Esther Kennedy of the Resource Protection Department collects water samples every week from Starrigavan. Along with six other tribes in Southeast, the group is working to create an early warning system to protect shellfish diggers from PSP. (Photo by Emily Kwong/KCAW)

Last summer, Ketchikan Indian Community began a phytoplankton and shellfish monitoring program in Ketchikan as part of the Southeast Alaska Tribal Toxins Program. KIC tests samples, and informs the public if dangerous levels of the toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning arefound in local clams and mussels.

Nicole Forbes is the environmental specialist at KIC in charge of collecting samples. She says its important for people to understand what paralytic shellfish poisoning is and how it is transmitted.

Basically there are tiny, microscopic plants in the ocean called phytoplankton. Most of them are not harmful. In fact, they produce 50 percent of our oxygen. But there are a few harmful species and one of those isAlexandriumand it produces something called saxitoxin. When the shellfish filter-feed, it gets collected in the shellfish, and when people eat it, thats what causes paralytic shellfish poisoning.

PSP toxins cannot be cooked or cleaned out of shellfish, and freezing does not destroy the toxin. Consumption of the toxin can cause paralysis and death. Commercial shellfish is tested and considered safe. The Tribal Toxins Program targets recreational beaches.

Forbes says KIC is testing samples at popular beaches in the Ketchikan area so people will know if clams, mussels, and cockles are safe to harvest. Currently, testing is being done at Settlers Cove and Whipple Creek. Forbes says they plan to add Seaport Beach in Saxman soon. She says the program is in the beginning stages and they are working to identify other sample sites.

Were trying to figure out where most people harvest, so that we can get those results. The thing is you have to get results for each beach. Because you could go two or three miles down and its going to be completely different down there.

Forbes says there are three steps to the collection process, which starts with weekly phytoplankton samples.

Which involves me going out there with a phytoplankton net and wading in the water, and grabbing a sample. I bring that back to our local lab, and I put it under the microscope and look for those harmful phytoplankton species that I was talking about. If I see one, thats the first warning sign that we need to get a shellfish sample out as soon as possible, because its possible that saxitoxin is in the shellfish.

Forbes says suspect samples are sent to the Sitka Tribe of Alaskas lab in Sitka. She says the turnaround time for testing is fairly quick.

I send it out on Tuesday, gets there Wednesday, I get results Thursday or Friday.

She says the third step of the process is filtration, which involves taking a water sample, filtering it, and then sending the filter to the lab, where phytoplankton species and quantities are identified, along with concentration of toxins.

Tony Gallegos, the cultural and natural resources director for KIC, saysAlexandriummay be present, but not necessarily producing toxins.

The scientific literature hasnt come to clear conclusion on how you know whether theyre going to produce the toxins or not, what triggers that. Thats still unclear. We can see the algae, but we need to actually do an analysis of those algae to see if they actually have toxins in them.

Forbes says phytoplankton arent as active in the winter because it is cold and dark, but she says no time of the year is safe to harvest without testing. She says they found high levels of toxins in butter clams at Whipple Creek this winter.

Actually butter clams hold onto the toxins longer, and then during the winter the shellfish slow down their filter feeding, so they can actually hold on to those toxins for the whole winter.

Forbes says she collects samples every two weeks, weather permitting, and if samples test positive, they are retested weekly. Results for all Southeast beaches being tested are posted in the data section of the Southeast Alaska Tribal Association Research website http://www.seator.org.Information is also sent to local media.

KIC is interested in identifying other local sites for sampling.

If you have suggestions, you can contact Nicole Forbes at KIC. Forbes email is nforbes@kictribe.org. The phone number is 228-9365.

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Ketchikan Indian Community checking Ketchikan beaches and shellfish for toxins - KTOO

Aris Folley, AOL.com

Feb 10th 2017 4:43PM

The National Crime Agency (NCA) says that around 794 pounds of cocaine with a potential street value of $62.4 million has washed up on two beaches in Norfolk, England.

NCA officials were called to Hopton Beach Thursday after a resident stumbled upon a number of holdalls packed to the brim with the Class A drug.

They also discovered a small number of packages separately at Caister Sea, almost 10 miles north of the beach, the following Friday.

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800 lbs of cocaine worth $62.4 million has washed up on two beaches in Norfolk

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Matthew Rivers, a spokesperson for the NCA border investigation team, said: "We are now working with Border Force, the Coastguard Agency and Norfolk Police to try and establish how the bags ended up where they did; however, it is extremely unlikely that this was their intended destination."

"This is obviously a substantial seizure of class A drugs, and its loss will represent a major blow to the organized criminals involved," Rivers continued.

Both beaches are near Great Yarmouth -- a town in Norfolk that has become notorious as a 'dumping ground' for people who are on "low income and welfare claimants," according to an England-based media outlet.

SEE ALSO: Drug-smuggling women took 200 pounds of cocaine on exotic world cruise: Cops

Superintendent of Dave Buckley of Norfolk Police added in a statement: "We are assisting the National Crime Agency with their searches and while we believe we have recovered all the packages, should any member of the public find one they are urged to contact Norfolk Police immediately on 101."

"We will have extra officers in the area to monitor the situation."

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$62.4 million worth of cocaine wash up on two beaches in Norfolk - AOL News

Volunteers try to save about 100 pilot whales after more than 400 of them were stranded at Farewell Spit near Nelson, New Zealand, on Friday. Tim Cuff/AP hide caption

Volunteers try to save about 100 pilot whales after more than 400 of them were stranded at Farewell Spit near Nelson, New Zealand, on Friday.

Updated7:40 a.m. ET

By the time Ceree Morrison found hundreds of pilot whales washed ashore on a remote beach in New Zealand 250 to 300 of them were already dead. The rest remained alive on Farewell Spit, a long strip of land that hooks from the country's South Island into the sea.

The scene was devastating.

"You could hear the sounds of splashing, of blowholes being cleared, of sighing," Morrison told The Associated Press. "The young ones were the worst. Crying is the only way to describe it."

All told, about 416 pilot whales had stranded at Farewell Spit before they were found Thursday night, the New Zealand Department of Conservation said in a statement. Even in a country with one of the highest stranding rates in the world about 300 dolphins and whales a year beach themselves, according to marine conservation group Project Jonah the DOC says this is the third largest single stranding ever recorded in New Zealand.

Farewell Spit, in particular, is "sometimes described as a whale trap," the AP notes. "The spit's long coastline and gently sloping beaches seem to make it difficult for whales to navigate away from once they get close."

As the tide rolled in Friday, hundreds of volunteers in the region attempted to send the surviving whales back to sea, pushing them out as the water rose high enough to do so and forming a human chain to try to block them from returning to the beach.

Of the survivors, about 50 successfully swam back into the bay, while about 80 to 90 were restranded, the DOC says.

No single cause for strandings is known, Project Jonah says, though the group explains that some factors are thought to include navigational errors, injuries from sonar blasts or fishing nets, and strong social bonds that can draw whole pods to follow wayward individuals into danger.

The AP reports that volunteers were able to refloat about 100 whales on Saturday. The wire service notes that some whales that were refloated on Friday beached themselves again, but the Saturday morning tide may keep the latest group at sea.

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Hundreds Of Whales Die Stranded On A Remote New Zealand Beach - NPR

The San Luis Obispo Tribune

Port San Luis looking at enforcement, partial ban to address dog complaints on beaches The San Luis Obispo Tribune Port San Luis Harbor District representatives are still pondering how to address complaints that some pet owners aren't cleaning up after their pooches or keeping aggressive dogs leashed on the beach. Among the options? More trash cans and signage, ...

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Port San Luis looking at enforcement, partial ban to address dog complaints on beaches - The San Luis Obispo Tribune

Ideally, kids from all over California can enjoy its beaches. Photo: Delphine Ducaruge

You love the beach, right? Of course you do! Well, so does the rest of California. According to a recent statewide survey, nine out of ten Californians say the coast is important to them personally. Even more, three out of four respondents say they visit the beach at least once a year, with many coming much more frequently. But even though a large share of Californians live in coastal metropolitan areas, few of them have easy access to the 1,011 public beaches and parks within Californias coastal zone. In Access for All, researchers Jon Christensen and Philip King offer some much-needed advice on how to increase equitable access to our beaches.

First thing first, a little history. In 1976, the state legislature adopted the California Coastal Act agreeing that the coast is a distinct and valuable natural resource belonging to all the people. Pushing things further, it stated that protecting our beaches is a paramount concern to present and future residents of the state and nation. Sure the beaches are crowded. But the California Constitution asserts that its our duty to provide maximum access for all people. Pretty democratic of us right? Well, as per usual, this has been easier said than done. Despite decades of efforts by the California Coastal Commission, the State Coastal Conservancy, and many local partners the reports findings arent so sunny. Heresare the stats:

62% of voters think access to the coast is a problem.

78% are frustrated by the lack of affordable parking.

68% dont have access to beach-bound public transportation.

And 75% cited a lack of affordable overnight accommodations, the majority of which were latino and families with children.

No matter how you look at it, it seems California has some serious beach barriers. So what are we doing about it? For one, transportation needs to change, and some cities are acting. Santa Monica Beach saw a surge of riders when the Metro Expo line opened in summer 2016. Get those folks to the surf! Non-profits like Oaklands Brown Girl Surf and San Diegos Outdoor Outreach offer young people from diverse communities a rare chance to get outdoors.

Four of the primary issues that make coastal access challenging for California residents. Image: UCLA.edu

The studys strength is in that it truly means access for ALL. While nearly all of us value our beaches, we dont necessarily enjoy them in the same ways. Families with children travel as groups, while most young people go to the beach alone. Certain beaches are more diverse than others. Equitable beaches are ones that can accommodate a diversity of people and a diversity of activities. In light of this, Access for All, asks us to acknowledge disparities in beach access and challenges us to do something about it. Of course, we could continue to hide these gems for our own enjoyment. Price out inlanders by jacking up parking costs. Vote down transportation development. And while no one is asking you to divulge secret spots youve been sworn protect, Access for All asks us to act on our better inclinations of citizenship and share the natural wealth a little. Technically, it belongs to all of us.

Christensen and King remind us that the California coast and beaches are among our states most important democratic spaces. In divisive times, it seems more important than ever to develop our sense of statehood, our sense of equitable identity. And to remember that according to our state constitution and the California Coastal Act, our beaches belong to all of us. We need to make sure they are accessible to everyone.

Data provided by UCLA

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Californians Love the Beach, But Can We Afford It? - TheInertia.com

Miami Herald

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea offers beaches, condos and cozy ambiance Miami Herald Those looking for an antidote to South Florida's glitz find it in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, an oceanfront stretch in North Broward with sleepy beachfront appeal, says Realtor Billy Brown of One Sotheby's. It's a cute and quaint beach town with an ... and more »

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Lauderdale-by-the-Sea offers beaches, condos and cozy ambiance - Miami Herald

Its a spring training ritual for baseball fans in Florida and Arizona watching the first workouts by pitchers and catchers at the the start of the long baseball season.

That wont happen at The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches next week when the Houston Astros and Washington Nationals start reporting to their first spring training season in West Palm Beach.

The first day the general public will be allowed on the $150 million complex is Feb. 18, the same day the Astros hold their first full-squad workouts with pitchers, catchers and position players. The Nationals hold their first full-squad workouts on Feb. 19.

But because the complex is still an active construction site, fans will not be able to hang out by the clubhouses for autographs when players report for the first time. And they cannot watch the first workouts by pitchers and catchers.

Astros pitchers and catchers report Tuesday and hold their first workouts on Wednesday. Nationals pitchers and catchers report Tuesday and hold their first workouts on Thursday. Position players for both teams report Feb. 17.

Its a brand-new facility. We want to make sure everything is secure. I think (fans) will understand, said Gene Dias, the Astros vice president for media relations.

We decided Feb. 18 would be a safe date. That makes sense for us because its the first full-squad workout and in the past thats the day when we get a lot of fans to come out because they want to see all the players working out together for the first time.

The 160-acre facility, built over an old landfill south of 45th Street and west of Interstate 95, is just about done. While both teams hold practice sessions over the first two weeks of camp, work will continue in the main stadium up until the first game on Feb. 28 when the Nationals host the Astros.

Admission and parking for the workouts are free. So far, one parking area has been identified for fans at the northwest corner of the complex with access off Haverhill Road.

The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, which first announced the public access date last month, will release more details about the workouts next week.

The Astros six practice fields are on the on northeast and east side of the complex. The Nationals fields are on the southeast and south corner of the complex. Four practice fields abut Military Trail, bordered by protective netting to prevent baseballs from hitting traffic on the road.

The complexs main entrance is off Haverhill Road.

Of all 12 practice fields, two have the same configurations as Nationals Park in Washington and Minute Maid Park in Houston.

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Ballpark of the Palm Beaches opens to public for first time on Feb. 18 - Palm Beach Post

There's an icky situation Down Under: Thirty-six Australian beaches have been closed due to contamination from human feces.

Australia's Environment Protection Authority gave every beach in Melbourne a "poor" water-quality rating this week because of the fecal contamination, and deemed them not suitable for swimming. The EPA officials said in a tweet that recent heavy rainfall likely caused the pollution. One of Melbourne's daily newspapers, The Age, reported that the city was hit with one month's worth of rain 1.97 inches (50 millimeters) on Sunday night (Feb. 5).

The poor water quality could last through the week, according to Anthony Boxshall, EPA group manager of applied sciences. [10 Ways the Beach Can Kill You]

"The bay is like a shallow tub and all the catchments drain into it," Boxshall told The Age. "The water stays in the bay for quite some time just because it's got that little entrance so there's not much exchange."

An EPA map of the affected area shared on Twitter shows beaches dotted along the bay, and the narrow inlet to the ocean. Based on this geography, as Boxshall said, the contaminants entering the bay due to stormwater runoff do not actively interchange with the ocean water.

#BeachReport forecast: 36 beaches are rated POOR due to recent rain and likely stormwater pollution. Updates: https://t.co/lt0qAextBL pic.twitter.com/dtW0u4sTvb

To determine contamination levels, the EPA tests water samples for enterococci a bacteria group that is an indicator of fecal contamination, according to the EPA's Beach Report. Water rated as "poor" due to bacteria means swimmers are at a higher risk of such illnesses as gastroenteritis (also known as stomach flu).

"It'sgastro [intestinal illness]that we're worried about and infections," Boxshall said. "For some people like kids, older people who are more frail, pregnant women, people who for whatever reason their immune system might be more sensitive,gastro can be more serious, sowe issue these alerts."

Melbourne's beaches were last contaminated with fecal matter after the beginning of the new year, according to The Age. During that contamination event, the EPA declared 21 of the area's beaches unsafe for swimming.

Contaminated water can cause a number of other illnesses, from respiratory diseases to diarrhea. For example, one pathogen that could be found in water contaminated with sewage is adenoviruses when waterborne, this can cause gastroenteritis, or inflammation of the stomach and intestine, Stephen Morse, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University, previously told Live Science. Another common pathogen is norovirus, which causes diarrhea and vomiting. Rotavirus also causes diarrhea and vomiting, along with fever, and is the common cause for infants' diarrhea, according to Morse. Thought not as common as norovirus or rotavirus, astrovirus also causes diarrhea.

Bacteria in water such as Vibrio parahaemolyticus causes vibrio infections, and can also contaminate seafood, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. People with weakened immune systems, such as those with HIV/AIDS, are particularly susceptible to cryptosporidium, a parasite found in contaminated water, Live Science reported.

Original article on Live Science.

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Poopy Situation Down Under: Why 36 Australian Beaches Were ... - Live Science

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A sewage spill in Seattle prompted no-contact advisories on Bainbridge's east shore and Suquamish area.

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BAINBRIDGE ISLAND A massive sewage spill in Seattle on Thursday morning has prompted a no-contact advisory along the entire east shore of Bainbridge Island and a portion of North Kitsap.

The Kitsap Public Health District is advising people to avoid contact with water from Jefferson Point near Indianola to Restoration Point on Bainbridges south end. The closure area includes Port Madison Bay and Miller Bay.

Untreated sewage began flowing from a wastewater plants outfall near Seattles Discovery Park at about 2 a.m., according to a King County news release.

Equipment failure was cited as the cause of the spill. King County is operating the plant on emergency bypass mode, which allows sewage to discharge into Puget Sound to avoid flooding the plant.

The volume of sewage is not yet known, but Kitsap public health officials are calling it massive.

Sewage was continuing to flow out of the outfall at noon on Thursday. The outfall is nearly a mile offshore from Seattle.

Kitsap health officials dont know when the no-contact advisory will be lifted.

Warning signs are being posted at Fay Bainbridge Park, Blakely Harbor Park and other public water access points.

Read or Share this story: http://www.kitsapsun.com/story/news/2017/02/09/massive-sewage-spill-closes-bainbridge-north-kitsap-beaches/97708592/

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'Massive' sewage spill closes Bainbridge, North Kitsap beaches - Kitsap Sun

Who knows what tomorrow may bringfor February this was aFlat Out Fabulousbarefeet on the sandsearching for seashellskind of day! I started out fromSea Street Beach on the Bayside of Dennis and walk the endless tidal flats towards Crowes Pasture where Oyster Farmers were tending their oyster beds. This unseasonably warm day was enjoyed by many beach-walkers.. it was a live for today moment. Enjoy!

As a child, spending summers in North Truro, I thought Cape Cod began at the Wellfleet Drive-In and ended at Provincetown. As a photographer, I now know that all the Cape towns leading to the canal have their own unique beauty and charm.

Roughly 30 years ago, I had the good fortune to work with the legendary photographer Dick Kelsey and as owner of Kelsey-Kennard have specialized in aerial photography as well as landscape/scenic, portraits, weddings, and photographing events on the Cape, the Islands, and beyond.

Photographs from our Gallery in Chatham are displayed in homes and businesses locally and world-wide.

Besides photography I also enjoy boating/ fishing (fish are usually very safe when Im out there,) gardening and tennis. Cape Cod is a very special place and I look forward to sharing my images with you as I travel about.

Continued here:

Dennis Bayside Beaches: Flat Out Fabulous! - CapeCod.com News

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Three weeks from when the first game will be played here between the Nationals and the Astros, you don't see a massive construction site, as a small army of workers works day and night to get The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches ready for the two teams that will share this place. You only see baseball on Haverhill Road. In front of your eyes, you see them in this wonderful rush to finish building a baseball spring.

Football is over now and so here come pitchers and catchers, as they always do after the Super Bowl. Here comes baseball, something that feels as old as the state of Florida at this time of the year, to this new place on Haverhill, the Nationals' fields on the south side of the complex and the Astros' fields on the north side, and finally Spring Training inside the ballpark between them, where soon there won't be the roar of construction machinery, just the crack of the bat.

Once in Palm Beach, there was Spring Training at old Municipal Stadium, and the Braves and the Expos shared that place. But the last game between them there was 20 years ago. The Expos became the Nationals in 2005, and baseball was back in Washington, D.C., and now they are here and Spring Training is here.

It still takes some work to fully imagine what the ballpark will look like when it is finished, because there is still much work to be done. But not much imagination to see people coming over the pedestrian bridges on both sides of The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, and see the blue seats full, and baseballs being hit toward the "Waste Management" and "Enterprise" and "Pepsi" and "Tire Kingdom" signs in the outfield.

The Astros' bullpen is behind the left-field fence. The Nationals' bullpen is behind the right-field fence. At three in the afternoon, a single groundskeeper is working a spot in the outfield grass behind second base with a shovel. Wide concourses that will be filled with people in three weeks are filled on this afternoon -- what looks and feels like a baseball afternoon -- with workers in their white helmets and yellow vests. But there is a very cool energy here, on a hot day, as Spring Training comes rushing up with a roar of its own to this new bright point on the baseball map.

"Everybody here," one of the workers says, "feels like we're a part of something."

In so many ways, the Nationals and Astros being here solidifies the sport's viability on the east coast of Florida. The Marlins and the Cardinals are just up the road in Jupiter and the Mets are an hour away in Port St. Lucie. Once the Nationals were in Viera and the Astros were in Kissimmee, somewhere between the Mets and Orlando, where the Braves still are, before they head over to their own new place in Sarasota, on the other coast of Florida. Now, you have five teams and three ballparks between The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches and the Mets. It is a good baseball thing. Or maybe a great thing.

There are 160 acres in all here, and someday there will be a public park between baseball and Haverhill Road. There is already a natural lake between Haverhill and the Nationals' side of the ballpark and a man-made lake on the Astros' side and eventually there will be a walking trail that will go around the whole place, around all the games that will begin on Feb. 28 with the two home teams playing each other and then continue all the way to Opening Day.

On this day, the wind is blowing in from right field, a good, hard wind. A young man in a white helmet smiles and says, "It'd be a tough day for lefty hitters." Then he points out that usually the angle between home plate and third base is 90 degrees north, but they have adjusted it just slightly here, 10 degrees west of north, so there will be even more shade in the ballpark. They have waited a long time for baseball to come back to West Palm Beach. They want everything to be perfect.

You walk outside, to the top of the stairs that lead to the third-base side of the park, and see where ticket booths will be behind windows already in place to your right and the team's store will be on the left. You walk back inside, underneath the party deck, toward home plate, and then you are back outside, and stand looking down at the turf field with the "Nationals" logo and the lap pool still being built right next to it. Beyond that is one of the practice fields, built to the same dimensions as Nationals Park. It is the same with the Astros over on the north side, with the dimensions in their practice fields the same as Minute Maid Park.

There is a dark green wall up behind center field to fit hitters' eyes, and places cut out of it for television cameras. There will eventually be more signs on the outfield fences. You have to imagine that, too, for now, and all the activity that will go on all day behind the fences, and palm trees, and high netting behind them, on the cloverleaf of Minor League fields, where kids will dream their dreams.

But there is no need to imagine the green of the outfield grass right in front of you. Soon Bryce Harper will be out there, and Carlos Correa and Jose Altuve will be making plays in the infield where groundskeepers are spreading dirt on this day. And Daniel Murphy will be trying to hit balls through the wind coming in from right. Max Scherzer will be on the mound. Baseball here. Three weeks.

There will be a 30-foot Astros logo outside their side of the ballpark. There will be a 30-foot Nationals logo on their side. There will be just six suites in all once the place is complete, three on the Nationals' side and three on the Astros' side. But one of the workers says, "We hear that Mr. Lerner [Ted, the Nationals owner] likes to sit in the stands."

It is just 15 months from when they broke ground. But now they are closing in on the completion of what is the real project here: The building of a brand-new baseball spring. There was a lot of talk in this area, over a lot of years, about other possible sites in the area. It turned out to be just talk. Not anymore. The last football game of the season was played on Sunday night in Houston, first Sunday night in February. The Astros and the Nationals will play baseball on Haverhill Road on the last day of February.

New ballpark, becoming a part of such a fine old Florida ritual. Not finished yet. Still work to be done, day and night. Lot of noise here on this day. White helmets everywhere, and yellow vests, and golf carts and machinery and men and women trying to finish the job. But there will be a different sound here soon, and fans in the blue seats. Bryce Harper will be here. Correa. Altuve. Young guys and an old Astro named Beltran. You didn't even have to close your eyes. Baseball. Yeah.

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New Ballpark: Beauty & The Beach - Sports On Earth

The town will receive funding from the state to design and permit a boardwalk linking George Lane and Wessagusset beaches in North Weymouth, an idea that officials first floated three decades ago.

WEYMOUTH The town will receive funding from the state to design and permit a boardwalk linking George Lane and Wessagusset beaches in North Weymouth, an idea that officials first floated three decades ago.

The town will receive an $184,000 grant from the Seaport Economic Council for the feasibility phase of the project. The council, chaired by chaired by Lt. Gov. Karyn Politio, approved nearly $5 million in awards to 13 coastal communities last week.

Upon entering office last year, Mayor Robert Hedlund revived the towns dormant waterfront committee to identity and revive opportunities for waterfront enhancements.

This idea to create access between the two beaches goes back 30 year, Hedlund said. I told the committee to identify viable capital projects and they came back with this.

Prepared in 1988, the towns waterfront plan proposed adding a pedestrian boardwalk between Wessagusset, referred to as the old beach, and George Lane, or the new beach. The two areas are separated by approximately 2,000 feet of coastline that is inaccessible at high tide and difficult to walk on at low tide because of boulders, cobble and concrete debris in the intertidal area.

The funding will allow the town to design and permit a boardwalk stretching the coastline that provides passive recreation, such as viewing vistas, seating areas, a fishing pier, and signs that highlight Weymouths history as a coastal community. The design will also improve access from the overlook shelf at Wessagusset Road to the shoreline below, and address erosion on a section of coast that backs up to Regatta Road.

This project goes along with the focus on North Weymouth, with Route 3A and the rezoning, to create positive activity down there, Hedlund said.

The town will fund the feasibility phase with the grant and a private donation, requiring no public investment. Hedlund said the town could split the project into two phases, depending on the cost of construction.

The towns waterfront committee will oversee the project with support from the planning department. Officials will present initial design concepts in public meetings, take public comment and look to build consensus on a vision for the boardwalk.

This grant is a big step forward for Weymouths vision to connect our two beaches with a waterfront resource for all to enjoy, waterfront committee Chairman George Mutch said. Most residents are not even aware of this coastal area due to its current condition.

Jessica Trufant may be reached at jtrufant@ledger.com.

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Weymouth to design boardwalk linking beaches with state grant - The Patriot Ledger

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PHOTO: A beautiful beach in Aruba (Photo courtesy of Barcel Hotels & Resorts)

There are many treasures to be found in Aruba, and were not just talking about the beautiful views.

Barcel Hotels & Resorts details the incredible underwater cemetery that is home to wrecked ships and aircraft.

Whether they were shot down in World War II or destroyed by a storm, beneath the amazing blue waters of the beaches of Aruba lies some amazing history.

READ MORE Superior and Exclusive Service: Barcelos Premium & Royal Level

Per the Barcel blogger, one ofthe best-known wrecks is theSS Antilla, also called the ghost ship of Aruba. The most daring even cross the porthole and open the hatches to investigate this 122-meter-long ship that was set on fire by its own German crew to prevent their enemies of World War II from taking it.

Check out the video here for an inside look at divers exploring the wrecked Antilla.

Other unique finds that divers can check out include the cargo ship Jane, which is a 75-meter-long Venezuelan ship, as well as the remains of a YS-11 model airplane made in Japan. In fact, divers can actually swim inside the cabin, if they dare.

For more information on Barcel Hotel & Resorts, check out their blog here.

You may use your Facebook account to add a comment, subject to Facebook's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your Facebook information, including your name, photo & any other personal data you make public on Facebook will appear with your comment, and may be used on TravelPulse.com. Click here to learn more.

Art is a veteran travel writer.

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Explore the Underwater Cemetery, a Secret of the Beaches of Aruba - TravelPulse (blog)

For beaches in the Tampa Bay region, tourism matters.

Thats why the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber of Commerce is getting ready to fight, calling its members Tuesday to push back against proposed legislation to shut down VISIT FLORIDA, the states tourism arm.

Last week, House leadership introduced committee bill (PCB CCS 17-01) to kill both VISIT FLORIDA and Enterprise Florida, the states job incentive program.

As part of the $83.5 billion Fighting for Floridas Future budget for 2017-18, Gov. Rick Scott is proposing $76 million for Visit Florida, the agency tasked with marketing Florida to domestic and international visitors. Nevertheless, House leaders have threatened to pull funding after some questionable deals with racing car teams, British soccer teams and Miami-based pop star Pitbull.

But the Chamber sees VISIT FLORIDA as a vital tool to bring tourists to regions beaches.

VISIT FLORIDA is essential in bringing visitors to our state who generate 23 percent of our sales tax revenue, create over 1.4 million jobs, support small business and boost our local economy with $108.8 billion in economic impact, the Chamber statement says. It is critical to renew the focus on the value of marketing the Sunshine State.

The Chamber wants all industry members to contact legislators and remind them of the benefits tourism generates and how VISIT FLORIDA helps small businesses and communities reach new markets that they otherwise wouldnt be able to capitalize on.

The House Careers & Competition Subcommittee is set to take up the bill Wednesday at 1 p.m. in the State Capitol, Knott Building, Room 212.

For further steps to help save VISIT FLORIDA with letter templates, talking points and contact information is at tampabaybeaches.com.

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Phil Ammann is a St. Petersburg-based journalist and blogger. With more than three decades of writing, editing and management experience, Phil produced material for both print and online, in addition to founding HRNewsDaily.com. His broad range included covering news, local government and nightclub reviews for Patch.com, technical articles and profiles for BetterRVing Magazine and advice columns for an online metaphysical website, among others. Phil has served as a contributor and production manager for SaintPetersBlog since 2013 and lives in St. Pete with his wife, visual artist Margaret Juul and can be reached at phil@floridapolitics.com and on Twitter @PhilAmmann.

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Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber ready to fight for VISIT FLORIDA - SaintPetersBlog (blog)

Mashable

These 36 beaches should be avoided (again) because of all the human poo Mashable So imagine the disgust felt by beachgoers in Melbourne, Australia, when they were warned (for the second time in just over a month) to avoid all 36 beaches in the Port Phillip bay region Tuesday, due to a post-heavy rainfall influx of human faecal ... and more »

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These 36 beaches should be avoided (again) because of all the human poo - Mashable

Australias Environmental Protection Authority issued a warning to steer clear of all 36 beaches in Melbourne, Australias second biggest city, due to a poor water quality rating, which turns out, is code for poop. This is not the first time this has happened.

Earlier this month, 21 beaches in Port Phillip Bay were deemed unsafe for swimming for the same reason. Dr. Anthony Boxshall, the manager of applied sciences at the EPA, told ABC, We have indicators we look for which is an indicator of fecal contamination, which is a nice way of saying poo.

To determine the water quality ratings, the EPA checks the levels of a bacteria called enterococci, which according to the NIH, is found in high concentrations in human feces. If the water has 400 or more enterococci for every 100 milliliters of water, it gets a poor quality rating because it makes you susceptible to illness.

Storms and flash floods struck Melbourne over the weekend, and those hostile weather conditions helped contaminate the water. Dr. Boxshall told The Age on Monday morning, The bay is like a shallow tub and all the catchments drain into it. Theres no exit.

Dr. Boxshall also warned that swimming in any of Melbournes 36 beaches could lead to gastronomical illness, as well as infections. Its gastro that were worried about and infections. If someone had an open wound on their hand, you can get pathogens, he said.

Specifically, children, the elderly and pregnant women are at risk for contracting an illness from Melbournes beaches.

The shitty conditions are expected to remain for the coming days. After that, the unknown awaits.

[The Age]

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36 Australian Beaches Unsafe for Swimming Due to Human Shit - Gizmodo

Californias 1,100 miles of coastal beaches, many with soft sand and great waves and fun piers, are among the states greatest assets, destinations for locals and visitors alike.

But new research shows that, for many Californians, the beach is out of reach.

While the beach itself is intended to be free or inexpensive, ancillary expenses and social barriers often make it tough for low-income residents to enjoy a day on the sand.

Last week, legislation was introduced in Sacramento aimed at fixing that problem. If passed, Assembly Bill 250 would direct the state Coastal Conservancy to develop new low-cost accommodations and improve existing affordable accommodations, with the goal of making a trip to the beach more accessible for families that dont have a lot of money and might have to travel far.

Its heartbreaking to see lower-income families and middle-class families who never have seen the beach or enjoyed waking up to the sounds of tides and the salt in the air, said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, D-San Diego, who introduced the legislation.

Its heartbreaking for me because its such a part of the California experience.

The bill comes days after researchers at UCLA released a study that details how travel costs and lack of affordable accommodations prevent low-income families from going to the beach.

The average cost of a one-day visit to the beach was $22, not including parking or food, according to the study. Staying in beach towns costs an average $605 for a four-day stay, and three-quarters of the 1,100 people polled said the cost of an overnight stay was unaffordable.

In addition to showing why people dont go to the beach, the study conducted last summer at beaches from Ventura to south Orange County also found who goes to different beaches, with questions focused on family income and demographics.

The least racially diverse of the 11 beaches studied were the Doheny and Strands beaches in Dana Point, where nearly 80 percent of the visitors were white. Less than 1 percent of the visitors at Doheny were African-American.

Those beaches also drew the wealthiest visitors, with 82 percent reporting household income of $50,000 or more.

Conversely, the majority of visitors to Dockweiler State Beach in the South Bay were nonwhite, including 63 percent Latino and 16 percent black. Nearly half of the visitors reported household income of less than $50,000.

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At Redondo Beach, 47 percent of visitors were white and 40 percent Latino. More than one-third of those visiting Redondo Beach earn $50,000 or less.

Redondo Beach Councilman Bill Brand wasnt surprised by the findings.

Redondo Beach has always been a friendlier, more affordable waterfront destination than most other beach cities like Santa Monica or Manhattan Beach, he said in an email.

Brand, who entered politics as an activist fighting overdevelopment on the coast, believes a $400 million waterfront overhaul at the center of the citys upcoming election will change that.

Unfortunately, the recently approved CenterCal project is going to drive the new demographic to a whiter, wealthier class, Brand said. The challenge is to properly revitalize our waterfront without eliminating as a destination for all Californians.

Developer CenterCal Properties argues the opposite that building the 524,000-square-foot project will improve coastal access by bringing more people to land that is largely made up of underutilized development and surface parking lots.

CenterCal says the project will have something to offer for visitors of all income levels, but opponents are skeptical.

Melanie Cohen, president of the South Bay Parkland Conservancy, which advocates for the preservation and acquisition of open space, called the survey results right on.

Im really proud that the South Bay allows people to have that kind of access, Im just afraid now that as time goes on, its getting tougher and tougher, she said.

If the beachgoers look different at different beaches, researchers say a variety of issues are at play, including cost, self-segregation and amenities like fire rings or RV spaces, which the report said attract different groups of people.

We believe its a combination of factors, said Jon Christensen, a researcher at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA, who co-authored the study.

There are historically patterns of visitation and discrimination ... where people feel theyre welcome (at some beaches) and where they might not feel as welcome (at others), Christensen said.

The research found that among key demographic groups, blacks generally were less likely to visit a beach, with about one-third of those polled saying they get to the sand less than once a year.

Christensen said a legacy of discrimination that prevented African-Americans from using public pools and beaches continues to play a role.

This is a very real issue and a real concern, he said.

The survey did not include beaches on the isolated Palos Verdes Peninsula, where residents and elected officials have been accused of NIMBYism for the ways theyve responded to a flood of new visitors drawn by social media.

Palos Verdes Estates is embroiled in a high-profile civil rights lawsuit alleging officials have enabled the bullying tactics of territorial surfers who have kept out nonlocals and effectively privatized Lunada Bay.

The city, which denies the allegations, is pushing back against pressure from the Coastal Commission to make the area more welcoming with public amenities.

Surfers recently gathered there on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in a protest against localism.

Susan Brooks, a councilwoman in neighboring Rancho Palos Verdes, doesnt believe the Peninsulas affluence has any effect on who is able to enjoy the beach.

Were a blufftop community, the terrain is more difficult, Brooks said. You cant just go down to these places and walk down like you can in Torrance.

Access to the 1,400 acres that make up the Palos Verdes Nature Preserve is free, she noted, as is parking at the Palos Verdes Interpretive Center and near the hiking trails and beach below Trump National Golf Club.

But aside from an Americas Best Value Inn on the edge of town bordering San Pedro, the only hotel in the city is the exclusive Terranea Resort. Rancho Palos Verdes banned short-term rentals last year.

The fact is were not a hotel community, Brooks said. This was considered at the end of the earth at one time and now its the playground of Greater Los Angeles. Now were supposed to change the dynamics of the principles on which this city is founded?

In 2015, city leaders changed parking rates at Abalone Cove Shoreline Park in response to an influx of visitors, citing public safety. In recent years, a combination of record attendance and rip currents has claimed the lives of two teenagers and led to dozens of rescues.

Officials originally wanted to give Rancho Palos Verdes residents preferential parking as they did near Del Cerro Park but abandoned that idea after receiving pushback from Coastal Commission staff.

Turnbull Sanders said transportation is a problem, so the Coastal Commission is partnering with Caltrans to help get more young people to the beach. The state agency also is working to lower beach parking fees and create more beach camping and low-cost accommodations, both of which are important for people who live hours from the coast.

Though many Californians are prevented from visiting the beach, in part because of the cost, most have a relationship with the ocean. Up to 94 percent of California voters said in surveys that the health of the ocean and beaches is personally important.

People across all of these demographic categories ... want the same thing when they visit the beach. Clean water, clean sand, a place to relax and enjoy the scenery and a place for their kids to play, Christensen said. People at the beaches, though they look different, they all want the same things by and large. Thats true even across income.

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Who's visiting South Bay beaches, who isn't and why? - The Daily Breeze

Californias 1,100 miles of coastal beaches, many with soft sand and great waves and fun piers, are among the states greatest assets, destinations for locals and visitors alike.

But new research shows that for many Californians the beach is out of reach.

While the beach itself is intended to be free or inexpensive, ancillary expenses and social barriers often make it tough for low-income residents to enjoy a day on the sand.

This week, legislation was introduced in Sacramento aimed at fixing that problem. If passed, Assembly Bill 250 would direct the Coastal Conservancy to develop new low-cost accommodations, and improve existing affordable accommodations, with the goal of making a trip the beach more accessible for families who dont have a lot of money and might have to travel far.

Its heartbreaking to see lower income families and middle class families who never have seen the beach or enjoyed waking up to the sounds of tides and the salt in the air, said Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego) who introduced the legislation Monday.

Its heartbreaking for me because its such a part of the California experience.

The bill comes days after researchers at UCLA released a study that details how travel costs and lack of affordable accommodations prevent low-income families from going to the beach.

The average cost of a one day visit to the beach was $22, not including parking or food, according to the study. And an increase of only $15, researchers found, could force many families to skip the trip altogether an amount thats typically eaten up by parking and day-use fees. Staying in beach towns cost an average $605 for a four-day stay, and three quarters of the 1,100 people polled said the cost of an overnight stay was unaffordable.

In addition to showing why people dont go to the beach, the study conducted last summer at beaches from Ventura to south Orange County also found who goes to different beaches, with questions focused on family income and demographics.

The least racially diverse of the 11 beaches studied were the Doheny and Strands beaches in Dana Point, where nearly 80 percent of the visitors were white. Less than 1 percent of the visitors at Doheny were African American.

Those beaches also drew the wealthiest visitors, with 82 percent reporting household income of $50,000 or more.

Huntington Beach was slightly more diverse, with 54 percent of its visitors white and the bulk of the rest Latino and Asian. About two thirds of visitors had household income of $50,000 or more.

Conversely, the majority of visitors to Dockweiler State Beach in the South Bay were nonwhite, including 63 percent Latino and 16 percent African American. Nearly half of the visitors reported household income of less than $50,000.

And at Redondo Beach, 47 percent of visitors were white and 40 percent were Latino. More than a third of those visiting Redondo Beach earn $50,000 or less.

If the beach goers look different at different beaches, researchers say a variety of issues are at play, including cost, self segregation and amenities like fire rings or RV spaces, which the report said attract different groups of people.

We believe its a combination of factors, said Jon Christensen, a researcher at the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA who co-authored the study.

There are historically patterns of visitation and discrimination where people feel theyre welcome (at some beaches) and where they might not feel as welcome (at others), Christensen said.

The research found that among key demographic groups, African Americans generally were less likely to visit a beach, with about a third of those polled saying they get to the sand less than once a year.

Christensen said a legacy of discrimination that prevented African Americans from using public pools and beaches continues to play a role.

This is a very real issue and a real concern.

Effie Turnbull Sanders, 44, a lawyer and a member of the California Coastal Commission, grew up as a competitive swimmer. By the time she was swimming for UCLA, in the 1990s, she noticed that the swimmers and the fans mostly came from the same, white background.

I was keenly aware that kids of different socioeconomic backgrounds didnt make it to the beach, even if they lived only 10 miles away, she said.

There are efforts to change that.

Non-profits like the Oakland-based Brown Girls Surf push to promote surf culture among women and girls of color.

Turnbull Sanders said transportation is a problem, so the Coastal Commission is partnering with CalTrans to help get more young people to the beach. The state agency also is working to lower beach parking fees and create more beach camping and low cost accommodations, both of which are important for people who live hours from the coast.

Though many Californians are prevented from visiting the beach, in part because of the cost, most have a relationship with the ocean. Up to 94 percent of California voters said in surveys that the health of the ocean and beaches is personally important.

People across all of these demographic categories want the same thing when they visit the beach. Clean water, clean sand, a place to relax and enjoy the scenery and a place for their kids to play, Christensen said. People at the beaches, though they look different, they all want the same things by and large. Thats true even across income.

The beaches are still these great democratic spaces.

For Daniel Ordaz, 56, who recently strolled the Huntington Beach Pier while visiting from El Paso, Texas, seeing people from different walks of life was part of the draw when he lived locally and fished off the pier as a teen.

Thats why I came, Ordaz said. To see the diversity here.

Contact the writer: lawilliams@scng.com

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Some Californians can't afford to go to the beach, and lawmakers want to change that - The Mercury News

Melissa Nelson Gabriel , mnelsongab@pnj.com Published 3:08 p.m. CT Feb. 6, 2017 | Updated 7 hours ago

File image of baby sea turtles hatching.(Photo: Special to the Pensacola News Journal)Buy Photo

An environmental group is workingto bring turtle-friendly lighting to Panhandle beaches using millions of dollars in restitution money paid by oil giant BP in the aftermath of the 2010 Gulf Coast oil spill.

The Gainesville-based Sea Turtle Conservancy previously used money from the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund to replace traditional lighting on beaches in Gulf, Franklin and Walton countieswith amber LED lights, which do not distract from natural moonlight used by nesting turtles and their hatchlings for orientation.

Stacey Marquis, a spokeswoman for the Sea Turtle Conservancy, said the program has worked well in those areas and the organization hopes to see similar success on beaches in Santa Rosa and Escambia counties.

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Conservancy employees are surveying area beaches and identifying buildings with outdated lighting.

"We are working with large condominium associations now and we hope to start identifying single-family homeowners," Marquis said.

The group has more than $1 million available to retrofit lighting along beaches from Bay county westward through Escambia County.

Sea turtles and their hatchlings rely on natural light from the moon to direct them to and from the beach. Artificial lights from beach parking lots, condominiums and other developments can overwhelm the turtles, causing them to lose their direction, Marquis said.

(Photo: Thomas St. Myer/tstmyer@pnj.com)

The environmental fund was established to compensate the public for environmental damages after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded andspewed more than 3 million barrels of oil into the Gulf in spring and summer of 2010. As part of a settlement agreement, BP and rig-owner Transocean paid more than $2.5 billion to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which directs the environmental fund. The turtlelighting project is among dozens of projects in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas paid for through the environmental fund, part of more than $20 billion paid by the oil companies in restitution for the largest oil spill in U.S. history.

Anna Clark, of the Pensacola-based environmental advocacy group Coast Watch Alliance, said the lighting project will benefit hundreds of sea turtles that make their way to Panhandle beaches for nesting eachspring and summer.

"It is a good thing," she said. "If you have the wrong type of lighting, you can distract them from the beaches where they are supposed to lay their eggs. If they don't reach the right place to nest, they are not going breed successfully," said Clark, who added that lighting is also important for the thousands of tiny hatchlings who depend on moonlight to direct them to the Gulf after they emerge from the nest.

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Clark has long advocated for more money from the BP spill to be spent on projects that directly benefit the environment.

"This is something that does that," she said. "In the past, we've seen boat ramps and tourism-related projects that were not focused on rehabilitating resources damaged in the spill."

Beach homeowners, businessesand condominium associations interested in replacing outdatedlighting can contact Stacey Marquis and the Sea Turtle Conservancy at stacey@conserveturtles.org.For more information about the program, visithttps://conserveturtles.org/beachfront-lighting-lighting-and-dune-projects/.

For more information about the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund, visit:http://www.nfwf.org/gulf/Pages/home.aspx

(Photo: Molly Nobles)

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BP oil spill funds used for turtle friendly beach lights - Pensacola News Journal

Palm Beachs efforts to ban shark fishing near town beaches were in vain.

Code Enforcement Manager Ben Alma told the Ordinances, Rules and Standards Committee on Thursday that state law preempts regulations the town had hoped to adopt.

The (Florida) Fish and Wildlife (Conservation Commission) said we cannot use it, Alma said ofa previously recommended ordinance. We cant stop anybody from fishing. We should table this indefinitely.

The committee recommended an ordinance last September that would have banned shark fishing within 300 feet north and south of town beaches and within 300 feet of public beach access points. The ordinance also would have banned baiting or chumming and the use of shark lures and rigs within the same boundaries. The Town Council approved a first reading of the ordinance in October but tabled it in November for further review by the committee.

Bobbie Lindsay, committee chairwoman, saidshark fishing has been a problem particularly for residents on the North End of the island. The town has received complaints from residents concerned about fishermen camping on the beaches and chumming the water.

Chum is bait consisting of bloody fish parts used to lure animals, particularly sharks. Residents have said the practice endangers recreational beachgoers, especially children, and litters the shore.

The committee tabled the topic last week, but Lindsay encouraged Alma to be a little more aggressive and proactive in discussing chummingregulations with the state.

This chumming is a real issue, she said. Im a diver and a boater and where theres chumming, there are sharks, and often for hours after they chum. I really think that lack of regulation is presenting danger for our swimmers.

Alma saidthe town does regulate beach access, hours and parking. The council also adopted an ordinance two years ago that bans sleeping and camping on public beaches.

Weve also set up pro-active patrols, he said.

Link:

Palm Beach can't regulate shark fishing, state says - Palm Beach Daily News