April 7, 2013 at 11:46 pm
losangeles.cbslocal.com
-
HERMOSA BEACH (CBSLA.com) — The Hermosa Beach Municipal Pier is so popular it has its own Facebook page.
Fans of the pier are none-too-happy to find out that starting Monday the pier will be closed for repairs. And those repairs will take at least 40 days, according to officials.
KCAL9′s Tom Wait spoke to business owners about what the pier closure will mean to their bottom line and to Hermosa Beach residents who are sad to see the pier closed, even briefly.
“It’s kind of a bummer that it’s going to happen right when the weather starts to get nice,” said a mom enjoying the pier with her kids.
The picturesque walk will be closed for more than a month while crews repair some of the aging pylons and the concrete walkway.
“I’m shocked over it. I’m just glad I brought my girls over to the beach today because they’ve been wanting to come,” said Claudia Harris.
For families the locked gates will be a downer, but the reality is, the aging pier needed some TLC. It was first built back in 1914.
Michael Swift, a dad, was a bit more on the understanding side. “It’s just temporary, they get it fixed up and the people will just come back.”
Foot traffic is also important to the local businesses that sit just a few feet from its entrance. Some business owners are worried their cash registers might take a hit.
“It will definitely have an impact but we have a lot of tourists. It will definitely be a little bit of a decrease of business. But it will not be really, really drastic,” said Johnny Figueroa or Silvio’s Restaurant.
"
addthis:title="Hermosa Beach Municipal Pier Closing For Repairs"
addthis:description="
HERMOSA BEACH (CBSLA.com) — The Hermosa Beach Municipal Pier is so popular it has its own Facebook page.
Fans of the pier are none-too-happy to find out that starting Monday the pier will be closed for repairs. And those repairs will take at least 40 days, according to officials.
KCAL9′s Tom Wait spoke to business owners about what the pier closure will mean to their bottom line and to Hermosa Beach residents who are sad to see the pier closed, even briefly.
“It’s kind of a bummer that it’s going to happen right when the weather starts to get nice,” said a mom enjoying the pier with her kids.
The picturesque walk will be closed for more than a month while crews repair some of the aging pylons and the concrete walkway.
“I’m shocked over it. I’m just glad I brought my girls over to the beach today because they’ve been wanting to come,” said Claudia Harris.
For families the locked gates will be a downer, but the reality is, the aging pier needed some TLC. It was first built back in 1914.
Michael Swift, a dad, was a bit more on the understanding side. “It’s just temporary, they get it fixed up and the people will just come back.”
Foot traffic is also important to the local businesses that sit just a few feet from its entrance. Some business owners are worried their cash registers might take a hit.
“It will definitely have an impact but we have a lot of tourists. It will definitely be a little bit of a decrease of business. But it will not be really, really drastic,” said Johnny Figueroa or Silvio’s Restaurant.
">
April 1, 2013 at 9:15 pm
losangeles.cbslocal.com
-
MALIBU (CBSLA.com) — Federal officials are declaring an “unusual mortality event” after hundreds of California sea lion pups have become stranded in Southern California.
The move by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) comes after what the agency described as “elevated strandings of California sea lion pups” in Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Diego counties.
Since Jan. 1, more than 900 sea lions have been admitted to rehabilitation facilities, far outpacing historical stranding rates for 2008 to 2012, according to NOAA.
This weekend alone, officials with Sea World rescued nine sea lions from Oceanside to Encinitas, with 240 lions in all saved in 2013 — more than the entire years of 2011 and 2012 combined.
The California Marine Mammal Stranding Network and other rescue groups have reported finding the animals, who are significantly below their average weight, suffering from emaciation and dehydration.
“Apparently, there’s 10 to 20 to 30 a day up and down the coast of San Diego,” Oceanside lifeguard Blake Faumuina said.
An independent team of scientists has been assembled to coordinate with the Working Group on Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events to review all relevant data and develop an investigative plan under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.
RELATED: Starving Sea Lion Pups Mysteriously Washing Up On Southland Beaches
elevated strandings of California sea lion pups” in Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Diego counties.
Since Jan. 1, more than 900 sea lions have been admitted to rehabilitation facilities, far outpacing historical stranding rates for 2008 to 2012, according to NOAA.
This weekend alone, officials with Sea World rescued nine sea lions from Oceanside to Encinitas, with 240 lions in all saved in 2013 — more than the entire years of 2011 and 2012 combined.
The California Marine Mammal Stranding Network and other rescue groups have reported finding the animals, who are significantly below their average weight, suffering from emaciation and dehydration.
“Apparently, there’s 10 to 20 to 30 a day up and down the coast of San Diego,” Oceanside lifeguard Blake Faumuina said.
An independent team of scientists has been assembled to coordinate with the Working Group on Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events to review all relevant data and develop an investigative plan under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.
RELATED: Starving Sea Lion Pups Mysteriously Washing Up On Southland Beaches
"
addthis:title="Feds Declare “Unusual Mortality Event” After Sea Lion Deaths Off SoCal Beaches"
addthis:description="
MALIBU (CBSLA.com) — Federal officials are declaring an “unusual mortality event” after hundreds of California sea lion pups have become stranded in Southern California.
The move by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) comes after what the agency described as “elevated strandings of California sea lion pups” in Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Diego counties.
Since Jan. 1, more than 900 sea lions have been admitted to rehabilitation facilities, far outpacing historical stranding rates for 2008 to 2012, according to NOAA.
This weekend alone, officials with Sea World rescued nine sea lions from Oceanside to Encinitas, with 240 lions in all saved in 2013 — more than the entire years of 2011 and 2012 combined.
The California Marine Mammal Stranding Network and other rescue groups have reported finding the animals, who are significantly below their average weight, suffering from emaciation and dehydration.
“Apparently, there’s 10 to 20 to 30 a day up and down the coast of San Diego,” Oceanside lifeguard Blake Faumuina said.
An independent team of scientists has been assembled to coordinate with the Working Group on Marine Mammal Unusual Mortality Events to review all relevant data and develop an investigative plan under the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.
RELATED: Starving Sea Lion Pups Mysteriously Washing Up On Southland Beaches
">
March 19, 2013 at 11:40 am
blogging.la
-
click to embiggen, there are 2 whales in this picture
The whales are making their migration north from Mexico. We are rapidly approaching the zenith of their numbers. The fam and I made the trek to Dana Point to take advantage of the season as we “heard” that area tends to have the best whale watching. We were not disappointed. Our 2 hour cruise left us with memories that will last a life time.
We used the services of the Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching and rode out on the “Dana Pride” at noon yesterday. We saw many sights as we cruised out past the sea lions on the break water and out to sea. There were several pods of dolphins feeding out at sea. What was really amazing was watching them follow our boat and play in the wake as we moved around them.
The captains on the boat are real experts at whale watching. The offer up a narrative of what to look for as well as what you are watching. They stay in touch with other Whale Watching boats to expedite the finding of whales by sharing information via radio where they can be found. (Spoiler alert…we saw something that is rarely witnessed by us land dwellers and you need to make the jump to read about it).
Dolphins playing in the boat wake, click to embiggen
To make sure you get the most out of your trip the folks at Dana Wharf have on board a “dolphinologist”, a marine biologist from a local uni there to help find them and explain what they are doing. Also on board is a cetacean (whale) expert from the American Cetacean Society. Our Expert was Steve O’Toole from ACS who wandered about the boat answering questions and giving short talks on what sort of whale we are looking at.
Steve O’Toole and a model of a California Gray Whale
Our captain made tracks to an area where he said he was told “we absolutely need to be there to witness what was going on”. We arrived to find a pair of whales that were circling and swimming around a sail boat. The boat was still in the water and the whales seemed somehow enamored by its presence and stayed around it for quite a while.
sail boat and whale tail, click to embiggen
Our captain killed the engine and we, as in several other boats just floated about watching the whales cavort about. According to Steve O’Toole he said that he could only speculate, but he believed the whales were in a courtship dance of sorts prior to their eventually mating. We sat there in awe of the performance of these giant mammals as they swam about. They would either swim in tandem coming up for air at the same time. Or they would split apart then swim towards each other, rubbing sides as they passed. IT was really something else to see, and am so glad that I saw this once in a lifetime display by the whales.
small craft whale pair, click to embiggen
The one thing I wished we could have seen was them jump out of the water and breach. However we still did see them come fairly far out of the water. Sadly, every small boat owner and kayak-er with a radio eventually heard about the show we were watching and the water eventually be came so clogged that the whales left us.
Whale Watching the Money Shot, click to embiggen
Hat tip to Kelly Farlow at Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching who arranged this trip for the fam and I. It was truly a memorable day at sea.
Deets. Dana Wharf Sport Fishing and Whale Watching. Trips depart daily,10:00am – 12:00pm, 12:00pm – 2:00pm, 2:00pm – 4:00pm and 4:00pm – 6:00pm* (Fri, Sat, Sun). 34675 Golden Lantern Dana Point, CA 92629, (949) 496-5794 Prices can vary but adults are $45 per person. Look for a groupon if possible.
All pics by me. The images here were post processed from RAW files, more from the entire afternoon in the from of rough JPEG’s can be found in a flickr set.
The whales are making their migration north from Mexico. We are rapidly approaching the zenith of their numbers. The fam and I made the trek to Dana Point to take advantage of the season as we “heard” that area tends to have the best whale watching. We were not disappointed. Our 2 hour cruise left us with memories that will last a life time.
We used the services of the Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching and rode out on the “Dana Pride” at noon yesterday. We saw many sights as we cruised out past the sea lions on the break water and out to sea. There were several pods of dolphins feeding out at sea. What was really amazing was watching them follow our boat and play in the wake as we moved around them.
The captains on the boat are real experts at whale watching. The offer up a narrative of what to look for as well as what you are watching. They stay in touch with other Whale Watching boats to expedite the finding of whales by sharing information via radio where they can be found. (Spoiler alert…we saw something that is rarely witnessed by us land dwellers and you need to make the jump to read about it).
Dolphins playing in the boat wake, click to embiggen
To make sure you get the most out of your trip the folks at Dana Wharf have on board a “dolphinologist”, a marine biologist from a local uni there to help find them and explain what they are doing. Also on board is a cetacean (whale) expert from the American Cetacean Society. Our Expert was Steve O’Toole from ACS who wandered about the boat answering questions and giving short talks on what sort of whale we are looking at.
Steve O’Toole and a model of a California Gray Whale
Our captain made tracks to an area where he said he was told “we absolutely need to be there to witness what was going on”. We arrived to find a pair of whales that were circling and swimming around a sail boat. The boat was still in the water and the whales seemed somehow enamored by its presence and stayed around it for quite a while.
sail boat and whale tail, click to embiggen
Our captain killed the engine and we, as in several other boats just floated about watching the whales cavort about. According to Steve O’Toole he said that he could only speculate, but he believed the whales were in a courtship dance of sorts prior to their eventually mating. We sat there in awe of the performance of these giant mammals as they swam about. They would either swim in tandem coming up for air at the same time. Or they would split apart then swim towards each other, rubbing sides as they passed. IT was really something else to see, and am so glad that I saw this once in a lifetime display by the whales.
small craft whale pair, click to embiggen
The one thing I wished we could have seen was them jump out of the water and breach. However we still did see them come fairly far out of the water. Sadly, every small boat owner and kayak-er with a radio eventually heard about the show we were watching and the water eventually be came so clogged that the whales left us.
Whale Watching the Money Shot, click to embiggen
Hat tip to Kelly Farlow at Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching who arranged this trip for the fam and I. It was truly a memorable day at sea.
Deets. Dana Wharf Sport Fishing and Whale Watching. Trips depart daily,10:00am – 12:00pm, 12:00pm – 2:00pm, 2:00pm – 4:00pm and 4:00pm – 6:00pm* (Fri, Sat, Sun). 34675 Golden Lantern Dana Point, CA 92629, (949) 496-5794 Prices can vary but adults are $45 per person. Look for a groupon if possible.
All pics by me. The images here were post processed from RAW files, more from the entire afternoon in the from of rough JPEG’s can be found in a flickr set.
"
addthis:title="Whale Watching season is upon us"
addthis:description="
click to embiggen, there are 2 whales in this picture
The whales are making their migration north from Mexico. We are rapidly approaching the zenith of their numbers. The fam and I made the trek to Dana Point to take advantage of the season as we “heard” that area tends to have the best whale watching. We were not disappointed. Our 2 hour cruise left us with memories that will last a life time.
We used the services of the Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching and rode out on the “Dana Pride” at noon yesterday. We saw many sights as we cruised out past the sea lions on the break water and out to sea. There were several pods of dolphins feeding out at sea. What was really amazing was watching them follow our boat and play in the wake as we moved around them.
The captains on the boat are real experts at whale watching. The offer up a narrative of what to look for as well as what you are watching. They stay in touch with other Whale Watching boats to expedite the finding of whales by sharing information via radio where they can be found. (Spoiler alert…we saw something that is rarely witnessed by us land dwellers and you need to make the jump to read about it).
Dolphins playing in the boat wake, click to embiggen
To make sure you get the most out of your trip the folks at Dana Wharf have on board a “dolphinologist”, a marine biologist from a local uni there to help find them and explain what they are doing. Also on board is a cetacean (whale) expert from the American Cetacean Society. Our Expert was Steve O’Toole from ACS who wandered about the boat answering questions and giving short talks on what sort of whale we are looking at.
Steve O’Toole and a model of a California Gray Whale
Our captain made tracks to an area where he said he was told “we absolutely need to be there to witness what was going on”. We arrived to find a pair of whales that were circling and swimming around a sail boat. The boat was still in the water and the whales seemed somehow enamored by its presence and stayed around it for quite a while.
sail boat and whale tail, click to embiggen
Our captain killed the engine and we, as in several other boats just floated about watching the whales cavort about. According to Steve O’Toole he said that he could only speculate, but he believed the whales were in a courtship dance of sorts prior to their eventually mating. We sat there in awe of the performance of these giant mammals as they swam about. They would either swim in tandem coming up for air at the same time. Or they would split apart then swim towards each other, rubbing sides as they passed. IT was really something else to see, and am so glad that I saw this once in a lifetime display by the whales.
small craft whale pair, click to embiggen
The one thing I wished we could have seen was them jump out of the water and breach. However we still did see them come fairly far out of the water. Sadly, every small boat owner and kayak-er with a radio eventually heard about the show we were watching and the water eventually be came so clogged that the whales left us.
Whale Watching the Money Shot, click to embiggen
Hat tip to Kelly Farlow at Dana Wharf Sportfishing and Whale Watching who arranged this trip for the fam and I. It was truly a memorable day at sea.
Deets. Dana Wharf Sport Fishing and Whale Watching. Trips depart daily,10:00am – 12:00pm, 12:00pm – 2:00pm, 2:00pm – 4:00pm and 4:00pm – 6:00pm* (Fri, Sat, Sun). 34675 Golden Lantern Dana Point, CA 92629, (949) 496-5794 Prices can vary but adults are $45 per person. Look for a groupon if possible.
All pics by me. The images here were post processed from RAW files, more from the entire afternoon in the from of rough JPEG’s can be found in a flickr set.
">
