Sand

Two interesting happenings this week. One is over, one is not. The one that's in the history books is Project Bandaloop. Funny name but an unbelievable performance. Have you ever been to the Performing Arts Center? I have. Have you ever jumped off the Performing Arts Center? Me neither. The Project Bandaloop dancers have, although dancers is a misnomer. It's more like dancer-gymnast-rock climber-rappelling people. Picture a contemporary dance troupe in action, except with the stage floor flipped vertically and standing on edge.

NEWPORT BEACH — Strong winds and rainstorms have caused beach erosion along some stretches of the Balboa Peninsula, creating steep walls of sand as high as 6 feet — a reminder that winter is on its way. Like the snow in the Midwest or the heavy rains of the Pacific Northwest, the erosion is an annual phenomenon that occurs in varying degrees in Southern California, depending on the size of the storm and surf. It can all be traced to as far north as Alaska's Aleutian Islands, where storms start, then move south, bringing strong winds and equally strong surf with them, Newport Beach lifeguards say. Ultimately, the storms create waves that hit beaches at an angle in what is known as a longshore current, or drift.

COSTA MESA ? Greg Glenn toils in the hot sun nearly 12 hours a day during the Orange County Fair ? but he's one of the few people there who isn't hoping for a cool breeze. Glenn's company, Sandscapes, was hired by the fair this year to create sculptures out of sand and water. Every day, he and two other artists use their simple materials to build increasingly bizarre sights: cows riding surfboards, cows building sandcastles, even a cow driving a car. It may be grueling work in the middle of July, but at least the heat makes the sand dry quickly.

A 17-year-old who was trapped under 6 feet of beach sand for 20 minutes said Thursday that he didn't know if he was going to survive after a tunnel he was building at Newport Beach collapsed. "I thought I was going to die," the teenager, identified as Matt Mina, told NBC's "Today" show Thursday. "I was just really scared. I didn't know if anyone could hear me when I was screaming for help. " Mina, who lives in Virginia, was visiting his aunt and uncle in Orange County. He and a cousin had decided to go to the beach for the day. The tunnel Mina was digging collapsed just after 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, and it took dozens of lifeguards and beachgoers 20 minutes to free him. "I heard people, [but]

What happens when you dig a 5-foot-deep hole in the sand at the beach? Sometimes you end up neck-deep in trouble. That’s what one teenage boy learned Tuesday when the hole he was digging in the sand off G Street on the Balboa Peninsula collapsed on him, burying him up to his chin with no way to get out, lifeguard officials said Tuesday. At about 2:15 p.m. a boy from the Inland Empire with his family was sitting inside his 5-foot hole in the sand at the beach, fire department spokeswoman Jennifer Schulz said.

Organic egg dishes for breakfast, artichoke sandwiches at lunch and a flat-iron steak for dinner. Beginning today from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Newport locals and visitors alike can eat all day long at the Beachcomber restaurant in the Crystal Cove Historic District. It was supposed to open Tuesday, but operators pushed the big day back to work out a few last-minute kinks. The restaurant, owned by Doug Cavanaugh who also runs Ruby's, will feature California cuisine that complements this spot on the sand.

On any summertime Friday or Saturday night at the Newport Dunes Resort, the scene is nostalgic. Families sit huddled together on blankets and lawn chairs in front of a giant movie screen playing a favorite flick. The smell of a campfire fills the summer air and the moon shines on the calm Back Bay waters. "Having this concept on the beach, it's just a great family tradition to be able to view movies in a very comfortable and relaxing way," Dunes general manager Andrew Theodorou said.

to sand & more sand Jenifer Ragland Dick Dale, the man who once strove to break the sound barrier of electric guitars on his custom Fender Stratocaster, now lives in a place where at any given point in the day, you can stand in the middle of the road and experience absolute silence. Dick Dale, whose well-known house overlooking the Wedge at the very end of the Balboa Peninsula defined crazy and hectic, now lives in a place that -- if directions are lost -- is impossible to find.

MAXINE COHEN I had the best time on Saturday. It was gorgeous, if you recall. Warm, bright sunshine, clear blue sky. I went to the beach. Actually, it wasn't quite as simple as it sounds. When I decided, after 11 years, to move to Corona del Mar from the Peninsula, where I was 100 yards from the sand, I realized that I'd have to figure out a way to make it easy to get to the beach or I'd never go -- and that would be a big loss. The thought of packing up my car, searching for a parking space, and then getting back in it all sandy and yucky was just too much for me. I knew I'd never do it. So I bought a beach cruiser and tried to find a rack to mount on the back to carry my beach chair.

Plugged lie in the sand on an upslope: Keep clubface square and place ball back in stance. Aim square to target. Enter the sand about 1 1/2 inches behind the ball on a descending blow, but don't hit the ball. The ball will pop out fairly easy. Think of the ball as sandwiched between the club face and sand. On a plugged lie, you're usually hitting into an upslope, so it's difficult to make a follow through. Lean against the slope rather than with the slope.

The sand lining some Balboa Peninsula homes is adorned with grassy, sprinkler-fed landscaping. Personal fire pits, patio furniture, toys, playground equipment, sculptures and other features are commonplace. Some would argue, and they would not be incorrect, that the plantlife and adornments make otherwise remarkable swaths of the peninsula's tip more appealing. But that, of course, is not the point when it comes to publicly owned land. The beach, which belongs to the public, is not for homeowners to improve.

Seeking to control West Coast Highway's landscaping, the Newport Beach City Council voted Tuesday to keep trying to acquire the road from the state. It may take special legislation, city leaders said, to get enough state funds to compensate for the city's additional maintenance costs and liability. West Cost Highway's lush multimillion-dollar landscape plans could have to be scaled back if the city ends up working within the state's guidelines. A panel of citizens recently spent months drawing up the plans, and spent about $30,000 in consulting fees.

An overturned cement truck slowed traffic on the San Diego (405) Freeway in Irvine on Thursday, authorities said. The truck rolled over on the center median of the southbound lane near Sand Canyon Avenue about 3:49 p.m., said California Highway Patrol Officer Gabe Montoya. A SigAlert was issued for the carpool lane. The driver of the truck was injured, according to media reports, but it did not appear that other drivers sustained injuries. — Lauren Williams Twitter: @lawilliams30

CORONA DEL MAR — There were mermaids reading books, a whale, a pyramid — even a crime scene where a sand kid who smashed a sand castle was being pursued by a sand detective — that were all part of the Corona del Mar Sandcastle Contest at Big Corona beach on Sunday. "That's funny," said Mark Philipp of Aliso Viejo as he surveyed the "Castle Smashing Investigation" sculpture. "It's amazing," his wife, Beth Philipp, said. "I just am amazed at all the creativity. There's a lot of hard work.

NEWPORT BEACH - Areas near the Balboa Pier flooded Wednesday due to a high tide and surf increase, according to lifeguards. A 6-foot tide at 11:20 a.m. flooded streets and closed the parking lot northwest of the pier and on A Street, said lifeguard Capt. Boyd Mickley. The increase was due to a swell from the Southern Hemisphere, Mickley said. Areas were affected for about 30 minutes. Cleanup will continue for several days, and use street sweepers, hand crews and other equipment to remove debris and sand that washed up, according to Mark Harmon of the city's General Services Department.

NEWPORT BEACH - A Virginia teenager stopped by a local fire station Tuesday to thank the public safety personnel who rescued him last week after he became buried under some 7 feet of beach sand. Matt Mina, 17, of Charlottesville, met with about 15 Newport Beach firefighters and lifeguards at the Lido Station and, as a show of thanks, handed out a batch of almond-crusted cookies. On Aug. 3, firefighters and lifeguards helped pull Mina out of the sand after a tunnel he was digging near the 54th Street beach caved in and left him buried alive for about 30 minutes.

A 17-year-old who was trapped under 6 feet of beach sand for 20 minutes said Thursday that he didn't know if he was going to survive after a tunnel he was building at Newport Beach collapsed. "I thought I was going to die," the teenager, identified as Matt Mina, told NBC's "Today" show Thursday. "I was just really scared. I didn't know if anyone could hear me when I was screaming for help. " Mina, who lives in Virginia, was visiting his aunt and uncle in Orange County. He and a cousin had decided to go to the beach for the day. The tunnel Mina was digging collapsed just after 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, and it took dozens of lifeguards and beachgoers 20 minutes to free him. "I heard people, [but]

NEWPORT BEACH — The Newport Harbor High School class that rallied the Newport Beach City Council into banning Styrofoam products in restaurants in 2008 expanded its aim and moved its focus inland — starting with Costa Mesa. The environmental surfing class is on a mission to get restaurants to ditch Styrofoam take-out containers and are asking cities to take the lead by banning the product that fills up landfills, kills wildlife and creates a mess at the beach, students said at a press conference Wednesday morning at the pier.

NEWPORT BEACH — Strong winds and rainstorms have caused beach erosion along some stretches of the Balboa Peninsula, creating steep walls of sand as high as 6 feet — a reminder that winter is on its way. Like the snow in the Midwest or the heavy rains of the Pacific Northwest, the erosion is an annual phenomenon that occurs in varying degrees in Southern California, depending on the size of the storm and surf. It can all be traced to as far north as Alaska's Aleutian Islands, where storms start, then move south, bringing strong winds and equally strong surf with them, Newport Beach lifeguards say. Ultimately, the storms create waves that hit beaches at an angle in what is known as a longshore current, or drift.