Ron Almog/Flickr

It just looks so innocent...

What we’ve got here, to paraphrase the Captain from movie Cool Hand Luke, is a failure to communicate.

Like many of you, I was taken aback and more than a little perplexed by yesterday’s news claiming that Frisbee-tossing and football throwing had been deemed a fineable misdemeanor on L.A. County beaches over the summer months.

Doing my due diligence, my research included reading the entire 37-page ordinance explaining the various nuances of this new ban. Turning to Section 28, 17.12.150 on pg. 15, I read the following passage:

“A violation of this chapter is a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, and/or imprisonment in the county jail for a period not exceeding 6 months.”

This is the magic passage that caught my eye. While it seemed excessive, it wasn’t outside of the realm of possibility. Footballs and Frisbees are projectiles, and on a crowded beach could become quite dangerous.

Reading Section 49, 17.12.430 regarding ball-playing restrictions, it reads:

“It is unlawful for any person to cast, toss, throw, kick, or roll any ball, tube, or any light object other than beach ball or beach volleyball upon or over any beach, except for the following…”

It then lists a series of provisions making any of those non-beach ball/volleyballs OK to play with, including specially marked areas, permits, off-season, and more.

But digging deeper into the passage, the fine “not exceeding $1000” is specified for particular instances: nudity & disrobing (17.12.360) and operating “sail boards, kite boards, paddleboards, ocean kayaks, surf skis, rigid-hull surf-craft and similar objects” (17.12.460). 17.12.410 is also mentioned as a violation applicable to the above fine, but is not detailed in the actual ordinance.

Therein lies the rub. So what’s the penalty for throwing a damn football?!

That’s where L.A. County steps in, sending over an email today outlining the details of the ball throwing ordinance:

“The newly revised Beach Ordinance does not ban footballs, soccer balls, or Frisbees on L.A. County beaches.  Instead, the Ordinance provides a set of guidelines for safe ball playing at the beach.”

Which is not entirely true, if you read on to the next passage:

“Beachgoers may throw, kick, or roll any ball or light object on L.A. County beaches during the off-peak season between Labor Day and Memorial Day as long as persons or property are not endangered, and may do so year-round in established and/or designated areas or if they receive permission from the Department of Beaches and Harbors or a lifeguard.”

Which is really just another way of saying that all of the above are indeed forbidden during the actual summer months, or without a special permit. If I were to show up in July and started whipping a Frisbee around, I would be in violation of the ordinance.

But the question remains: what’s the fine for said violation?

“If the ball-playing code section is violated, the violation is an infraction punishable by a fine in accordance with California Government Code section 25132 as follows”, continues today’s email from L.A. County.

“(b) Every violation determined to be an infraction is punishable by (1) a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars ($100) for a first violation; (2) a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars ($200) for a second violation of the same ordinance within one year; (3) a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500) for each additional violation of the same ordinance within one year."

A-ha! The truth is the light, and it’s getting rather bright around here. Too bad this info couldn’t have been included in the original ordinance, but hey: better late than never.

So there you have it: fun with language, omitted information and the self-righteous indignation that comes with all of it. In the end, we got to the truth, and I have the sweet privilege of being the slain messenger. Not bad for an unusually warm February day. I say a bunch of bloggers meet up on a nearby beach the day after Memorial Day for a game of touch football just to see what happens. Hey, it’s only $100, right?

And I didn’t even mention that it’s now illegal to dig a hole deeper than 18 inches in the sand of L.A. County beaches now, either. But I’m quite happy in the one I’m in now, so have at it.

Brian Watt/KPCC

At least you can still play volleyball.

It’s the prototypical summer scene: shiny, happy people frolicking on the beaches of Los Angeles, playing catch and tossing Frisbees. Now the L.A. Board of Supervisors has passed a sprawling, 37-page ordinance that outlines restrictions on the throwing of the apparently offending objects on L.A. County beaches. 

It’s not a sweeping ban: Specifically, the ordinance frowns upon “any person to cast, toss, throw, kick or roll” anything outside of a beach ball or volleyball on any L.A. beach between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The basic idea is to protect the general public from flying objects during the peak summer months, when beaches are at their most crowded. So those aspiring to be the next Gabrielle Reece are good, but Eli Manning wannabes, not so much. And the Frisbee Olympics are definitely out. The rules are not so stringent over the winter and spring months, so plan accordingly.

Correction, clarification and update: L.A. County is saying the new ban actually loosens an earlier, unenforced restriction that has been in place for a long time. This post originally stated that the fine was $1,000. It's lower than that for football and frisbee-throwing, and the ordinance and its history is also a bit more nuanced than how we originally described it. For further clarification, here's another post.

Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, home to Super Bowl XLVI, 2012, featuring the New England Patriots versus the New York Giants.

The NFL is really serious about making Super Bowl XLVI the greenest one in history. In addition to the already robust “1^st & Green” program happening all over Indianapolis right now, it has been announced that HOMEGROWN Concessions will be taking their organic chili to the big game, a Super Bowl first.

HOMEGROWN Concessions are a division of Farm Aid, the famous nonprofit organization dedicated to the American farmer. They’ve teamed up with Centerplate (the officially culinary hosts of the game) to offer HOMEGROWN’s chili among concessions sold at Super Bowl XLVI.

"Farm Aid knows family farmers. Our mission is to make sure you do, too," said singer and Indiana native John Mellencamp in a press release. "Farm Aid is introducing football fans to family farmers by serving HOMEGROWN Chili at the Super Bowl. It's good food from family farms, including some from right here in Indiana."

The good part is that $2 from every bowl of chili sold at the game is being donated to Farm Aid to continue their charitable efforts.

For football fans unable to make it to Lucas Oil Field this Sunday to buy a bowl, HOMEGROWN has been kind enough to share their recipes for pork, beef and of course vegetarian chili on their website.

"We're proud to stand side by side with Farm Aid, local family farmers and Indiana icon John Mellencamp in their mission to create thriving family farms,” explains Bob Pascal, the CMO of Centerplate. "With this HOMEGROWN program, Centerplate is raising the bar for local partnership and, with the first-ever organic concessions item at the Super Bowl, we're setting a new standard for healthy and organic hospitality."

Charles Krupa/AP

In this Nov. 6, 2011 file photo, New York Giants' Eli Manning, right, is congratulated by New England Patriots' Tom Brady after the Giants' 24-20 win in an NFL football game in Foxborough, Mass.

After two of the wildest finishes in NFL Championship history, the opponents in Super Bowl XLVI are finally set: Eli Manning and the New York Giants will square off against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in a marquee rematch of Super Bowl XLII.

While NBC breathes a sigh of relief that they’re not stuck trying to sell a 49ers/Ravens match-up, the media world prepares to descend on Indianapolis, where the NFL has the big game poised to be the most eco-friendly Super Bowl yet.

The game is being hosted at Lucas Oil Stadium, which like many NFL stadiums, strives to be as environmentally conscious as possible with extensive recycling and conservation efforts. But much of the sustainable action is happening outside of the stadium and around Indianapolis.

We’ve already mentioned the NFL’s “1^st and Green” challenge to football fans in an effort to promote conservation. 1^st and Green is also behind a host of more immediate green initiatives throughout the city, like a composting program with the Marriott hotel during the week of the game. All food waste will be transported to GreenCycle center, where it will be converted into compost (leftover stadium food is already earmarked for local food banks by the Second Helpings organization).

The NFL is also using renewable energy at every turn, from the media center to the fan-friendly Super Bowl Village, thanks to the Green Mountain Energy Company. The League has set up two EV charging stations in town, and even surpassed its’ goal of planting 2012 trees by this year on the Near Eastside of Indianapolis.

Now if they could only do something to fix the Pro Bowl…

Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow (15) celebrates after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 29-23 in overtime of an NFL wild card playoff football game Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012, in Denver.

With the entire football nation still upside down and giddy like schoolgirls after Tim Tebow lead the Denver Broncos to victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers this past weekend in the NFL Wildcard playoff game, it’s easy to see why professional football is America’s most popular sport, and by a country mile.

Watching the magnificent spectacle unfold on TV, it’s hard to miss the significant environmental impact of a professional football game. Those glorious overhead blimp shots of the stadium also show the oceans of automobiles used to get all of those people to the game, for starters. It’s a palpable strain on any host city’s infrastructure; one that Los Angeles will feel firsthand with the planned Farmer’s Field in downtown, to be home to an NFL team to be named later. (To offset that impact, developers AEG are making a multitude of moves to make it the “greenest” stadium in the country).

The NFL has been very aggressive in countering their carbon footprint, especially when it comes to the big game, the Super Bowl, which happens on February 7^th in Indianapolis, IN this year. With the mission that Super Bowl XLVI be the greenest event in the game’s history, the NFL has established “1^st & Green”. It’s an inclusive program that challenges football fans to conserve water and carbon in everyday life, and log progress online. The impressive results are racked up on the site’s tracker.

The NFL is also partnering with a host of local Indianapolis programs for extensive recycling throughout the city, with an army of volunteers collecting and sorting recyclable materials. Charity Second Helpings has been tapped to repurpose excess food from various NFL events end up in local shelters and daycare centers.