SM BAY
Water warning
The Coast Guard warned boaters Sunday to remember that the ocean is still cold enough to cause hypothermia, despite occasional warm, summer-like days.
“Even though the weather is warmer, the water is still extremely cold,” said Anthony Turner, a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. “With water temps still very cold, hypothermia occurs very quickly.”
Water at an automated buoy in Santa Monica Bay was measured at 57 degrees over the weekend, and even the sheltered coves of Avalon at Santa Catalina Island average in the high 50s in April, according to oceanographers.
Hypothermia occurs when the body’s core temperature falls to 95 degrees or cooler, affecting the brain, heart, lungs and other vital organs. Even a mild case can affect physical and mental functioning, and a severe case can cause loss of consciousness and even death.
Cold water is especially dangerous, Turner said, because loss of body heat occurs 25 times faster in cold water than in cold air.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary urged the public to wear life jackets at all times when out on the water and offers more safe boating tips at www.uscgboating.org.
— Daily Press
DOWNTOWN
Get around
Bayside District Corp., the management company for Downtown, including the Third Street Promenade, released a new visitor’s guide onn Monday called the BayINsider.
“This guide is the best I have seen yet,” said Bayside Executive Director Kathleen Rawson. “We have put a lot of work into making the BayINsider highly practical, informative, yet entertaining.”
The 9-by-8-inch guide, which folds into a brochure-size piece that fits into a jacket or pant pocket, features Downtown businesses as well as highlights products and services. In addition to being easier to carry, the BayINsider has a larger walking map, a full business directory, product placements and a calendar of events.
“This new user-friendly guide will be appreciated by tourists and locals alike,” Bayside Board member and Marketing Committee member Barbara Bryan said. “This is a piece that provides information about the great things our community has to offer to people who are already in the area.”
The BayINsider is the result of a new partnership between Bayside and publisher Striker Media Group, Inc. It is being distributed to more locations than ever before: 50,000 in local newspaper racks, Los Angeles regional hotels, welcome centers throughout the region and local information centers like the Santa Monica Convention & Visitors Bureau, City Hall, the Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown police substation.
In existence since 1984, Bayside is a public-private management company that works in partnership with City Hall on issues impacting the area, including keeping the area economically viable and environmentally sustainable. For more information, please visit www.downtownsm.com.
— DP
