The Ecology Center, in San Juan Capistrano, is an exciting new educational center, whose purpose is to engage the entire family in fun, hands-on activities that teach practical, environmental solutions at the household and community level. Check out there featured blog of the week:

For the third year, Santa Monica Seafood is donating their fresh, quality seafood for Green Feast. Chef Shachi Mehra of Tamarind of London was chosen to prepare this year’s fish course. With her experience in some of the country’s most notable kitchens, we are certain she’ll serve up something divine.

Founder Jack Deluca always had a passion for the sea. From the age of nine he was at the docks pulling lines, scaling and gutting fish, and filleting the fish – all the elements of bringing seafood to market. By the age of 16 he was the proud owner of his own fishing vessel and at 21 he was the co-owner of his own wholesale company.

In 1939, Jack and his brother Frank set up shop at the end of the Santa Monica Pier selling fresh fish to restaurants and tourists alike under the company banner of Santa Monica Seafood. For the next 42 years Jack and Frank worked to build Santa Monica Seafood into one of the top distributors of seafood in Southern California. In 1985, the second Santa Monica Seafood retail/wholesale facility was opened in Orange County and in 1997 a retail-only store was opened in Costa Mesa. Today, his great-nephews are carrying on the family business.

Jack Deluca founded Santa Monica Seafood with the philosophy, “Provide the highest quality product at a fair and reasonable price.” The philosophy of providing the highest quality product now demands ethical and sustainable sourcing of fish and education of both customers and the public at large.

Santa Monica Seafood relies on a number of wild and farmed certifying agencies, along with a group of science advisers and an assortment of professional affiliations to guide their ethical and sustainable fishing practices. The Company is currently certified to sell over 15 species of Marine Stewardship Council certified wild species. They recently joined with the Monterey Bay Aquarium to promote and develop new and better ways to source seafood that conforms to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sustainable Seafood Initiative. As active supporters of the Seafood Choices Alliance, Santa Monica Seafood can count on the SCA and the Monterey Bay Aquarium for their global perspectives and ability to bring scientists together with environmentalists. Finally, their Master of Science degreed, former governmental fishery biologist does validation visits on fishing boats, farms and processing plants around the world qualifying our vendors and sources.

SantaMonicaSeafood.com

The Ecology Center
32701 Alipaz St.
San Juan Capistrano, 92675
949.443.4223

Heat number 11 is on now with Rusty team rider Josh Kerr. Watch it live here:

quiksilverpro.com/live.en.html

Check out the opening ceremony recap here:

August 30, 2011 08:46:47

An important update from Long Beach — Quiksilver is working closely with the City of Long Beach to preserve the heart of the ASP World Tour surf contest scheduled to start on Sunday, September 4 in light of the impact of Hurricane Irene and concerns for the Long Beach community, which suffered significant damage from the storm. The Quiksilver Pro is scheduled to start its 11-day “holding period” on Monday, September 5. The Quiksilver Pro Trials presented by Unsound Surf will run on Sunday, September 4.

The situation has been changing daily, and we recognize that City resources are focused on hurricane restoration and clean up as first priority. In that context, we have been informed by the City that the festival and music components of the event are no longer achievable.

The Quiksilver Pro NY is first and foremost about the surf contest and Long Beach has an incredible surfing tradition and spirit. We are committed to holding the ASP tour event at Long Beach so that together we can promote the sport by bringing together the best surfers in the world to this terrific community.

TEAHUPO’O, Taiarapu/French Polynesia: Currently the competition is on hold but it hasn’t been called off for the day so it’s possible that it could pick up by the end of the day. Check out highlights from the first day of the competition which was held on August 20th in clean four-to-six foot waves at Teahupo’o.

Watch the live webcast on now: billabongpro.com/tahiti11/live-gb

Check out Surfline.com‘s official forecast here:

THURSDAY 25th
SWELL/SURF: Very solid SSW swell building into the 8-10’ range and strongest through the afternoon, with occasional 12’ sets (double to triple overhead+).
WIND/WEATHER: Strong SE shifting ESE trades 18-22kts.  Partly cloudy skies with a chance of showers.

FRIDAY 26th
SWELL/SURF: Solid SSW swell continues, gradually easing through the day, with more 8-12’ surf. First very long period signs of new SSW swell possibly starting to show in the late afternoon and evening hours.
WIND/WEATHER: Strong ESE/E trades 15-20kts+. Partly cloudy skies, with a few passing showers possible.

SATURDAY 27th
SWELL/SURF: Major, long period SSW swell in the 12-15’++ range and even larger. Stay tuned.
WIND/WEATHER: E trades easing 15-18kts+. Partly cloudy skies with a few passing showers.

SUNDAY 28th
SWELL/SURF: SSW swell fading, but still very solid and in the 8-12’+ range in the morning.
WIND/WEATHER: Easing E trades 12-17kts+, strongest in the morning. Partly cloudy skies.

MONDAY 29th
SWELL/SURF: Possible reinforcing SSW swell to keep the surf in the 8-10’ range. Stay tuned.
WIND/WEATHER: Lighter E/ENE trades 9-14kts. Partly cloudy skies with passing showers.

SWELL/WEATHER SUMMARY

New SSW swell will be on the rise throughout the day on Thursday, strongest in the afternoon, and will continue Friday. Swell models have knocked the swell down slightly, but we’re still looking for solid 8-10 surf with occasional larger sets pushing 12’ (double to triple overhead+ and occasionally larger).

Wind for the Thur/Fri swell looks ok, but will be quite a bit stronger than what we’ve seen the last few days as high pressure ridges in to the south of Tahiti for the middle to second half of the week. SE’erly trades start to pick up late Wednesday and then look strong out of the SE/ESE Thursday 18-22kts+, with 15-20kt E wind on Friday. We may see some passing showers over the next couple days as well. Otherwise expect partly cloudy skies.

An even stronger south-southwest swell will then move in on Saturday, from a large and intense storm now moving out from under New Zealand. While the storm isn’t pointed ideally at Tahiti (the strongest part of the swell will pass by to the east), it makes up for that with its very large size and strong wind, as we’re seeing satellite confirmed wind of 35-55kts today over a very large fetch.

We may initially start to see some very long period forerunners (22”++) build over the late afternoon and evening hours on Friday, although the swell will peak on Saturday. For Saturday we are looking at easy 10-15’++ swell, with larger sets very likely. As Sean has pointed out in other email communications, this swell may be a little lully at times, but should offer very solid surf with plenty of waves in the sets, when the sets do arrive.

Decreasing surf takes over on Sunday, but we’re still looking at swell in the 8-12’ range.

Trades remain fairly breezy over the weekend, but will back down a couple notches from Thur/Fri and will also be straight out of the east. Even lighter trades look possible for early next week (Mon/Tue).

Going further out, there is a good chance for another strong SSW swell for Mon/Tue, the 29th-30th. At this point it looks fairly close in size to the Thur/Fri swell (probably a little smaller), but with much lighter wind. We’ll have more details on this swell in the next few days. Stay tuned!

Shop the new Billabong Bob Marley collection at KillerDana.com

Wow! What a week!!!! First we would like to thank all the O’Neill Girls fans who came down and supported Malia this week at the US Open. The O’Neill Girls fans are unbelievable and we can’t thank you enough for all the love and support. Saturday Malia Manuel competed in the Junior Pro Finals, where she placed second! We are so proud of you Malia, you surfed great! She was a crowd pleaser when she surfed through the pier and ripped for her fans on the other side of the beach! The entire O’Neill family was hard at work this weekend signing for their fans outside of Jack’s, Jack’s girls, and HSS. Crowds gathered and patiently waited for an autograph/picture with Sage and Malia! Thank you again to everyone who came out this weekend! Check out the pics from the event. Happy Monday!!

Just in time for Summer, our 2011 warehouse sale starts tomorrow! Score some incredible deals on all your favorite brands like O’Neill, Quiksilver, Roxy, Metal Mulisha, Hurley, Element, DC, RVCA, Lost, Sanuk and more!

Plus there will be a FREE surfboard giveaway on site! Ahhhhh what an incredible event right?!

See you there,

The Killer Dana Team

17 Pasteur
Irvine, CA

Huntington Beach, CA – The US Open of Surfing has a storied reputation for going big. This year will only add to that legacy as title sponsor Nike – along with presenting sponsors Hurley, Converse and Nike 6.0 – continue to elevate the event as the world’s largest youth culture and action sport festival. With more than 500,000 people in attendance along a 14-acre stretch of sand on the south side of Huntington Beach Pier, the Nike US Open of Surfing showcases the best in surf, skate, BMX, music, fashion and art.

“It’s hard to match the experience of the world’s best in sports, music and art coming together on the beach in one of action sports’ most iconic locations,” said Sandy Bodecker, VP Nike Action Sports. “Our commitment this year is to bring the energy from Huntington Beach to even more fans across the world.

The 2011 Nike US Open of Surfing will run from July 30 to August 7. All events are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC or can be viewed live daily at www.usopenofsurfing.com. The event is owned and produced by IMG, the global leader in sports and entertainment.

Anchored by the world’s largest professional surfing competition, the $460,000 US Open is a pivotal point on the ASP World Tour for both the men and women. The Men’s side will feature a North America ASP Men’s Prime event with valuable points on the line right before the coveted ASP Top 32 cut-off. For the women, the US Open of Surfing will witness the final event of the 2011 ASP World Title Tour and crown a women’s world champion in Surf City this summer. “I’m really excited to be returning to Huntington Beach to try to defend my US Open title,” says Hawaii’s Carissa Moore. “It’s so fun to be competing in front of so many people!” In addition to the high-stakes Mens and Womens divisions, the US Open will feature a grade four men’s and women’s Pro Junior as well as the Pacifico Nose Riding Invitational – always a crowd favorite.

The action doesn’t stop at the shoreline. On the beach, the event will once again host eye-opening tricks from the most talented and diverse crew of riders from across the globe as they skate in a state-of-the-art skate bowl at Converse Coastal Carnage. And, a stellar crew of BMX riders will push the realm of possibility at the Nike 6.0 HB BMX Pro. The runway will be busy on Thursday, August 4 as five of the nation’s top high schools will compete for $25,000 in the Hurley Walk the Walk National Championship – the ultimate youth fashion competition. And the US Open Music Stage will host a soon-to-be-announced lineup of bands that will surely rival last year’s Weezer performance in front of 50,000-plus screaming fans.

Couple this with one-of-a-kind retail and brand experiences, more than 100 interactive exhibits, autograph signings, DJs and giveaways, and you have another summer to remember at the Nike US Open of Surfing. Be ready to dive into the madness starting July 30.

The Nike US Open of Surfing is proudly sponsored by G-Shock, Skullcandy, Red Bull, Pacifico, Paul Mitchell Salon Haircare, Invisalign Teen and Transworld Media.

Keep up to date with everything going on at the US Open of Surfing at usopenofsurfing.com, and all  the live coverage happening on Hurley Facebook and Twitter. Or just come down and join in on the fun yourself at the HB Pier. We’ll be there waiting for you starting this Saturday all the way through Sunday, August 7th.

Looking to watch some great surfing and some cool little edits? Check out Conner Coffin’s latest video clips here, here, and here.

And don’t forget to watch live here if you can’t make it to the beach >>www.usopenofsurfing.com/live.cfm

The Ecology Center, in San Juan Capistrano, is an exciting new educational center, whose purpose is to engage the entire family in fun, hands-on activities that teach practical, environmental solutions at the household and community level. Check out there featured blog of the week:

As summer gets going and the days get warmer, you may notice your garden looking a little nutrient deprived. Though there are numerous ways to deal with this, we are focusing on just a couple for July’s Backyard Skills workshop – seedballs and compost teas!  In this garden fertility workshop you will learn two hands-on DIY skills to keep your soil in tip top shape.

Seedballs are fun guerilla gardening accessories but also work great teamed up with cover crop seed to help bring fertility to your organic garden soils. Compost teas might be the cheapest and easiest way to fabricate your own homemade garden fertilizers!  Join us on July 9th at 1pm to learn about improving the health of your soil.  Though there are no material fees for this workshop, attendees will go home with their own hand-crafted, cover crop seedballs as well as the skills and know-how to brew up some nutritious compost tea.

Saturday, July 9th at 1pm

$15 (MEMBERS)
$25 (NON-MEMBERS)

The Ecology Center
32701 Alipaz St.
San Juan Capistrano, 92675
949.443.4223

Across 900 beaches and coastlines all over the planet, people joined for the first global Hands Across the Sand event. That was one year ago tomorrow.

On June 25, 2011, the people of the world will join hands to champion clean energy solutions to our filthy fuels problem.  Embracing a clean energy future now is the path to a sustainable planet. Go to HandsAcrossTheSand.com to find a group near you… or just start one yourself with your friends. Be sure to take pictures and send them in!

Hands Across the Sand is a movement made of people of all walks of life and crosses political affiliations and the borders of the world. This movement is not about politics — it is about the protection of our coastal economies, oceans, marine wildlife and fisheries.  The accidents that continue to happen in offshore oil drilling are a threat to all of the above.  Expanding offshore oil drilling is not the answer; embracing Clean Energy is.

What are they trying to accomplish? On a local, national and global level, Joining Hands sends a powerful visual message of human solidarity to our nation’s leaders. They are unified in the defense of the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we consume from dangerous, dirty energy sources. Every time people join hands that message is reinforced. It’s simple and logical: embrace clean energy. A line in the sand is a powerful thing.

The Movement Started In Florida

In Florida on Saturday, February 13, 2010, a statewide gathering against near and offshore oil drilling occurred. 10,000 Floridians representing 60 towns and cities and over 90 beaches joined hands to protest the efforts by the Florida Legislature and the US Congress to lift the ban on oil drilling in the near and off shores of Florida. Florida’s Hands Across The Sand event was the largest gathering in the history of Florida united against expanding oil drilling into Florida’s waters.  Events were held from Jacksonville to Miami Beach and Key West to Pensacola Beach.

On June 26, 2010, in response to the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, Hands Across the Sand went National and Global. The event was announced and the website went live allowing event organizers sign up only four weeks prior to June 26th. It became the largest gathering of people in the history of the world united against expanding offshore oil drilling and championing clean energy and renewables. Over 1000 events were held worldwide. Events took place in all 50 United States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Events were held in 42 countries outside the U.S. including Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Belize, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Germany, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Spain, France, United Kingdom, Greenland, Greece, Croatia, Ireland, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Lebanon, Mexico, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Turkey, Tanzania, and South Africa.

Mission Statement:
1. To bring together like-minded individuals and organizations with the conviction to organize a Global movement to promote a clean energy future for our earth and end our dependence on dirty fuel sources. These gatherings will bring thousands of American and Global citizens to our beaches and cities and will draw metaphorical and actual lines in the sand; human lines in the sand against the threats Fossil Fuels and offshore oil drilling pose to our present and future planet.

2. To convince our State Legislators, Governors, Congress and President Obama and world leaders to adopt policies encouraging the growth of clean and renewable energy sources in place of oil and