Sure, you may love taking in all the sights and sounds of the beach from the shade of your own personal tent, but let’s face it: Everyone else around you is probably annoyed that you’ve set up a portable shelter that may block others from enjoying the beach. In one oceanside city, beach police have started cracking down on these oversized tents as part of a new law. [More]
beaches
Beach Town May Ban Renters From Using Vacation Homes’ Pools
By 6.9.15
One of the first attractions people might look for in a summer vacation home is exactly the thing a resort town wants to take away: Citing noise concerns, a Delaware beach town is considering banning renters from using the backyard pools at homes while they’re staying in the area. [More]
Panama City Beach Officials Vote To Ban Boozing On Beaches During Spring Break
By 5.14.15
While there is a distinct pleasure in burying your toes in warm sand while sipping on a cold alcoholic beverage, city officials in Panama City Beach, FL have decided to crack down on the booze-fueled beach shenanigans commonly exhibited by college students on spring break, after a spate of negative publicity this year. To put it plainly: No more drinking on the beach in the month of March. [More]
Oregon Proposes Smoking Ban For All 362 Miles Of Its Coastline
By 7.25.14
Any beachgoers that enjoy puffing away on a cigarette while they sit on the sand or frolic in the surf may have to get their nicotine fix elsewhere, as Oregon has proposed a ban on smoking that would include all 362 miles of beaches on its coastline. [More]
California Ups Testing For Contaminated Public Waterways
By 10.12.11
Responding to an increase of contaminated waterways in the state, California’s State Water Resources Board plans to test its 3 million acres of rivers, streams and lakes, which may have been polluted with nastiness including bacteria and pesticides. [More]
Feds Tell Reporter It's Illegal To Build Sand Castles in Florida
By 9.20.10
A journalist who was searching the Florida Gulf Islands National Seashore for signs of oil pollution got a silly reason to go home from federal agents. A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service representative told the WEAR ABC 3 Pensacola reporter, who was using a shovel to dig through the sand, that he needed to produce a permit that said he could do so. Soon after, a National Parks Service rep told the reporter the same thing. [More]
You Still Can't Trust Trust Sunscreen SPF, Waterproof Claims
By 6.20.10
Sunscreen makers can say almost anything they want about their product’s sun protection factor or water fighting ability because the FDA’s sunscreen regulations are a just a teensy bit late. Well, they’re actually thirty-two years late, but the FDA swears that they’re going to publish final regulations by October. Except maybe not. So what can consumers do in the meantime? [More]
Need Sunscreen? Here Are The Ones Consumer Reports Likes
By 5.31.10
It’s Memorial Day! There is sunshine out my window, and it’s calling me to come bathe in it! But before I go get arrested for public nudity in the park, I’m going to apply some decent sunscreen that blocks both UVB rays and UVA rays. Consumer Reports tested sunscreens recently and says these are the top 4 products in terms of effectiveness. All of them are sprays, and fortunately the top scorer is also the second cheapest in the entire test group. [More]
Oh, Good, Another Dangerous Thing At The Beach
By 9.13.09
As if skin cancer, rip tides, and sharks weren’t enough to worry about at the beach. A University of Washington study found the antibiotic-resistant superbug methicillin-resistant Staph aureus (MRSA to its friends) in the water of many different Puget Sound beaches.
If This SPF Goes Any Higher, My Sunscreen Will Turn Into Aluminum Foil
By 5.14.09
The difference in UVB protection between an SPF 100 and SPF 50 is marginal. Far from offering double the blockage, SPF 100 blocks 99 percent of UVB rays, while SPF 50 blocks 98 percent. (SPF 30, that old-timer, holds its own, deflecting 96.7 percent).
Out-Of-Work Adults Try To Nab Summer Lifeguard Positions
By 5.8.09
Some adults who are out of work are now going after classic teen jobs, says ABC News. In Florida, which has the fourth-highest unemployment rate of the nation, men in their 30s and 40s “have pulled on swim trunks in hopes of beating out the teenagers for a few choice positions as $9.37 an hour lifeguards.” The report also says adults are trying out for jobs at places like Six Flags. All of this reminds us a little of this Kids In The Hall Sketch (see below) where a young boy finds a stray businessman and brings him home.
