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Washed up log kils 6-year-old girl on beach

Last updated Sunday, April 15, 2012 - 7:39am

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. -- The young girl who died while playing on a Live Oak, Calif., beach with her family Thursday was identified as Lara Rekhi of San Jose, Calif., deputy coroner Jason Fennelly said Saturday.

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Florida leads US in shark attacks

Gary Taylor The Orlando Sentinel

Last updated Wednesday, February 8, 2012 - 6:55pm

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Even though it had fewer shark bites reported in 2011 than any year since 2004, Volusia County, Fla., continues to be saddled with the nickname of shark-bite capital of the world.

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(NATACHA PISARENKO/The Associated Press) The Liberian-flagged container ship Rena is seen stuck aground on a reef off the coast of Tauranga, New Zealand, Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. The calmest weather in days has given salvage crews hope they will be able on Friday to resume pumping the remaining fuel from the cargo ship stuck on a New Zealand reef.

Stricken New Zealand ship may break apart or sink

Nick Perry The Associated Press

Last updated Monday, October 17, 2011 - 8:17am

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Salvage crews raced Monday to pump oil from a stricken ship teetering on a reef off the New Zealand coast, while also preparing for the worst: Authorities believe the vessel will break apart or sink soon.

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Divers enjoy Casino Point Underwater Park off Catalina Island, California. For most of the last decade, Avalon Harbor Beach in Avalon, California has ranked among the most polluted in the state, tainted with human sewage that puts swimmers at risk. (Liz O. Baylen/Los Angeles Times/MCT)

Dirty secret: Popular beach a health hazard

Tony Barboza Los Angeles Times

Last updated Tuesday, July 12, 2011 - 10:19am

AVALON, Calif. -- By the hundreds of thousands each year, they sail to Avalon by ferry and cruise ship for diving trips, glass-bottom boat tours and to lounge on the beach in the Catalina Island town 26 miles off the Southern California coast.

Yet the same crystal-clear water that draws tourists also harbors an embarrassing hazard. For most of the last decade, Avalon Harbor Beach has ranked among the most polluted in the state, tainted with human sewage that puts swimmers at risk.

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A surfer enters the water Wednesday June 29, 2011 on Santa Monica Beach in Santa Monica, Calif. Eleven percent of California's beaches reported elevated levels of bacterial contamination, the largest amount in five years, but Santa Monica Beach was not among the ones mentioned. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

More beaches being closed due to pollution

Los Angeles Times, Tony Barboza McClatchy Newspapers

Last updated Thursday, June 30, 2011 - 10:17am

The number of times the nation's beaches were closed or posted with warnings because of polluted water jumped last year to its second-highest level in 21 years, in part because of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and heavy rains that swept pollutants into the ocean at an accelerated rate, according to a report released Wednesday.

The Natural Resources Defense Council found that contamination from oil, urban runoff, and human and animal waste continued to take a toll on beaches across the country in 2010, according to the report.

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