Two LA Beaches Rank As The Most Polluted (And Other Headlines)

I don’t know about you but the June gloom surely doesn’t make me want to head out to the beach anytime soon. But since I am banking on the sun and the heat to show up eventually in the next few weeks or so, I feel compelled to dig into the state of our not-so-clean beaches.

Two L.A. County beaches make the top polluted list

My colleague Jacob Margolis has the latest, thanks to Heal the Bay’s annual beach report card. The report gives us the down and dirty details about how bacteria-polluted the water is near some California beaches.

Heal the Bay gives A to F letter grades for 700 beaches from Washington State to Tijuana, Mexico. Out of all of these beaches, two in Los Angeles County made the top polluted list: Santa Monica Beach at the pier and Mother’s Beach in Marina Del Rey.

There is good news. Alison Wu, the water quality data specialist at Heal the Bay told Jacob that during dry periods the water in L.A. County is “pretty clean.” It’s when it rains that the water gets polluted — largely due to all the runoff. As a general rule, it's not a good idea to take a swim or go surfing after a storm.

Read Jacob’s story to learn more information about the state of beaches (and also rivers) all around Southern California.

There’s more news below — just keep reading.

More news

(After you stop hitting snooze)

• As expected, Los Angeles City Council President Paul Krekorian introduced a motion to suspend Councilmember Curren Price after he was charged with several counts of corruption, including embezzlement of government funds. If the suspension goes through, it would leave his South L.A. Council District 9 without representation. 
• LAist Promise Tracker Update: L.A. Mayor Karen Bass’ administration has reported that 14,381 people have been housed since the launch of her initiative to get people off the streets. But there’s a few caveats. Read more from my colleague Brianna Lee’s story. 
• A bus of 42 migrants arrived in L.A. from Texas yesterday, having been sent here by Gov. Greg Abbott to provide "much-needed relief" for the border. The group, which includes some children, were take to St. Anthony's Croatian Catholic Church after a stop at Union Station. (Los Angeles Times)
• The UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation offered some suggestions for steps  California schools can implement to keep students safe while global warming gets worse. One of the most important things: create more shade in lay areas and other outdoor spaces.
• The federal government gave California school districts $2.7 billion for tutoring, after-school and summer programs, and other interventions to help assist with  learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But an EdSource analysis revealed that nearly a quarter of school districts and charter schools have yet to spend a cent of that money. 
• International screenwriters from 35 countries held an event yesterday to stand in solidarity with the Writers Guild of America. Here’s more details from NPR’s Chloe Veltman.
• While the conservative Temecula Valley school board fired Superintendent Jodi McClay without cause on Tuesday, parents, teachers and students protested the district’s ban on a social studies textbook. 
• Yesterday, the Southern Baptist Convention decided to uphold its removal of two churches from their religious organizing body because they ordained women pastors. One of the two churches was Saddleback Church, the largest church in California and one of the largest in the nation. 
• UPS workers will now have air conditioning systems in new delivery trucks after their union reached a deal with the company. NPR’s Joe Hernandez has more on how delivery truck drivers have been increasingly impacted by climate change in recent years and how this change could help.

Wait! One more thing...

Hop on the Cheap Fast Eats train with Gab

The fish tacos from Holé Molé make for a perfect Cheap Fast Eats when dining out in Long Beach

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Brian Feinzimer for LAist

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The Metro Regional Connector that links Azusa to Long Beach and Santa Monica to East Los Angeles is opening on Friday. While you ride for FREE this weekend, you should check out some local eateries on the line.

My colleague Gab Chabrán featured six restaurants from Long Beach to Downtown L.A. to Pasadena that you can check out on your ride.

If you’re in the mood for a relatively inexpensive fish taco by the ocean, visit Holé Molé in the LBC, where you can get a taco for $1.29. Are you craving jerk chicken and reggae bread? Check out Culver City’s The Jerk Spot Jamaican Restaurant. Gab’s description of his go-to meal is sure to make you want to hop on that train this weekend:

“I go for jerk chicken with dark meat, which comes with an order of reggae bread, made with cornmeal flour and sugar with a hint of vanilla. It’s perfectly balanced with the heavy spice flavor, the chopped-up chicken bits, and its caramelized edges. Douse it with some of the extra jerk sauce they give you and a couple of sips of lemonade or pineapple juice, and you’re pretty close to flavorful heaven.”

One of my favorite spots on his list is Moderno Cocina which has some of the best tacos I’ve ever had. Check out more spots he included on his list here.

And make sure you listen to the latest episode of How To LA on this Cheap Fast Eats express trip.