Nearly a year after a major earthquake and tsunami shook and doused Japan, some 25 million tons of debris that washed out to sea when the tsunami receded is headed toward the California coast. We're talking cars, boats, pieces of houses, you name it. Whatever didn't sink has been slowly making its way across the Pacific Ocean, and experts believe we'll start seeing large objects start washing up on beaches as soon as next month. more ›

The beaches around Cambria on the central coast are a lot more like the beaches of northwest Mexico these days with 10,000 gallons of fresh sewage having just been spilled out of the San Luis Obispo sewage treatment plant due to a power outage Saturday night. more ›

Today's massive earthquake in Japan released a tsunami wave that, among other things, closed most California beaches and the Great Highway today. As of 8:00 a.m., the Chronicle reports: "The tide began rising shortly after 7:30 a.m. along beaches in Crescent City, where the tsunami was expected to hit the hardest in California. Officials predicted that waves could reach as high as 7 feet." more ›

Troy Holden of Caliber snapped these shots of a dead pregnant whale that washed ashore two weeks ago near Bean Hollow Beach in Pesacadero. Holden told SFist that, after arriving at the beach, the stench was "worse than the Old Transbay restroom on a hot Friday night." more ›

From the District 5 Newsletter comes a nice pat on the back for the smiley supe, seen here on a recent trip to Uruguay. In addition to being really excited about the America's Cup and possessing a general distaste for plastic bags, Mirks (as we like to call him around the neighborhood) is also a California Coastal Commissioner... more ›

Time to trim that bramble you call public hair (protip: careful grooming makes your shaft look bigger, fellas) and pull out the SPF 50. San Francisco Bay Guardian's 36th annual guide to Bay Area nude beaches hits the racks today. In addition to informing you on nakedness and anti-nude law enforcement at Bay Area beaches, the issue is brimming with stark raving nudity. (The print version has more fleshy bits than online, by the way.) Check it. more ›

Oh fun. The National Weather Service has issued a totally tubular high surf advisory, which starts Tuesday night "due to an incoming swell that is expected to create waves up to 20 feet high." Can you say, bitchin'? more ›

Although this image looks tempting, NorCal surfers/sailors, the National Weather Service issued a high surf advisory today for Bay Area beaches. The advisory goes into effect from 10 a.m. to to 4 a.m. Saturday. more ›

Between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m. today, a high surf advisory is in effect for the Bay Area coast. This, according to Appeal/BCN, is "due to a forecast of swells of up to 15 feet between Sonoma and Monterey counties." more ›

More than any other issue of any print publication in town, we most look forward to 's Nude Beaches Guide. Why? Because, well, naked pics. more ›

Heal the Bay just released its list of most polluted beaches in California and guess what! All the beaches are located in Southern California -- well, except for two: Campbell Cove State Park Beach in Sonoma and Clam Beach County Park in Humboldt County. But, still. Ha! more ›

Ok, let's see. You all have a little less than an hour or so to fake early symptoms of bubonic plague, whopping cough, or fibromyalgia. See, start now so when you call in sick tomorrow or on Thursday, your story will sound seamless to your boss. What are we talking about? Why, we're talking about playing hooking and hitting the beach. Because it's hot. Damn hot. more ›

Since you've already figured out your plans for tomorrow night, what about during the day? It is Earth Day tomorrow and everyone is displacing their guilt celebrating by participating in cleanups and events around the bay. Upcoming and Going listed some of the Earth Day events and we're helpfully listing them here in hopes that we'll encourage you to get off your couch and do something useful. more ›

Photo of a sexy photo shoot in front of a beach closed because of the oil spill more ›

-- Bonds' final, fatal backlash continues. (I wonder how he spent his day today? Ugh.) [SFGate, SF Examiner, FCJ , SFBG, The Snitch] more ›

The sands of Marin and San Mateo have officially reopened to the public. (We recommend hitting the beach in the fall. There's something luxurious about walking on the beach, bundled up in winter clothing.) What's more, 50 wild birds have been cleaned up and released at Pillar Point Yacht Harbor at Half Moon Bay. But what's worse, "the spill has cost the U.S. government $1.4 million, money spent on operations by the Coast Guard,... more ›

“I was shocked,” said Board of Supervisors Prez Aaron Peskin after being asked about Gavin Newsom's whereabouts this past weekend. Same here. Word is that Gavin was in Hawaii this past weekend, kicking in the sand and surf. Has senioritis kicked in already, Mayor? Not that you could've mopped up the oil singlehandedly, but still, you should have been here. We're a sensitive lot, us SF babies. more ›

Photo of one of the dead birds killed by our oil spill more ›

After yesterday's fog-induced Cosco Busan/Bay Bridge crash -- resulting in 58,000 gallons of fuel and 8,000 gallons of "heavy-duty bunker fuel oil" spilling into the Bay -- Baker Beach, Crissy Field, China Beach, Kirby Cove, and Fort Point beaches (or "beaches" to some of you purists out there) have been closed. Large blobby slicks as big as 50 yards long and 20 yards wide have been spotted off Tiburon and near Mill Valley's Bayfront... more ›

We here at SFist would like to think we're more than snark and Gavin gossip, so with that in mind, we'd like let y'all know that tomorrow will be a San Francisco National Public Lands Day volunteer event at Crissy Field. What does this entail? Cleaning up beaches, do trail maintenance, habitat restoration, and much much others. Do good deeds, meet new people, and earn some good old-fashioned karma points (a much important things as some of us head towards our day of atonement). And if that's not enough, there's free lunch and a shopping party at the Sports Basement. Anyone who wants to go, just show up at Crissy Field by 9 and they will assign your task and place to do such task. For more information on National Public Lands Day, go to here. For more information on all of our volunteer programs in the Golden Gate National Parks, go here. more ›

Admit it, the weather has been outstanding. No one can claim our high-rentian bargain of getting spectacular September weather has not been delivered in full. The beaches, parks, trails and sidewalks are the place to be weekend after weekend this month. The Love Parade was lovely and the Folsom Street Fair was crotchless chapirific. Some nights has even been warm enough to remove the long sleeves and leave the windows open overnight while the mornings have been great for swimmers, surfers, runners and sleeper-inners. more ›

-Yesterday, on a beautiful, sunny September afternoon (before the fog rolled in), blues was heard, butless leather chaps were worn, and freaky people danced. We stayed in. more ›

As our summer weather continues to wear us down, beaches, parks, and other SFist open spaces beckon. We’re especially pining for the pictured Avalanche Picnic Cooler on wheels, but our trusty Coleman cooler will do. more ›

It makes us sad to think of all the dogs unwalked, unwashed and untrained in San Francisco. We guess this lack of walking, washing and training is because dog guardians just don’t know how to find such a service provider. Lucky for us urbanhound.com, a website that started in New York, has come to the rescue with a San Francisco version. It is a central source of all the same ads that already appear in print in Fetch the Paper and The Woofer Times. But online. With a GUI that screams 1999. more ›

This has been a rough week for your -ist pals, though you wouldn't know it from the great posts all over the network. Plagued with server problems, our tech team (led by the great Neil Epstein) toiled around the clock to solve the glitches as they arose. Seriously, we've said, typed, and thought the phrase "server problems" more in the past week than we have for the last 35 years combined. Why not say it a few more times, just for fun? For example, SFist is sure the San Francisco Chronicle wishes they could blame server problems for this error. But this San Francisco man that appeared on "The Daily Show" is, sadly, no glitch in the system. more ›

Many of us were disconcerted by the stories of forced abandonment of animals by their guardians in the wake of disasters, and asked ourselves "How would our dumb-ass cats fare on their own? Maybe if they were forced to fare for themselves, they'd finally appreciate how freakin' good thay have it. Yeah!" It looks like we're getting closer to never having to find out just how well Mr. Sniffy can operate a can opener, as a bill proposed by SF-based state Assemblyman Leland Yee requiring the state Office of Emergency Services to take animals into account when coordinating evacuations has recieved unanimous approval from the Governmental Organization Committee. We're waiting for the final hurdle of Senatorial approval before we start packing any tiny cat suitcases. more ›

There was a lot of gentle sobbing, some out and out bawling and lots of grown men surreptitiously wiping their eyes at the Kabuki Theatre on Tuesday night. At one point we were distracted from our own sniveling by the sound of low-level keening coming from the row behind us and the realization the whole theatre was erupting in choked-back sobs and loud sniffles. more ›

What an ambient summer week it's been and it's very likely to continue through the weekend. In fact, turkey wings crossed it will extend clear through the Thanksgiving weekend food coma. What do we owe this warm air, absence of damp Pacific winds and non-chilly evenings to? A giant high (pressure that is) holding court over the massive expanse of the Great Basin Desert (aka Nevada) which is pushing warm inland air over the western North American continent clear out into the Pacific Ocean. This high is expected to stay, getting reinforcement from a smaller high moving west from the Rockies. more ›

Sure we can easily forget the amazing weather we just have and will have now that the sky is grey and cloud cover is returning. But not this time. No sir. We weatherists are doing some non-scientific gut forecasting and preparing for some more super weather. Of course our Far East and Deep South Bay readers wonder when the good weather possibly could have stopped, but much of us sat under clouds and fog most of Thursday of the day. more ›