San Diego Vows to Dress Down SoCal Nudists

Measure aims to crack down on outdoor puffers

(NEWSER) - California's smokers will soon be losing yet another place to light up if state lawmakers have their way. The state assembly has passed the nation's most extensive ban on smoking in state parks, outlawing smoking at all state parks and beaches, except in parking lots and campgrounds. Supporters say the move will cut down on litter and wildfires, the Los Angeles Times reports. More»

Smokers grumble over plan to make outdoors virtually smoke-free

(NEWSER) - Smokers banished outdoors by New York City's 2003 smoking ban may soon find much of the outdoors off-limits for lighting up as well, the New York Times reports. The city's health commissioner said yesterday that he plans to push for a full smoking ban in all the city's parks and beaches, winning praise from health advocates and anti-smoking groups. More»

Pooches put down the bone and ride the waves

(NEWSER) - See spot run—not to catch a Frisbee, but to ride waves on a California beach. Surfing pooches are the latest trend in Southern California, where sunny skies and golden beaches gave birth to '60s surf culture, NPR reports. Dogs can take surfing classes and even enter surfing competitions. “It's a way for me to spend time in the water with my dog,” says the owner of a golden retriever. More»

(NEWSER) - A Mexican surfer off a California beach was busted for trying to smuggle 24 pounds of pot on his board, reports the Los Angeles Times. When suspicious cops on the beach close to the Mexican border ordered the surfer to come ashore, he heaved a duffel bag into the water. It later washed up, packed with pot bricks worth $74,000, according to law enforcement authorities. More»

California's unemployed turn to jobs once held by teens

(NEWSER) - Huntington Beach, Calif., might be more famous for hosting surfing competitions, but the crowds lined up on the sand yesterday were there looking for work, reports the Los Angeles Times. The economic downturn has buoyed interest in $16-per-hour lifeguard positions, summer jobs once dominated by bronzed teenagers and college students. More»