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LOS ANGELES -- A top county official held a news conference Thursday night to set the record straight on an issue of paramount importance to Los Angeles: beach football. Pigskin chucking, Frisbee hurling and all manner of ball play are OK on Los Angeles beaches, as long as people play safely, said county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. An exasperated Yaroslavsky said he was forced to call the news conference after a media misfire earlier this week prompted a flood of calls and emails to his office, with one complaint from as far away as London. "Nobody is going to get fined...

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Smokers have just one message to Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Council members: butt out of our business. “We’re outside. We should have freedom to smoke,” City Hall Park smoker Harvey Forbes told CBS 2’s Magee Hickey. By a vote of 36 to 11 on Wednesday the City Council approved a bill to ban smoking in all city parks, beaches and pedestrian plazas. “People who have made the decision not to smoke have civil liberties too and their health and their lives should not be negatively impacted because other people have decided to smoke,” Council Speaker...

Attention Times Square denizens and those out for a stroll in Central Park: It will soon be time to put out your smokes — forever. The New York City Council is slated Wednesday afternoon to approve a ban on smoking in parks, beaches, marinas, boardwalks and pedestrian plazas like Times Square. The legislation marks the most ambitious expansion of the city’s antismoking laws since Mayor Michael Bloomberg convinced the city lawmakers to approve a ban on smoking in indoor workplaces and park playgrounds in 2003. “When this legislation is passed, all New Yorkers will be able to enjoy a walk...

STATE COLLEGE, PA-- First, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico washed tar balls upon white sandy beaches, then stingrays stung several people in Southern California and now sharks are showing up along beaches in New Jersey -- are beach bums under attack? Shark sightings closed New Jersey beaches several times this week amid the issuance of the first-ever Coast Guard shark warning for Northeast waters from New Jersey to Maine. Warmer-than-normal temperatures along the southern New Jersey coasts by an increase of as much as 3 degrees from last year may have incited sharks to begin their migration...

NAVARRE, Fla. -- British Petroleum says its latest fix is working to stop the oil leak, but it doesn't look like it. More oil is spewing out and more tar balls are washing ashore on Florida beaches. Now, people are frustrated crews are standing around instead of cleaning them up. Crews are working for only five minutes at a time to clean up the tar balls, because it's so hot to work on the beach. They have to follow federal rules and take lots of breaks.

PENSACOLA BEACH — The sugar-sand beach here appeared cleaner Thursday, after workers picked up tar balls overnight with shovels and nets. By noon they had collected 44,955 pounds of tar balls and oil material, according to the Escambia County Emergency Operations Center. But a University of South Florida geologist made a grim discovery Thursday morning, 24 hours after the worst oil onslaught in Florida so far. Ping Wang, 43, who has studied beaches for 20 years, dug a narrow trench perpendicular to the shoreline, about a foot deep and five feet long. A dark, contiguous vein of oil ran horizontally...

GULF SHORES, Ala. -- Thousands of people lined Gulf Shores beaches this afternoon, but almost none dared even put a toe in the water. In some sections, large pools of black oil sat on the shoreline. As far east or west as the eye could see, oil stained the white sands. Small groups of workers took turns for hours shoveling clumps of the oil into black plastic bags. But as quickly as they dug, the oil washed ashore -- in sheets, in globs, with each successive, dark wave. Occasionally, a group of beachgoers would rise from their towels and stand...

BOSTON -- Massachusetts marine biologists said one of the great white sharks tagged with electronic tracking equipment last summer off Cape Cod has traveled as far as north Florida. The great white was one of five sharks tagged by harpoon in September near Chatham by Division of Marine Fisheries biologists. Officials said it was the first successful tagging of great whites in the Atlantic using electronic satellite technology. Officials said Wednesday that the tag popped off the shark on Friday and began transmitting data by satellite. Scientists expect tags on the other sharks to surface and begin sending data later...

While looking for something else, I stumbled across this guy's Panoramio collection. So I provide a sampling. He's got 17 pages worth, pretty good. He does some HDR (high dynamic range) -- I think I included one of those. Enjoy. (Click 'em for full-size.)

It was the time of the Final Solution. It was the time of Hitler, Stalin, Tojo and Mussolini. It was the time when tyranny and totalitarianism, and a form of government determined to dominate every aspect of the human spirit, threatened the world. And all who stood against the conquest of the human spirit were the fighting men of the Allied Forces. June 6, 1944 was a day that great men changed the future. It was the day that American, British, and Canadian fighting men began to pry the claws of Adolf Hitler off of Europe, one finger at a...

Beaches Not for Germ-a-Phobes By Leland Baxter-Neal Tico Times Staff | lbaxter@ticotimes.net Some of the Pacific coast's most popular beaches are dangerously polluted with sewage runoff, according to a broad study by the Costa Rican Water and Sewer Institute (AyA). Water samples taken Aug. 13 show the beaches of Playas del Coco, Playa Tambor and Jacó are hazardous to human health as a result of elevated levels of fecal matter in the ocean.

British expatraites in Dubai continued to party away this weekend - despite last week's stern reminder from the kingdom's rulers that Sex on the Beach should remain restricted to the cocktail menu. A week after the arrest of British saleswoman Michelle Palmer for an alleged drunken tryste on the shores of the Persian Gulf, fellow expats appeared to have lost little enthusiasm for the work-hard, play-hard lifestyle for which the Emirate has become famous. In the Double Decker, a packed London bus-themed pub near the soaring tower of the seven-star Burj Al Arab hotel, Simone Dobson nursed a vodka and...

Sweet beach cover-ups are always in fashion. From sheer ikat-print tunics and caftans, to sarongs and pareo, cover-ups are the perfect versatile vacation piece. The Fashion Time Magazine Editors present the season’s must have cover-ups for every budget.

The San Diego City Council Monday voted to ban alcohol from all its beaches as part of a one-year pilot program, 10News reported. The decision affects beaches in La Jolla, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach and Point Loma. Alcohol will be banned 24 hours a day beginning Jan. 2008. The vote was 5-to-2 in favor of the ban... Talk of a ban was initially prompted by councilman Kevin Faulconer after an alcohol-fueled brawl on Labor Day resulted in 16 arrests. The city council was considering four different proposals but said they felt the brawl was a wake-up call for...

MADRID, Spain - What do tourists and jellyfish have in common? They both love warm water and proliferate along Spanish beaches in the summer. And that's bad news for Spain, the world's top tourist destination after France. On Friday, the government approved a plan to create an armada of recreational boaters to spot the stinging blobs and summon help. "The important thing is that anybody who comes to the beaches here in Spain should know that a serious plan is under way to keep this from being a problem," said Josep-Maria Gili, the biologist coordinating the project. Spain's Mediterranean waters...

Welcome to the Jersey Shore! Have a great time, but please don't dig too deeply in the sand in Surf City (you could get blown up), feed the seagulls in Ocean City (you could catch a disease), or draw dirty pictures in the sand in Belmar (it's rude). snip... "I used to take pictures of signs at the entrance to beaches that had long lists of all the things you couldn't do," said Dery Bennett, head of the American Littoral Society's Sandy Hook chapter. "There was one with a big word `NO' in red letters at the top and all...

Are you a beach bum or just stuck in the sand? Anyone can tell a surfboard from a Frisbee, but you need genuine seaside sense to know which beaches are good for sunning, which are good for shells and who invented surfing. Test your knowledge of beaches and beach culture with this quiz to determine if you're a Beach Bum, a Weekend Surfer or a Tourist.

You'll be happy to hear that Biloxi's gaming business not only has made big strides since Hurricane Katrina devastated the coastline, but also that the restored casinos have expanded what they offer, and new properties are on the way. Before the storm that destroyed tens of thousands of gulf-area homes, Biloxi had nine casinos. Today, seven are back in business, including the glitzy Beau Rivage Resort & Casino, which reopened at the end of August, a year after Katrina hit. After the hurricane, the city changed its laws to allow casinos -- previously confined to floating structures at the water's...

This historic waterfront city was on the verge of becoming the great gambling destination of the South. Then came Hurricane Katrina. Now the Gulf Coast is fighting to get back in the game. BILOXI, Miss. -- Olivia Boglin stood in her yard, staring down at a pile of Sheetrock. Just staring in the Mississippi heat, dabbing the sweat off her forehead with a wadded-up tissue. A block away, a guy was riding a bicycle slow, so the front wheel swerved with each crank of the pedals. The heat, the humidity and the noon hour had everything almost at a standstill....

Standing strapped to a boogie board as his children surfed the waves of the Pacific Ocean, Cocoa Beach Mayor Skip Beeler kept looking down at the cool California summer sand sifting between his toes. Something wasn't right. "I started thinking this was so clean, I haven't seen any cigarette butts," Beeler said. "Then I thought if it works there, it can work here." Beeler's efforts to emulate California's example by banning smoking on the beach in his popular seaside town and a recent suggestion by Delray Beach Mayor Jeff Perlman to separate smokers and non-smokers on that city's beach have...

WASHINGTON -- Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and other senators yesterday announced an agreement on legislation to open more federal waters to oil and natural-gas exploration. With lawmakers under pressure to help ease fuel prices, the agreement was presented as a breakthrough on stalled energy legislation. It would allow drilling in an area of the eastern Gulf of Mexico that is rich in natural gas, and open the way for coastal states to share in royalty revenue that otherwise would go to the federal government. Addressing Florida lawmakers' concerns, the agreement includes a ban on energy development within 125 miles...

Though much has been done to clean up our waters, much work remains. Sewer overflows and runoff from farms and city streets threaten the life-sustaining properties of our waters, endanger human health and wildlife, and result in thousands of beach closings each year. NRDC works to continue reductions in industrial water pollution while pressing for effective pollution controls on agriculture, logging and other sources previously exempt from them. We help develop and promote strong federal laws and regulations to address polluted runoff, raw sewage discharges, and factory farm wastes and we sue polluters when they violate the Clean Water Act.

Cigarette smoking would be banned at city beaches and parks under a measure tentatively approved Monday by the city council. Sponsors said the measure will reduce litter and allow beachgoers to avoid secondhand smoke. "To me, this is a quality-of-life issue for San Diego," said Councilman Jim Madaffer, a co-sponsor. "This is an issue that is about public health and safety." The council unanimously approved the ban. A second vote is required before the measure becomes law. San Diego, whose miles of beaches are a major tourist draw, joins a handful of other California cities that have similar bans, including...

THE typical blond, blue-eyed lifesaver is being challenged by a Victorian Government program to get people from a variety of ethnic backgrounds involved in the volunteer service. The campaign, backed by a $3 million grant, has the double aims of promoting racial tolerance and reducing drownings among people from non-English speaking backgrounds. Acting Premier John Thwaites said today the Victorian Government and Life Saving Victoria had begun recruiting "multicultural ambassadors" to spread water safety messages as part of the state's Play it Safe by the Water campaign. The campaign is being delivered in 15 languages as well as English. "We...

The turf battles over Malibu's oceanfront tend to be as predictable as the spring tides as property owners and beachgoers contest for control of the sand. This year, the tussle over what is public and what is private has taken a surprising turn with property owners bringing in heavy equipment to scoop up tons of public beach and pile it onto their property. The battlefront is again Broad Beach, where skip loaders have erected a massive ridge of sand between the ocean and the community of 108 beachfront homes that has been in settlement talks over public access issues with...

Guarding Freedoms Nest If you constantly talk about America as if America is to blame for this and that in this world, You Are Not Guarding Freedoms Nest. If you constantly criticize the best efforts of our leaders, You Are Not Guarding Freedoms Nest. If you think only in terms of “What’s in it for me?” You Are Not Guarding Freedoms Nest. If you see someone without freedom and do nothing, You Are Not Guarding Freedoms Nest. If you see an American soldier, sailor or pilot, and don’t salute them in your heart, You Are Not Guarding Freedoms Nest. Real...

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Blood from sheep butchered in a religious ritual at one of South Africa's busiest tourist beaches could tempt sharks toward bathers, an official warned Thursday. A small group called the Healing Oracle has carried out such sacrifices on a beach in the eastern coastal city of Durban, media reported. Its leader Prophet Moses Michael said it was inspired by the Old Testament to help cure sick people. But biologist Sheldon Dudley of the Natal Sharks Board, which aims to reduce attacks on humans, said the blood may attract sharks even though the beach is protected by nets....

A bill encouraging women and girls to go topless at California beaches and parks could be introduced this week in the California Legislature."

PHUKET, Thailand - While volunteers struggled to collect bodies washing up on the once-pristine beaches of this upscale resort isle, ghoulish tourists rolled out their towels yesterday, doffed their bikini tops and vacationed like nothing had happened. On Patong Beach and Kata Beach - where hundreds died or disappeared four days ago - the smell of suntan lotion wafted from the shore as a new influx of tourists determinedly ignored the carnage around them, frolicking in the surf or reading under umbrellas. An indignant Russian who arrived at the Novotel Phuket Resort on the day after the tsunami loudly complained...

Oregon’s beaches are for everyone. Those lucky enough to live here point to them with pride. We tell the story of how forward-thinking Oregonians have kept the beaches in public hands, safe from private ownership and development. That took planning, debate and consensus. We need those same skills now that we're faced with a challenge: protecting the western snowy plover (a threatened bird covered by state and federal Endangered Species laws) and allowing people to continue to use the beach. Snowy plovers and beach recreation For nearly two years, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department has been collecting information, holding...

TARAWA, Kiribati (AP) - On the beach at "Bloody Tarawa," where U.S. Marines died by the hundreds, the broken bottles, crushed boxes and plastic bags are now piling up by the millions. Rotting under the equatorial sun, the garbage of an open dump is spreading over a section of World War II's Red Beach, a strip of sand hallowed in American military history. It's a sign of the crisis of solid waste that threatens to overwhelm the tiny atolls of the Pacific, tropical "paradises" whose beauty already is often marred by layers of debris - rubbish with nowhere to go....

Ban to be enforced on sand, pier and at bus stopsSANTA MONICA, Calif. - Los Angeles County is getting 13 miles of smoke-free beaches. (snip) The new law is expected to go into effect sometime in the next six weeks, as is a similar Los Angeles ban. (snip) The bans represent a recent trend among Southern California coastal communities. The mayor and backing council members say the law is needed to protect the environment, reduce beachgoers exposure to second-hand smoke, and keep the beaches clean.The emphasis is mine and not the writers.

RICHARDS APPLAUDS NEW EFFORTS TO REMOVE LAKEFRONT SMELL MILWAUKEE - Today Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee) hailed the approval of a $138,000 State Coastal Management grant for the UWM WATER Institute to study and manage the source of the smell along Milwaukee's beaches. The smell is caused by Cladophora, which is an algae that grows on the lake bottom, breaks off and washes up on beaches and rocks causing a sewage-like smell when it decays. "The smell is disgusting an can be overpowering," Richards said. "The WATER Institute researchers are doing pioneering work in understanding Cladophora. With the Coastal Management grant,...

Just wondered if any other Freepers besides myself were going to France in six weeks to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Normandy invasion. This has been in the works for me for over a year, and as a general goal for the last twenty years. Ever since Ronald Reagan spoke at the American cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach in 1984, really. Part of the motivation is that this will undoubtedly be the last such gathering of American veterans who actually participated in the assault. As such, it will be the last occasion to honor this extraordinary group of Americans and...

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world. A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in...

Do you enjoy fishing, surfing, beachcombing, sunbathing, or just long walks on the beach at sunrise or sunset? Are you aware that the beaches of Texas belong to the citizens of Texas? Did you know that there is an ongoing battle, to take away YOUR right to access YOUR property? The "Texas Open Beaches Act" guarantees, the citizens of our great state, open and unrestricted access to all Texas beaches,from "mean low tide" to the "vegetation line." The current fight is over the last 3.2 miles of open beach, at San Luis Pass. By the way, that is the only,...

Well, I just got my packet of info concerning the 60th Anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France by Stephen Ambrose Tours, Inc. I was suprised that the tour is a CRUISE! Not only that, I think that the $8,000+ is pretty steep, even for such noble guests and luxuries that you will be treated to no doubt. However, I was wondering if it were possible to get together a FreeRepublic.com group of history buffs/patriots/veterans and maybe go over and make things more fun and less expensive for us. I have never been to Normandy, but I heard it was alot...

ACAPULCO, Mexico – At the height of Mexico's spring tourism season, Caletilla beach welcomed throngs of tourists with a reassuring blue and white sign declaring the water free from pollution, despite media reports to the contrary. "Clean Ocean. Certified Beach. The waters of this beach are apt for recreational activities," read the sign, which bore the seals of federal agencies like the environmental and health ministries, along with a city government emblem. The only problem for the thousands of beachgoers splashing in the surf was that the sign was a fake, said federal officials, who began posting warning signs for...

California Beach Bums By Michael DeAlessi Put two good environmentally smart ideas together - recycling old tires and creating kelp beds, which along with coral reefs are one of the "rainforests of seas" - and what do you get? In California, only litigation and conflict at the hands of the state's own imperious Coastal Commission. California's coastline is one the most gorgeous and dramatic in the world. It is also among the most heavily regulated. The California Coastal Commission controls all 1,150 miles of it. As such, the commission is, as one commentator put, "one of the most powerful and...

<p>SAN LUIS OBISPO -- The state already limits public access to the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area from March through September to protect the habitat of a small brown-and-white bird.</p> <p>Now it must decide if it will close off even more of the beach that's designated for riding and camping.</p>

I find it hilarious that Clinton is doing light hearted talk shows and concerts like Larry King, Hollywood Squares, Opening for bands...Its proves that now the Adults are in charge at the White House , and Clinton can go play his little kid games. Sometime between the 2000 elections and the 2002 mid terms elections Americans woke up after an eight year nap. Others were awakened to the deceitfulness of a former President. Right around Sept 11 to be exact. While our real President was comforting the victims, and striking fear in the hearts of our enemies, and confounding the...

THE SPANISH BAIL-OUT MARK A SITY 12/1/02 Although it hasn't happened yet, there are sure to be calls for the USA to help Spain clean up its oil-soaked beaches. No doubt groups are working on picking our pockets for this cause. Yet, where does the fault lie here? From what I have heard, the Captain of the ship has been charged with environmental damage. Yet, unlike the Exxon-Valdez, this Captain was not sleeping off a drunk in treacherous waters. He realized he had a serious problem, an oil leak, and sent out a distress call, looking for a port where...

<p>HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif.(AP) - A stretch of beach here was rated among Orange County's five most polluted by the environmental group Heal the Bay.</p> <p>"It's the usual suspects," said the group's executive director Mark Gold. "Orange County had six sewage spills that, though minor, resulted in shoreline closures, compared to four in Los Angeles County that did not lead to closures. Last year, Orange County had 14 sewage spills."</p>

Link post: Geology Picture of the Week, May 26 - June 1, 2002

This true-color MODIS image shows a phytoplankton bloom, indicated by the blue-green swirls, off the coast of Brittany, France. At the top of the image is the southern edge of England, and to its south is the English Channel.

Coastal Development Threatens Ocean Health WASHINGTON, DC, April 18, 2002 (ENS) - Development along the U.S. coastline is linked to the declining health of the nation's ocean habitats and resources, a new report shows. Within 15 years, an additional 27 million people are estimated to live in coastal counties, which comprise just 17 percent of the nation's area. A new report prepared for the independent Pew Oceans Commission and released this week links this growth along the coasts to declining ocean health. "Americans have long enjoyed living, working, and playing along the coasts," said Leon Panetta, former White House...

Most U.S. Coastal Waters Polluted WASHINGTON, DC, April 2, 2002 (ENS) - Almost half the nation's coastal waters are so polluted that their usefulness to humans and their ability to support aquatic life are impaired, finds a new report by a quartet of federal agencies. The study, the first environmental report card on the condition of the nation's coastal waters, rates the quality of these resources as fair to poor. The report finds environmental problems facing most of the nation's estuaries: the highly productive regions where fresh water meets the salty seas. (All photos courtesy EPA National Estuary Program)...