Don Shirley: Pianists make history
Iris Schneider on Annie Leibovitz
Endless Summer changed the image of surfers and surfing culture in the 1960s and made Brown a legend on the beach.
Archive: Pacific
Endless Summer changed the image of surfers and surfing culture in the 1960s and made Brown a legend on the beach.
"Before John Severson, there was really no surf art, no surf magazines, no real surf films, no surfwear industry, no pro surfing, no Surfrider Foundation, no surf culture as we know it."
A line of storms is coming toward California — just like they used to before the drought.
The Semidi segment of the subduction zone in the Aleutian Islands points right at us and is "too quiet."
Potentially catastrophic storm heading for Puerto Vallarta "now very close to the theoretical maximum strength for a tropical cyclone on planet Earth."
If you see a yellow-bellied sea snake, take pictures and report the sighting but do not handle this highly venomous creature. OK?
Elevated bacteria counts plus the discovery of hypodermic needles and tampon applicators are tied to Hyperion's switch this week to a pipe dumping treated sewage just a mile offshore.
The pod appeared off San Onofre in Orange County this week and provided a show.
"I was a little shocked just how closely 2015 resembles 1997 visually," says the visualization creator at UCAR.
There's no real surprise here. Yes, the tar that washed up on local beaches came from 100 miles away.
Affected beaches range as far south as San Clemente. Heck of a coincidence if this is not found to be connected to the Santa Barbara County spill.
Scientist Grace Peng reminds us there was a time when the Pacific inundated California with rivers of free water from the sky.
Already, this year has seen the most stranding of emaciated sea lions in memory. Warmer waters driving away the food is suspected.
And in California, the threat of a magnitude 8 quake, the Big One for us, has been raised by USGS.
The officer was killed last night when he was trapped between a loose boat and rocks near the Green Pleasure Pier.
Scientists think they know now what has killed millions of starfish along the Pacific coast, though they aren't so sure why. The destruction has been quite visible in tide pools.
Dorian Paskowitz was a Stanford-trained doctor who raised nine children on the beach in Orange County, surfed the world and even tried to make peace on the Gaza Strip. He "lived the ultimate surfing life."
The former hurricane Norbert heading into Baja California is now a tropical storm with winds down around 50 miles an hour. Expect big swells to continue on our beaches.
By-the-wind sailors are related to the Portuguese man-of-war but without the painful sting. Here's a primer from Heal the Bay as the strange Pacific wildlife year continues.
This screen grab barely does justice to the beauty of the animated graphic. Click to enjoy.
"The Hawaii Red Cross disaster truck in Hilo was stolen last night. Please call 9-1-1 if seen."
Hurricane Iselle is expected to slam into the east coast of the Big Island of Hawaii on Thursday night, with winds of 60 to 95 miles an hour and a storm surge of 1-2 feet. Forecasters predict five to eight inches of rain to fall on the Big Island.
Hurricane Iselle will arrive first, over Hilo as early as Thursday. A tropical storm watch is in effect across the islands.
The Malibu Times says that Diana Armstrong was on her deck facing the beach on Saturday night when she a large fish in the surf. She dragged the bluefin out of the water and it became dinner.
Chances are your favorite media outlet over-hyped what happened over the weekend. Heal the Bay scientists offer the lay of the land.
Ben Carlson, 32, had been a lifeguard for 15 years. The swimmer he rescued made it back to the beach.
Two whale watchers on an inflatable boat were thrown into the sea and rescued. Plus: 5 whales and dolphins to watch for this season.
On Saturday afternoon I came upon dozens of brown pelicans diving frantically into the shallow water on the edge of the Marina del Rey entrance channel, obviously enjoying some kind of unseen fish bonanza.
Credit for the headline to the High Country News, which notes that "with each passing day it seems more certain: 2014 is going to be an El Niño year, and probably a big one."
Tsunami warnings were called for the upper west coast of South America, with warnings as far north as Mexico. But the tsunami threat has passed.
Alter opened the first surf shop in Dana Point in 1954 and became "the godfather of the surf industry." A memorial paddle out will be held in front of his family home in Laguna Beach.
Based on recent developments, some scientists think this event may rival the record El Niño event of 1997-1998. If that does happen, 2015 would almost be guaranteed to set a record for the warmest year on Earth, says a report.
Awesome weather map. The free water will be here Friday morning.
Even after last week's heavy rainfall up north, the drought maps are still a dry sea of red. And oh by the way, it looks as if the Ridiculously Resilient Ridge may be re-forming out in the Pacific.
Justin Edwards and his drone camera lingered above two humpback whales swimming in the channel off Maui on Valentine's Day.
Two men from Ensenada were convicted of ramming a Coast Guard inflatable, throwing Chief Petty Officer Terrell Horne III into the water near Santa Cruz Island. He suffered a fatal injury in the 2012 incident.
The high pressure ridge keeping us dry also left Mavericks with the ideal combination of big swells and no wind or weather.
This might be the most beautiful surfing video you have seen (and heard.) Meanwhile, the National Weather Service warns of very big waves on all of Hawaii's islands this week.
Coming up on three years since the catastrophic Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, officials say flatly there is no threat to food or beachgoers. No matter what you might see on Facebook.
Scientists on Sunday discovered twin calves that were conjoined. They did not survive. "It might be the first documented case of Siamese twin gray whales," blogs the outdoors writer Pete Thomas.
Whale-watcher Alisa Schulman-Janiger says that she and colleagues observed a baby gray whale 1.5 miles off Palos Verdes on Friday that may have been just born. "It was the coolest thing ever."
Remember those disturbing photos last year of mysteriously malnourished sea lions at rescue centers? An alarming drop in sardine schools may be a big reason. There are all kinds of reasons to worry about the sardines, it turns out.
A pod that has visited SoCal waters the last three winters jumped, surfed the boat wake and made a kill while researchers watched. "They were making eye contact with us. I don't see how it can get any better."
Anchovies beget sea lions, pelicans, dolphins and now the whales. Lots of them. Meanwhile: South Bay paddlers are told to stop bothering the great white sharks.
With maximum sustained winds of 195 mph, Super Typhoon Haiyan (as it is known elsewhere) "is thought to be the strongest storm to ever make landfall anywhere in the world in modern records." President Aquino of the Philippines urged the nation to prepare.
The UC Santa Barbara researchers who dissected tissue from the mysterious 18-foot oatfish that washed up last month on Catalina Island found some interesting parasites along for the ride.
Conditions out in the Pacific add up to a third straight off year for rainfall. But you never know — normal is such a squishy concept here.
Heal the Bay says the female Stejneger's Beaked Whale was covered in shark bites, but there was no apparent indication of how it had died.
The video is a bit graphic, but I wouldn't say gory. Your mileage may vary.
It has been a big week for the blue-footed booby since last week's sighting. "A bevy of boobies," quips the website SoCal Wild.
In the bird world, I guess this is exciting news. The species rarely seen around here was spotted in the ocean off Gladstone's in Pacific Palisades.
Photographers are asked to report when they see a blue-banded pelican who was released by International Bird Rescue in San Pedro. There's even a contest.
Heal the Bay has been hearing from so many people concerned about reports of radioactive contamination in the ocean here that it posted some questions and answers.
The good news about the latest new tsunami study, says Lucy Jones of USGS, is that three quarters of the California coastline is cliffs. The not so good news is that the remaining, low-lying coast is home to a lot of people and some of the most valuable land in the state.
Close call for some guys diving near Souza Rock off the Central California coast.
Back in May, a possibly ailing young sea lion climbed aboard a boat two miles off of Newport Beach in Orange County. He (the video shooters think it was male) climbed up on the seat and spent an hour nuzzling the legs of his new friends.
A Los Angeles County sheriff's helicopter crew flew 60 miles off the coast on Monday to rescue a scientist with a serious leg injury. A crew member taped the aerial rescue on a helmet camera.
The mystery of the ill sea lion pups overwhelming rescue centers in Southern California has been upgraded to an official "unusual mortality event" by the National Marine Fisheries Service. More sick pups have shown up on local beaches so far in 2013 than in many previous years combined.
The Orange County whale watch boat that has been providing lots of great video of offshore sea life today has posted footage of a bottlenose dolphin appearing to swim with a dead calf on its back, while other dolphins in the pod slowly accompany the first.
On Sunday, a male and female did the courtship dance for several hours alongside and under a Dana Point whale-watch boat and other craft full of amazed onlookers. In the video, the whales even appear to rub against a sailboat and set it to rocking.
Residents along the beach in Santa Monica and Venice complained early Sunday of a foul smell that seemed to be coming from the ocean. Readings on the water detected higher than typical amounts of odorless methane, so go figure.
In hula, it's a big thing to compete in the annual Merrie Monarch Festival held each spring in Hilo. This year there are only three troupes from outside Hawaii, and two are from the Los Angeles area. There's video inside; one halau struts its stuff Sunday in Lakewood to raise money to go.
This whale rubs on the boat, rolls over to be caressed and even closes its eyes — only thing missing is the purr. But really, kids should not stick their hands into the mouth of a whale, baby or not. Watch inside.
A female great white shark tagged in 2012 off Guadalupe Island, which lies about 165 miles west of Ensenada in Baja California, has made her way north toward the islands off Southern California. It's apparently the first time a tagged Guadalupe Island shark has been tracked into the local waters.
Sick and hungry sea lion pups are showing up almost daily at the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro — a dozen on Saturday alone. What is afflicting the young sea lions is unknown.
Watch video of the International Bird Rescue Center releasing a healthy Laysan Albatross outside the breakwater at San Pedro.
We know about the deal we make with earthquakes, but the biggest catastrophes through time in California have actually been storms. There's only been one on the epic scale since statehood, but a story in the new Scientific American says the next time will be worse for us.
The latest Pacific observation, from the waters around the Chanel Islands National Marine Sanctuary off Ventura County: a migrating gray whale protecting her newborn calf in a 20 to 30 minute battle in view of spectators on board a boat from Oxnard. Survival of the fittest.
The LA Coroner's office relooked at the death of Natalie Wood last year and changed the cause of her 1981 death in the water off Catalina Island from accidental to undetermined. That's still where it stands, meaning that sheriff's homicide detectives carry the case as open.
It seems as if there's a video-worthy dolphin, whale or orca encounter off the Southern California every week or so now. This "stampede" by leaping dolphins is pretty impressive.
On Tuesday afternoon, volunteers at the ACS/LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project at the Point Vicente Interpretive Center spotted a mother and three orca calves patrolling off the PV peninsula. Nice underwater video.
Chief Petty Officer Horne, of Redondo Beach, was out with the Marina Del Rey cutter Halibut when a suspected smuggling vessel rammed his inflatable boat, throwing Horne into the sea near Santa Cruz Island.
A female Argonaut, a form of octopus usually seen only in warmer regions, was brought aboard by fishermen a few miles out from Angel's Gate lighthouse. They took it alive to Cabrillo Marine Aquarium.
Anything that advances the science of seismology is news in Southern California, or should be. This week's lead entries in the journal Nature qualify.
A young gray whale that was found dead on Friday is believed to be the same emaciated animal that was freed from a rope off Manhattan Beach on Sept. 6.
If you don't know by now that our notch of the Pacific is popular with the sharks, here comes another piece of evidence. There was an amusing moment a few seconds later when the shark swam under a swimmer who had no clue.
The Glendale black bear incurred his third strike and has already been taken to an animal sanctuary in San Diego County. Plus: nice video of a young white shark and a humpback whale in the Pacific off Orange County.
Terry Tracy moved to the beach in Malibu in 1956, built a shack and became "the personification of the rebellious surf subculture that emerged in California in the late 1950s." He may — or may not — have also been the first surfer to call beach girl Kathy Kohner "Gidget."
Cody Martin captured a large yellowtail by hand off the Manhattan Beach pier — thanks to some dolphins who stunned the fish then left it behind. Outdoors blogger Pete Thomas explains how it happened.
Up close with a humpback whale for about 30 seconds. Though, video of a coyote trying to chase off that mountain lion in Orange County's Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park might be more dramatic.
Los Angeles Times web headline splits hairs on what it means to be "off the coast."
It's been pretty dang nice along the beaches so far in these final days of official spring. But as anyone with very many summers in Los Angeles knows, a marine layer could blanket us in a deep, gray, soul-sucking June gloom at any moment. A good read on how the marine layer works and why.
A magnitude 4.0 quake, which the USGS classifies as a "light earthquake," broke at 10:14 p.m. way out in the bight, 27 miles off Point Dume. Twitter has a way of magnifying these things — not the quake, just the human and news media reactions onshore — so you may hear about it even if you didn't feel it.
A piece in Orange Coast magazine focuses on the dilemma in OC's Newport Harbor where the good Republicans of Balboa Island either believe the Pacific is rising and need an $80 million seawall — and soon — or they believe Rush Limbaugh and friends that global warming is a creation of the loony left.
Video and photos: Two Chinese seamen with severe burns on a fishing vessel 700 miles off Acapulco were brought in by the 129th Rescue Wing of the California Air National Guard.
Heal the Bay has prepared a sober, hype-free set of frequently asked questions regarding the likelihood of floating debris reaching our shore. Message: calm down.
The National Weather Service advises that a cold weather system will be sliding in Tuesday. If you were thinking of going sailing, take a look at the map.
David Ono goes to Japan to see how things stand a year later.
The Great Eastern, the Chinatown landmark in San Francisco where President Obama made one of those "unscheduled" stops on Thursday's campaign swing, still offers a $48 bowl of braised shark...
A recreational boater reported the pot bobbing in the swells about six miles northwest of the entrance to Marina del Rey.
A female gray whale that summers off Sakhalin Island in the wetsern North Pacific was expected to swim past the Los Angeles County coast on Thursday and head south on Friday. Named Varvara by scientists, the eight-year-old whale is interesting to researchers for a couple of reasons.
The 23-year veteran of Heal the Bay and the group's president for many years is stepping down to become associate director of UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. He will stay on the group's board.
They paddled out Sunday by the hundreds in Huntington Beach to chill for a few moments of silence in memory of pioneering wave forecaster Sean Collins — followed by a ritual splashing of water and cheering that could be heard from shore.
Take My Picture Gary Leonard.
At least one of the family groups videotaped up close off the Southern California coast last month was back this weekend. Maybe they live here now.
Sean Collins, a self-taught wave forecaster who changed the way that surfers find out where to take their boards, died yesterday after collapsing of a heart attack while playing tennis in Orange County.
The pod of 12 killer whales logged previously in British Columbia was spotted off Ventura on Friday, off Rancho Palos Verdes on Saturday and off Newport Beach today.
Two SoCal nonprofits that campaign against plastic pollution are leading an expedition to the debris area, but it will cost you $13,000.
It's right where scientists expected it would be, near Midway Island, and should reach Hawaii in two years and North America in three.
Locals saved a juvenile shark that became tangled in fishing line over the weekend.
A pod of seven killer whales is filmed going after a sea lion right beside a whale-watch boat.
La Niña typically means a drier-than-usual wet season in Southern California and across the Southwest, but wetter months for our friends in the Pacific Northwest.
An Antarctic storm has spun off large swells that are expected to begin pounding local beaches with the summer's biggest waves on Thursday.
She was stranded for 53 days, attracting crowds of gawkers to Del Norte County near the Oregon border and numerous efforts to help steer the whale down to the sea.
Whale-watchers on board a Redondo Beach boat were off Palos Verdes Peninsula on Monday when they got an unusual treat for these waters.
His brother Mark, the head of Heal the Bay, says that he asked the LA Weekly food writer for this weekend's op-ed piece in the Los Angeles Times. Getting it done was more of a struggle.
Sion Milosky, a surfer in Hawaii of growing repute, became only the second surfer known to die at the famed surfing spot off Half Moon Bay.
Crescent City, near the Oregon border, appears to have suffered significant damage to its harbor.
Photographer Jonathan Alcorn got to the Venice pier for this shot of tonight's gorgeous sunset.
Heal the Bay president Mark Gold's wife made him get on a whale watch boat and go see the whales. He's glad he did.
When Judy Flagg of Irvine looked at her photos of a sunset from Laguna Beach, she saw a pair of small green flashes just above the sun on the horizon. Mystery solved, via the Orange County Register's science blog.
Every summer the boat captains say this is the year the blues are amazing. But this year the numbers are staggering, says outdoors writer Pete Thomas.
Here is Zocalo's report on the panel we told you about, discussing the future of seafood.
The National Weather Service officially flipped the switch today on expectations of our future rain, declaring the "demise" of our recent El Niño conditions.
Anyone who's ever gone to the beach in the Santa Barbara area knows that oil and tar can be part of the experience.
Modeling by NOAA of the tsunami action expected across the Pacific from the 8.8 earthquake in Chile. The ocean is normally blue on these maps. Small world, as they say....
More than 140 people have been killed by a major earthquake that struck before dawn, centered in the Pacific 60 miles offshore from the port city of Concepcion. A tsunami could hit Hawaii at 11:05 island time.
At least 250 brown pelicans have been treated over the past month at the International Bird Rescue Research Center in San Pedro, according to the center.
A series of waves out of the Pacific crashed into Samoa and American Samoa, apparently killing at least dozens and wiping out some villages, but media in the region are...
Twenty gray whales have been spotted traveling south across Santa Monica Bay this week, one has been poking its head up at the Redondo Beach pier, and "Immense pods of Common Dolphins are also being spotted offshore, feeding on the abundant bait fish (probably anchovies)."
he Monterey Bay Aquarium's young great white shark, the only one in captivity, has started doing what they do best: killing other sharks.
New at LA Observed
Clinton fundraises in LA
Jim Henson Studios on La Brea became a presidential campaign stop on Thursday.
Brown declares disaster area
The natural gas leak above Porter Ranch now qualifies for various government actions. Story
Performing arts with cheer
Donna Perlmutter closes out 2015 with productions downtown and on the Westside.
