Mark Gold

Mark Gold, the president and public face of Heal the Bay -- one of California's leading environmental advocacy groups -- is stepping down after 23 years with the Santa Monica-based nonprofit, the group announced Tuesday. Gold is leaving to accept a position as associate director of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, where he has taught as an adjunct professor and serves on its board. Heal the Bay is best known for its Beach Report Card that gives letter grades to hundreds of beaches in California, Oregon and Washington based on water quality.

The long-time public face of Heal the Bay, one of California's leading and most influential environmental advocacy groups, is stepping down after nearly a quarter of a century with the Santa Monica-based nonprofit. Mark Gold, president of the environmental group focused on the health of Santa Monica Bay and waters up and down the West Coast, is leaving to accept a position as associate director of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, where he has taught as an adjunct professor and serves on its board.

Mark Gold, the esteemed marine scientist and president of Heal the Bay, knew it was only a matter of time before his older brother, Jonathan Gold, the equally esteemed Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic, would pick up a set of chopsticks and commit the ultimate act of fraternal betrayal. "From his perspective, if you've already eaten Jamaican goat penis, what's wrong with whale?" Mark asked.

Mark Gold, the president and public face of Heal the Bay -- one of California's leading environmental advocacy groups -- is stepping down after 23 years with the Santa Monica-based nonprofit, the group announced Tuesday. Gold is leaving to accept a position as associate director of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, where he has taught as an adjunct professor and serves on its board. Heal the Bay is best known for its Beach Report Card that gives letter grades to hundreds of beaches in California, Oregon and Washington based on water quality.

The long-time public face of Heal the Bay, one of California's leading and most influential environmental advocacy groups, is stepping down after nearly a quarter of a century with the Santa Monica-based nonprofit. Mark Gold, president of the environmental group focused on the health of Santa Monica Bay and waters up and down the West Coast, is leaving to accept a position as associate director of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, where he has taught as an adjunct professor and serves on its board.

The storm drain bacteria and virus contamination study referred to in the South Bay edition (Times, Sept. 26) was completed under the auspices of the state and federally funded Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project (SMBRP). The project was one of those rare efforts where an environmental group, Heal the Bay, worked together with local government agencies, the city of Los Angeles Environmental Monitoring Division and the L.A. County Sanitation Districts, to complete a major research effort.

Santa Monica Beach welcomes swimmers, surfers, joggers, volleyball players and all manner of tourists. But no dogs. In fact, along the entire 75-mile stretch of Los Angeles County coastline, the only area where dogs are lawfully permitted to romp is a three-acre zone in Long Beach known as Rosie's Dog Beach. Now, animal lovers are proposing a pilot dog beach in Santa Monica to test whether off-leash dogs can coexist with people. The city of Santa Monica supports the idea, but its beach is state-owned, and the California Department of Parks and Recreation is staunchly opposed.

The storm drain bacteria and virus contamination study referred to in the Sept. 29 Times article was completed under the auspices of the state and federally funded Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project. The project was one of those rare efforts where an environmental group, Heal the Bay, worked together with local government agencies in the city and county of Los Angeles to complete a major research effort. The results of the study pointed to the need for further virus testing in the many storm drains that discharge untreated pollution to our beautiful local beaches.

The wife of a motorcyclist accused of causing the death of a Reseda couple in a traffic crash defended her husband Friday, saying he kicked the couple's car door only after the auto almost hit him while squeezing past him on the right. Sandra Ruthman, 27, said her husband, Marty, 33, had no notion when he rode away that the car then crashed into a tree. Other witnesses dispute her version, saying the motorcyclist appeared to look directly at the crash.

Re "Altered Oceans," five-part series, July 30 -- Aug. 3 Thank you for the excellent series on the state of our oceans. It should be required reading for anyone who refuses to admit that our beautiful little world is in deep trouble. We're all responsible for this mess. Not demanding that something be done to correct this horrible condition only compounds the sin. Where's the outrage and righteous anger over these deplorable conditions? It isn't as though nobody knew that the planet was in trouble.

Santa Monica Beach welcomes swimmers, surfers, joggers, volleyball players and all manner of tourists. But no dogs. In fact, along the entire 75-mile stretch of Los Angeles County coastline, the only area where dogs are lawfully permitted to romp is a three-acre zone in Long Beach known as Rosie's Dog Beach. Now, animal lovers are proposing a pilot dog beach in Santa Monica to test whether off-leash dogs can coexist with people. The city of Santa Monica supports the idea, but its beach is state-owned, and the California Department of Parks and Recreation is staunchly opposed.

It's Sunday night and I've just come off an 11-hour flight rumpled and cross-eyed after reading the last installment of Steig Larsson's "Millennium" trilogy straight through. When my friend picks me up at the airport, she reminds me that I'd asked her to make a reservation at Eva for their prix fixe Sunday dinner. What foresight! Because I happen to be hungrier than I can remember having been in a long time. There's just time for a bath and a much-needed change of clothes before we set off again for Eva, two doors down from BLD on Beverly Boulevard in the space that was once Hatfield's.

After Mark Gold left Leatherby's Café Rouge in Costa Mesa, where he earned three stars for the Patina Group restaurant in the Orange County Performing Arts Center, he started looking for a space to open his own place. Not easy. I heard he was scouring the Westside, looking here, there, everywhere. But then he got lucky. Karen and Quinn Hatfield of Hatfield's in L.A. decided they wanted a larger space and nabbed the former Red Pearl restaurant, (i.e., the original Citrus) on Melrose Avenue.

Mark Gold, the esteemed marine scientist and president of Heal the Bay, knew it was only a matter of time before his older brother, Jonathan Gold, the equally esteemed Pulitzer Prize-winning food critic, would pick up a set of chopsticks and commit the ultimate act of fraternal betrayal. "From his perspective, if you've already eaten Jamaican goat penis, what's wrong with whale?" Mark asked.

I can't believe it. At 8 o'clock on a Friday night, four of us are the sole guests at Leatherby's Cafe Rouge, the new restaurant at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. Twenty minutes later, two tables are filled. Total. Considering that this is one of the brightest new restaurants to open in Orange County in years, I'm floored. It's chic and tres moderne, even a little sexy, with a curved glass facade, sleek high-sided booths and a petite bar. South Coast Plaza is only a couple of blocks away, and plenty of other nearby restaurants are packed.

Re "Altered Oceans," five-part series, July 30 -- Aug. 3 Thank you for the excellent series on the state of our oceans. It should be required reading for anyone who refuses to admit that our beautiful little world is in deep trouble. We're all responsible for this mess. Not demanding that something be done to correct this horrible condition only compounds the sin. Where's the outrage and righteous anger over these deplorable conditions? It isn't as though nobody knew that the planet was in trouble.

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. Even though the city of 4,000 has spent $3.5 million testing and rehabilitating sewer lines, the water is no cleaner.

To the quiet strains of John Dowland's "King of Denmark's Galliard," played by Argentine lutenist Marcelo Millan, Ambassador Auditorium's Gold Medal series came unceremoniously to an end. Apparently forever. This important series deserved tolling bells, or a brass-band funeral dirge. Presenting young competition winners and lesser-known soloists of consistently high merit and strong purpose, at rock-bottom ticket prices, the Gold Medal meant opportunity for performer and listener alike.

To the quiet strains of John Dowland's "King of Denmark's Galliard," played by Argentine lutenist Marcelo Millan, Ambassador Auditorium's Gold Medal series came unceremoniously to an end. Apparently forever. This important series deserved tolling bells, or a brass-band funeral dirge. Presenting young competition winners and lesser-known soloists of consistently high merit and strong purpose, at rock-bottom ticket prices, the Gold Medal meant opportunity for performer and listener alike.

The wife of a motorcyclist accused of causing the death of a Reseda couple in a traffic crash defended her husband Friday, saying he kicked the couple's car door only after the auto almost hit him while squeezing past him on the right. Sandra Ruthman, 27, said her husband, Marty, 33, had no notion when he rode away that the car then crashed into a tree. Other witnesses dispute her version, saying the motorcyclist appeared to look directly at the crash.