptable level of 103, but the following day it was back down near zero, she said. Enterococci is commonly found in feces and can make people sick.

The reading of 185 on July 25 was the first time in the past year that a sample taken at Old Orchard Beach had exceeded a count of 103.

Whatever it was, it was very temporary, Kazcor said of the bacteria level.

Still, she added, human feces is so much more pathogenic than that of a beaver or a bird, for example, and conditions can result in bacteria blooming more than once from a single deposit.

They can re-grow and persist, she said.

Large, wide beaches with heavy exposure to coastal ocean currents, such as Old Orchard Beach, usually rid themselves fairly quickly of harmful bacteria because of sun exposure, which can kill the bacteria, or of the tide, which often washes it away, Kazcor said. Bacteria has been known to linger longer at beaches that are more sheltered from the open ocean.

Its also a relatively easy problem to address if there is property where public bathrooms can be built. At Higgins Beach in Scarborough, for example, the public bathrooms were built about two blocks away from the water because nothing closer was available.

But money for building bathrooms, or even for water quality sampling efforts, often is not easy to come by.

Everyone is squeezed for budgets, Kazcor said.

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State hopes portable toilets will help Old Orchard Beach's poop problem - WGME

August 7, 2017 by Elaine Yu Hong Kong comprises more than 200 islands with glittering bays, but there are increasing concerns about pollution and rubbish blighting its shores

A clean-up operation was under way in Hong Kong Monday after a massive palm oil spillage from a ship collision in mainland Chinese waters clogged some of its most popular beaches.

The coast was coated with rancid-smelling sticky white clumps of the oil as it washed in Sunday, with 11 beaches still closed to swimmers Monday at the height of a summer heatwave.

There are still lumps of the solidified oil on the beaches and the sea water in some areas is greasy.

Hong Kong comprises more than 200 islands with glittering bays, but there are increasing concerns about pollution and rubbish blighting its shores.

On Pui O beach, on the island of Lantau, cleaners raked through the famous black sand, retrieving lumps of palm oil mixed with other trash, from plastic water bottles to children's toys.

Although there is still a red flag up and the beach is officially closed, some people ventured into the water.

One 61-year-old surfer, who gave his name as Simon and is a regular at the beach, said there was still oil in the sea.

"It got under my feet and on my board. It's all slippery," he told AFP.

"Yesterday there was big chunks along the beach and in the water."

He added that there was often rubbish on the beach, often left by visitors.

"I live here now, I have to put up with it. I don't like it," said Simon, an airport worker originally from Hawaii.

Beach announcements told determined swimmers at the closed beaches to get out of the water Monday.

But Agnes Mercado, 49, a regular at secluded South Bay on Hong Kong Island, was determined to take her morning dip, although she said she would not submerge her upper body.

"Of course I'm worried about it, but it's even worse than this on some days," she said of the pollution.

Environmental impact

The four government departments involved with the oil spill have now recovered more than 50 tonnes of palm stearinsolid palm oilfrom beaches and surrounding waters, according to a statement issued late Monday.

While the agriculture, fisheries and conservation department said no fish farmers have been affected by the spill so far, it said it was monitoring the impact on fisheries and marine ecology.

The Leisure and Cultural Services Department said beach workers were using absorbent strips to prevent the spread of the oil, which it described as "harmless to the human body".

But environmentalists still fear the potential impact and say the government has not done enough to contain the spillage.

"Whilst we may not see birds covered in black oil, palm oil is hazardous to wildlife in that it attracts bacteria," said Gary Stokes of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

Stokes added that the oil will dissolve and break down, which could also remove oxygen from the water and kill marine life.

The leakage was caused by a collision between two vessels near the Pearl River estuary in southern China on Thursday, the marine department confirmed.

It said it had sent nine vessels to clean up the palm oil lumps in waters off southwestern and southern Hong Kong.

Authorities in neighbouring Guangdong province must give notification of oil spills, the department said.

When asked why Hong Kong authorities had not been told of the spill until Saturday, the department said it was "because those substances may flow into Hong Kong waters after two days".

Swathes of rubbish frequently clog the coastline with authorities and environmentalists pointing the finger at southern mainland China as the source.

However, campaigners also say Hong Kong itself has a terrible track record on dumping of wastethe city's landfills are groaning at capacity and there is no widespread recycling culture.

Explore further: Hong Kong takes aim at China for trash on beaches

2017 AFP

Hong Kong's leader blamed a huge rise in rubbish blighting the city's beaches on refuse washed ashore from the mainland, and pledged talks with Chinese authorities to stem the tide.

With warm summer days at the beach on the minds of millions of winter-weary people, scientists are reporting that use of a new water quality test this year could prevent unnecessary beach closures while better protecting ...

A 4-mile stretch of beach in south Los Angeles County was closed Thursday after tar balls washed ashorethe latest Southern California coastline to shut down due to oily goo, authorities said.

A 7-mile stretch of Southern California coastline that was closed to swimmers and surfers after globs of oily goo washed ashore could reopen Friday after a two-day cleanup effort.

Border Collies are effective at reducing gull congregation on recreational beaches, resulting in lower E. coli abundance in the sand. Researchers from Central Michigan University reported the findings at the annual meeting ...

Crews scouring 7 miles of Southern California beaches had scooped up truckloads of mysterious oily goo Thursday and the area might be clean enough to reopen for the weekend, authorities said.

While popular with conservation groups, coastal easements that prevent development in order to protect marshland from changes brought about by climate change and rising sea levels are not favored by property owners, according ...

In a groundbreaking study released today, scientists at the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the University of Southern California have found that widespread installation of certain "cool roof" materials in ...

A summer 'vortex' of cold air over the Karakoram mountain range is causing the glaciers in the region to grow in spite of global warming, scientists have shown.

The report finds that hydraulic failure, which is the inability of a plant to move water from roots to leaves to be almost universally present when trees died, while carbon starvation was a contributing factor roughly half ...

An abnormal season of intense glacial melt in 2002 triggered multiple distinct changes in the physical and biological characteristics of Antarctica's McMurdo Dry Valleys over the ensuing decade, new research led by the University ...

Last week's record-setting heat in the Pacific Northwest and current triple-digit temperatures in Arizona are the latest reminders that climate change is heating up the Earth. This trend is a serious threat to cities, which ...

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Hong Kong cleans up greasy beaches after palm oil spill - Phys.Org

This article was produced in partnership with UCLA's Laboratory for Environmental Narrative Strategies (LENS), an incubator for new research and collaboration on storytelling, communications, and media in the service of environmental conservation and equity.

Representation, noun: 1) the action of speaking or acting on behalf of someone or the state of being so represented; 2) the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way.

...people want to see people like themselves in public places in order to feel welcome there. You might say they want to feel represented.

Representation is a powerful concept in politics and art. Though it operates in different ways, representation does similar work in both, publicly making a presence known, visible, heard. In this way, the art of representation may at times be as important and powerful as the politics. Often, they go hand in hand, though they speak in very different registers.

Ive been thinking about the meaning of representation while staring out at the ocean, as blank a canvas as nature presents anywhere for us to impose meaning upon. Its early in the morning. The sun is about to rise. The beach is empty. Soon, the people will begin to trickle in and the drama of representation will begin.

Who and what will be represented here today? That, as we all know, depends on where youre standing.

Installation view of Depart Foundations Sea Sick in Paradise | Jeff McLane, Courtesy of Depart Foundation.

Ive often said in the past, including here on KCET, that people want to see people like themselves in public places in order to feel welcome there. You might say they want to feel represented. I still believe this is true, and a variety of solid research, good history, and strong voices supports this claim, which underwrites important efforts to make parks, museums, libraries, and other public institutions accessible to all, including our public beaches and coastline in California.

But a year spent looking out at the sea, conducting research on the coast, and collaborating on an art exhibition on surfing have led me to revise my thinking about representation. Two data points from surveys conducted over the past year stand out. The first was when 94 percent of Californians told a survey conducted by a colleague that all Californians are welcome at the beach. The second came when we asked visitors at 11 beaches in Southern California to rank the importance of different attributes of beaches and seeing people like themselves at the beach came in dead last.

Now, you may say that the first belief is wishful thinking, and the second may reveal that people dont want to disclose their cliquishness to strangers. And I would agree, to some degree. But the overwhelming response to both questions demands to be represented. It echoes anecdotal evidence that I heard while interviewing people on the beach who told us that they come to see the world all the different people at the beach, as well as my own delight in seeing the great diversity of Californians and visitors from around the world on the coast in the northern and southern reaches of the state.

Installation view of Depart Foundations Sea Sick in Paradise | Jeff McLane, Courtesy of Depart Foundation.

Some people go as far as to say that the beach is one of our greatest small-d democratic spaces, and I tend to agree. We romanticize that, to be sure, especially when we assume that taking off most of our clothes somehow makes us more equal. But it is true, I think, that we meet on somewhat more egalitarian terms when we are stripped of many signifiers of class, wealth, and power. Not all, of course.

For as we all know from our own visits to the coast, beaches look very different when we see who is represented there, as the results from our beach surveys confirm. Dockweiler, my favorite, under the flight path of planes taking off from LAX, does not represent itself in the same way as Doheney in Orange County. The two graphs below represent beachgoers at 11 Southern California beaches based on our random sample. The beaches are arranged on the graph from north to south, just as they would be on a map, starting in Ventura, moving south through Port Hueneme in Oxnard, to Zuma in Malibu, through Santa Monica and Los Angeles, to Orange County.

As with the U.S. Census, survey respondents could check more than one box for their ethnic identity or none if they preferred, so the totals in the first graph do not add up to 100 percent.

This next graph shows the household income of visitors at the same set of beaches.

This next graph shows the household income of visitors at the same set of beaches.

It turns out that beachgoers at Santa Monica Beach represent the demographics of California fairly closely, while also drawing visitors from other states and countries. So it makes a good comparison. A little farther south, Dockweiler State Beach attracts more Latinos, African Americans, and families with lower household incomes than Santa Monica Beach, while much farther south, Doheney State Beach in Dana Point in Orange County attracts more white visitors from families with higher household incomes. These patterns are likely the result of a complex combination of factors, including self-sorting, or people choosing beaches where they feel comfortable; availability of amenities, such as the fire rings at Dockweiler; historical patterns of visitation and discrimination; and the proximity of different communities to each of the beaches.

Two pieces of art in Sea Sick in Paradise, the exhibit we collaborated on with the Depart Foundation in Malibu this summer, represent these differencesin different ways.

Jeff Hos mural Black and White, created for the exhibit, explicitly represents the localism, which everyone knows sometimes turns aggressive, even violent, in the lineup at surf breaks. Ho is a legendary surfboard shaper and skateboarder, godfather of Dogtown and the Z-boys of Venice.

But what work is this piece doing on a gallery wall? Representing, to be sure. In a straightforward way? That seems unlikely. Ironically? Critically? Historically? As a piece of art, on a white gallery wall, the representation may be open to other interpretations than it would be as a warning on a seawall. It provokes thought and reflection about access and who gets to represent themselves on the coast.

Installation view of Depart Foundations Sea Sick in Paradise | Jeff McLane, Courtesy of Depart Foundation.

Cristine Blancos painting Sharks, on the other hand, represents a different assertion: that she and her friends belong on the coast and in the lineup in the break visible offshore, just as the artists work with the organization Brown Girl Surf asserts as well.

Sharks May 2017 | Cristine Blanco

As Brown Girl Surfs co-founder and executive director, Mira Manickam-Shirley, once told me, the organization, which brings girls and women of color to the coast to experience surfing for the first time, helps them see that the ocean is not someone elses place. Its theirs. And they have a way to access it, to see themselves reflected there, and enjoy it.

Art, even representational art like Blancos, is rarely simply literal. It represents in more different ways to different audiences than any interpretation I might impose on it from my own point of view, even knowing that the car is modeled on her dads car, because she told me so in a public conversation we had about access and diversity and representation on the coast. So there is a personal history being reclaimed here by the sea, too.

Installation view of Depart Foundations Sea Sick in Paradise | Jeff McLane, Courtesy of Depart Foundation.

I learned from these conversations and this art that representations of our diversity are not always already present in public spaces, but they can be created, whether by Jeff Ho and the Z-boys or by Cristine Blanco and Brown Girl Surf. Sometimes that might entail defending turf, and other times it necessitates crashing the lineup, asserting your own right to be represented.

So Ive had to modify my view that people want to see people like themselves in public places in order to feel welcome there. The view from the coast has convinced me that people also have to believe in their own right to represent themselves in public and find ways to represent themselves in public places in order to become part of the public represented there. And this is where art meets politics. I know, this is an old story, and a particularly American story, but it is still being made anew every day on the coast of California.

Top Image:Installation view of Depart Foundations Sea Sick in Paradise | Jeff McLane, Courtesy of Depart Foundation

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'Sea Sick' Investigates the Right to be Represented On the Beach - Link TV

Animals spotted on the city''s beaches have been positively identified as foxes, not coyotes, city officials said Monday.

Previously reports said coyotes were seen between 39th and 49th streets.

Coyotes are not native to South Jersey, but have a growing population in western Atlantic County. Foxes are a part of the local eco-system and are native to New Jersey's barrier islands, officials said in a press release from the city.

According to a press release, animal control believe the foxes spotted on Sea Isle's beaches and dunes are a mother and pup. Animal control also believes the animals may also have mange, a skin disease caused by mites . Traps have been set to capture the mother and pup to bring them to an animal rehabilitation center for treatment.

The city reminded the public not to interact with the animals, including not feeding the foxes, staying off the dunes and avoiding the traps.

Any local sightings of foxes can be reported to Sea Isle City Police Departments Dispatch Office at (609) 263-4311.

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Sea Isle clarifies foxes, not coyotes, spotted on beaches - Press of Atlantic City

Verily

10 Secluded Shores to Explore Instead of Hanging Out at a Crowded Beach Verily Summer's end is near, and many of us are trying to squeeze every last minute out of sunny days before school or a busy work season kicks back in. But if you're worn out from crowded beaches and listening to other people's music, why not skip the beach ...

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10 Secluded Shores to Explore Instead of Hanging Out at a Crowded Beach - Verily

The beaches will remain closed until the state Department of Health clears the area for swimming.

As of Friday, swim beaches on Keuka Lake Indian Pines, Red Jacket, and the Keuka Lake State Park swimming areas are closed due to the presence of blue green algae.

While conditions can change based on wind and weather, the beaches will remain closed until the state Department of Health clears the area for swimming.

Earlier this summer, the Sandy Bottom swim beach on Honeoye Lake in Ontario County was also closed due to blue green algae.

According to public health officials: Blue-green algae occur naturally in bodies of water in low numbers. During prolonged hot weather algae can become abundant, discoloring water and forming scums-particularly in warm, shallow areas. Some blue-green algae produce toxins. These pose health risks to people and animals if exposed in large enough quantities. Symptoms of toxin exposure may include allergic reactions or eye, skin, nose, and throat irritation. Ingesting large amounts of water containing blue-green algae toxins has resulted in liver and nervous system damage in laboratory animals, pets, livestock and people.

People, pets and livestock should avoid contact with water that has scums on the surface or is discolored-blue-green, yellow, brown or red. If contact does occur, wash with soap and water or rinse thoroughly with clean water. Swimming, bathing or showering with water not visibly affected by a blue-green algae bloom is not expected to cause health effects. If symptoms of toxin exposure develop, stop using the water and seek medical attention.

Individuals should not drink untreated surface water. Home boiling, disinfecting (chlorine or UV), and filtering do not remove algal toxins. When using surface water to wash dishes, rinse with bottled water. In addition to toxins, untreated surface water may contain bacteria, parasites or viruses known to cause illness.

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Blue green algae closes swim beaches on Keuka Lake - MPNnow.com