OG Bazzar One (@ogbazzarone) refurbished a mural at the Sideshow Tattoo Shop on the Venice Beach Boardwalk, Tuesday, August 24, 2021. #mural #tattoo #art #Venice 📸@fabianlewkowicz

Highlights from the inaugural Venice Beach Summer Sports Day at Windward Plaza on Saturday, August 21, 2021. The event was fully sponsored by Councilman Mike Bonin and presented by Team Venice Beach, in conjunction with City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, Venice Beach Recreation Center, and L.A. City Council District 11. Venice Beach Summer Sports Day featured a full day of free sporting activities, games, contests, clinics, demos, and more including: Skateboarding, Roller Skating, Handball, Ultimate Frisbee, Soccer, Basketball, Calisthenics, Paddle Tennis, Pickle Ball, Kids Arts and Crafts, Boardwalk Fun Run, Beach Volleyball, Sound Bath, Yoga, Fitness Classes, Hula Hooping, Food Trucks, Resource Fair, A Venice Paparazzi Photo Booth, and more!

Los Angeles Fire Department Bicycle Medics patrol along the Venice Beach Boardwalk, Saturday, August 21, 2021. The Bicycle Medics treated an injured volleyball player. The Los Angeles Fire Department has developed an elite Bicycle Medic Program. Cost effectiveness and mobility allow LAFD Bicycle Medic Teams to bridge the gap between foot patrol and rescue ambulances, which can be the difference between life and death in congested or crowded conditions. The primary purpose of the LAFD Bicycle Medic Team is to provide a rapid response of two fire department members functioning as a paramedic assessment unit. These bicycle units give mobility to the EMS provider. The EMS personnel can negotiate congested areas during special events, in amusement parks, and at sports arenas. Examples where the Bike Teams have proven their worth are events such as the Los Angeles Marathon, Fiesta Broadway, Rose Bowl, Rose Parade, Van Nuys Air Show, and other large concerts and sporting events. The Bike Teams administer emergency medical care in areas of large crowd volume where access by fire department apparatus may be delayed or impossible. The access problems associated with these events lead to longer response times for Paramedics and Firefighters. Bicycle Medic Teams also serve as a public relations tool through elevated personal public interaction. Agencies that currently have these programs report that citizens are more likely to interact with Emergency Medical Service (EMS) personnel on bikes than those in ambulances. This accessibility fosters better community interaction, understanding, and support of the Department’s programs. 

Highlights from the inaugural Venice Beach Summer Sports Day at Windward Plaza on Saturday, August 21, 2021. The event was fully sponsored by Councilman Mike Bonin and presented by Team Venice Beach, in conjunction with City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, Venice Beach Recreation Center, and L.A. City Council District 11. Venice Beach Summer Sports Day featured a full day of free sporting activities, games, contests, clinics, demos, and more including: Skateboarding, Roller Skating, Handball, Ultimate Frisbee, Soccer, Basketball, Calisthenics, Paddle Tennis, Pickle Ball, Kids Arts and Crafts, Boardwalk Fun Run, Beach Volleyball, Sound Bath, Yoga, Fitness Classes, Hula Hooping, Food Trucks, Resource Fair, A Venice Paparazzi Photo Booth, and more!

People demonstrate during a Vaccine Passport Rally at Tongva Park, Saturday, August 21, 2021. The peaceful rally was in support of our firefighters, teachers, first responders, city employees, veterans, nurses, parents, and others who choose not to be vaccinated but are being threatened with job loss across the state if they do not comply. The rally featured nationally recognized speakers representing the medical, legal and broadcast communities.

Santa Monica Police officers meet with members of the community during "Coffee with a Cop" at La La Land Kind Coffee on Tuesday, August 17, 2021. The majority of law enforcement contacts with the public occur during emergencies or emotional situations. Those situations are not always the most effective time to build relationships. Coffee with a Cop aims to break down barriers and allow for relaxed interaction. Coffee with a Cop events are designed to provide an opportunity for the community to ask questions, voice concerns, and get to know their Police Department. The relaxed nature of this event is intended to allow Police Department to get to know the community, and for community members to get to know the officers who serve Santa Monica. The goal is to strengthen the relationship between the Santa Monica Police Department and the community. Coffee with a Cop events are now held in all 50 states and is one of the most successful community oriented policing programs across the country. The program has also expanded to outside the Unites States to Canada, Europe, Australia, Africa, and Latin America. The key to Coffee with a Cop’s growing success is that it opens the door for interactions outside of the crisis situations that typically bring law enforcement officers and community members together.

Fossil Free California youth activists wearing gas masks and covered in "oil" (black molasses) demonstrate at the Downtown Santa Monica against the California Teachers’ Retirement Association (CalSTRS) investing billions of dollars into fossil fuels, Saturday, August 14, 2021. The demonstration involved young activists with masks of CalSTRS board members pouring blackstrap molasses over themselves while wearing gas masks to symbolize the way the pensions funds’ investments into fossil fuels are drowning and suffocating future generations.

A SeQuential Service Technician collects used cooking oil from Pier Burger on the Santa Monica Pier on Wednesday, August 11, 2021. SeQuential is the longest-running commercial biodiesel producer on the West Coast. They collect used cooking oil from all over the region and transform it into biodiesel, a cleaner, non-toxic diesel fuel that offers a 50% reduction in harmful particulate matter and hydrocarbon emissions, and a carbon footprint up to 85% smaller than petroleum diesel. The oil they collect from their partners is taken to their production facility in Bakersfield.