Dateline: Tuesday morning, August 22, 2017. Granted it was a weekday morning, but Venice Beach was pretty darn clean today! Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of Venice Beach on the weekends, esp. near the water's edge where #beachtrash accumulates and is not collected and/or disposed of by the Los Angeles County Dept. of Beaches & Harbors (LACDBH) on a daily basis, as our prior blog posts have illustrated dramatically and conclusively.
Today, however, I was pleasantly surprised to find Venice Beach to be fairly clean and clear of the typical abundant #beachtrash.
Since I last audited this beach this past weekend, it is obvious that efforts were undertaken yesterday (Monday, August 21, 2017) by LACDBH to collect and dispose of the tremendous amount of #beachtrash near the water's edge that the general public was exposed to and as shown in our previous blog post here at the VeniceBeachTrash blog on Sunday, August 19, 2017.
https://venicebeachtrash.blogspot.com/2017/08/saturday-august-19-2017-venice-beach.html
Today, I did find #beachtrash, a broken bottle, a dead bird, etc. which reinforces WHY IT IS VERY IMPORTANT that LACDBH hand pick and dispose of #beachtrash EVERY DAY near the water's edge. It is fundamentally flawed that LACDBH does not clean up and dispose of the #beachtrash on the weekends when the crowds are in attendance AND when LACDBH increases the costs of beach parking fees.
Below are the photos I took today which again REINFORCE why LACDBH should clean up and remove #beachtrash, dead birds, etc. EVERY DAY near the water's edge. Incidentally, is that clear enough and simple enough to understand and appreciate? We are talking about public health and safety here. We are not talking about inconvenience to the beach cleaning staff at LACDBH having to do #beachtrash collection on the weekends, which is, in my opinion, irrelevant. Just sayin'...
If LACDBH staffing has to be increased on Saturday and Sunday so that #beachtrash is removed from near the water's edge, THEN THAT SHOULD HAPPEN! And the L.A. County Board of Supervisors should make sure that it happens! Again, public health and safety is at risk! Is there a more compelling reason not to do so?! I don't think so and it doesn't take an attorney to appreciate the risk of injury to a child or beach patron from being exposed to dead birds and broken glass, etc.
TODAY: Dead Bird Alert !... at Avenue 21.....
Above and below, WHO EXACTLY should pick this up and properly dispose of it? IF LACDBH walked the beach everyday to hand pick up #beachtrash, then they would see this and because LACDBH is the custodian of this State Beach, then LACDBH ought to pick it up and remove it. Can't dispose of it, however, if you neglect to do the job your department is paid to do and for which it receives beach parking revenues...
Stunning shoreline just north of the Venice Breakwater and notice how clean it is!...
*** Video Alert ! ***
Video #1: Venice #CleanBeach Report
https://youtu.be/V4NS-SjmfCI
Above and below, beach bug cameo...
Above and below: Near the water's edge it is NOT entirely clean and absent of #beachtrash, however...
Below, a surf camp at Navy St. in the background enjoying the stunning weather and the mostly clean beach...
Below, a good shot of the beach just south of Navy St. near the water's edge which is darn near absent of any visible #beachtrash!... This is how the beach should look EVERYDAY!...
Above and below, someone had a campfire here last night probably. I also saw a blue LACDBH pick up truck with one occupant/driver in it and he drove right past this burnt piece of wood and did not bother to stop and pick it up and dispose of it. This is fairly typical of LACDBH, in my opinion, as I have observed their blue trucks on many occasions drive along just behind the lifeguard towers up and down the beach and NEVER leave their trucks to pick up #beachtrash near the water's edge.
Below, the rainbow themed painted lifeguard tower at Brooks Ave. Look how clean the beach looks today!... It wasn't this clean this past Sunday, August 19th!...
*** Video Alert ! ***
Video #2: Venice #CleanBeach Report
https://youtu.be/5FJrmf5b78c
Below, broken glass next to a surfboard near the water's edge at Ave 18...
Not to worry... I picked it up and disposed of it since I was walking along the shoreline today... which is more than LACDBH staff did today apparently!...
Here is an observation based on my many walks along the beach here. If a LACDBH truck drives along here, which they do several times a day, they will typically NOT stop and pick up visible #beachtrash. I am not saying that it never happens. It is just not routine for these employees of LACDBH to stop and get out and pick up #beachtrash by hand, in my opinion.
LACDBH should be picking up and disposing of #beachtrash EVERY DAY near the water's edge and should not be solely relying on just the use of their tractors that tow the rakes. LACDBH knows very well that the tractors are not permitted to operate below the high tide line. The failure to clean up #beachtrash near the water's edge and where the tractors do not operate represents a continuing threat to public health and safety, in my opinion.
Respectfully submitted,
William Maguire,
Attorney at law, and
Concerned citizen
(All photos and videos by & Copyright William Maguire 2017.)
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