Heal the Bay, a Santa Monica based water watchdog, announced that 91% of state beaches they tracked have rated very good to excellent. Perhaps thinking that was good enough, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger decided to cut $1 million in state funding for water-quality monitoring.   And just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water.   Apparently, the money will be reallocated to help fight fires after a particularly dry season, which ironically is part of the reason the beaches are cleaner this year.   I’m all for having enough money to fight fires, but it seems to me, in my limited knowledge of firefighting techniques, that these two aspects of the budget could work symbiotically.   Why don’t we use the cleaner water to fight the fires?  I realize it’s more complicated than that, and that’s not how the budget functions.   But a boy can dream, can’t he?

Now that I’ve moved to California, I’m hoping to fulfill my boyhood fantasy of learning how to surf.   From lip-synching to Surfin’ USA in the 2nd grade talent show to seeing Brian Wilson at the Hollywood Bowl recently, I’m constantly reminded how much fun it can be. But I certainly don’t want to be hangin’ 10 in sewage, so hopefully beach monitoring and clean-ups can get the funding they deserve.

takepart by volunteering with Heal the Bay and let Gov. Schwarzenegger know you want funding restored to water-quality monitoring.