Author: The Argonaut

Teams of volunteers will comb through area beaches rounding up litter and debris from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, September 18th, for the 20th year of the annual statewide Coastal Cleanup effort. Residents statewide who want to help the beautification effort can choose a local beach and join the volunteer cleanup crew the morning of the event. Coastal environmental group Heal the Bay is the coordinator for Los Angeles County Coastal Cleanup Day sites. Local beach cleanup sites include Santa Monica Beach, Venice Beach and Dockweiler Beach in Playa del Rey. A special kayak cleanup will take place at Mothers Beach in Marina del Rey where participants will remove floating debris from the water while partaking in a morning of kayaking. Santa Monica Baykeeper will be organizing the cleanup in Marina del Rey. On-site coordinators from Heal the Bay will provide trash bags, gloves and tally cards, in order to tally up data on what types of junk are most commonly found beachside. The most prevalent item collected in past years has been cigarette butts. There is no charge to participate in the cleanup activities. However, those under 18 that wish to participate must bring a liability waiver signed by a parent or guardian. Waiver forms can be found on the California Coastal Commission Web site, http://www.coastal.ca.gov On Santa Monica Beach, cleanup sites will be stationed at Towers 4,...

Although the summer heat has continued into mid-September, Marina del Rey boat owners are already beginning to think about the 42nd Annual Marina del Rey Holiday Boat Parade, planned for Saturday, December 11th. A Malibu couple and their 27-foot sailboat, Tina Marie, are the first private entry in the boat parade. “We placed third in 2002 and second in 2003 in the Channel Islands Holiday Boat Parade,” said David Smith, who moved his boat from Ventura County to Marina del Rey this year. “Now our objective is to win first place in the Marina del Rey boat parade,” he said. “My passion is music,” Smith adds. Every year, Smith and his wife, Tina, record a song that is played on their boat during the boat parade. “This year we’ve selected a very popular Christmas song and have changed the lyrics to nautical terms and kind of personalized it,” he says. The couple says it has big plans for their Cal 27 in the Marina del Rey boat parade. Besides the original music, Tina Marie will be decked out with thousands of lights. “Last year, we had in the neighborhood of 4,000-plus lights. This year, we’re adding another 1,000 lights,” David Smith says. He says he and his wife plan to set an eight-foot-tall Santa Claus, Frosty the Snowman and a Christmas tree on the boat. The couple says it...