Santa Monica Bay

I grew up in Santa Monica. I spent so many years body surfing at Sorrento, hanging out at Roadside and relaxing at Station 26. I still walk our beach almost every morning. The Pacific Ocean is part of the fiber of my being; the sand, the water, bike riding and volleyball at Station 6 are who I am. My grandfather fished from the Pier and my father was a rough water swimmer as well as the President of the Penguin Club in Venice. I'm proud of our ban on smoking on the beach and that our water is cleaner than it was a decade ago. But we are receiving dreadful ratings from Heal the Bay around the Pier and the Pico-Kenter Storm Drain. The ratings must be improved. It's birds, human and animal waste, and the run-off from streets and the Santa Monica Freeway. Santa Monica is cleaning the terminus to our storm drains but heavy rain continues to overwhelm our ability to cleanse and recycle waste water. We need the cities that surround Santa Monica to do their part. For that reason, I am a board member of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission and I will continue to fight to keep our Bay clean.

I can remember a time when our pelicans were dying, our fish became uneatable and our dolphins started to disappear. That should never happen again. Santa Monica must always do its part to keep our bay clean, our sand and water pure...after all, it's our front yard. We must be good stewards of our environment.