Bay Area

Report: Marin’s Beach Water Mostly Excellent

Published

7 years ago

July 5, 2019

All locations tested during wet winter months received A grades

Water quality was good to excellent last summer at all Marin County beaches according to a new report from Heal The Bay, which annually rates water quality at beaches along the U.S. West Coast.

Eight beach locations received A-plus scores, 14 were rated A and two earned B’s during the April-through-October monitoring season. The grades came from sampling 28 sites over 31 weeks.

It wasn’t as glowing during the wet weather checks. Although 17 Marin spots received A-pluses, five locations received F’s. However, the wet weather grades are based on the limited number of rain days that may occur during the April-through-October testing period. If there is one rain day and a site exceeds the pollution limit that day, it may get an F grade.

Marin’s water quality monitoring program, overseen by the Marin County Community Development Agency’s Environmental Health Services Division (EHS), gathered data from April 2018 through November 2018 from 23 bayside and oceanside monitoring locations. The Marin locations tested regularly are Stinson Beach, Muir Beach, Bolinas Beach, Baker Beach, Rodeo Beach, Schoonmaker Beach, McNears Beach, China Camp State Park, and seven beaches on Tomales Bay.

Summer dry grades were excellent across the state but lower than average, with 94% of California beaches receiving A and B grades. Winter dry grades were good but below average, with 87% receiving A and B grades. The Heal the Bay report cites higher rainfall totals than the previous year as a likely culprit for more low grades.

Rain alleviates drought conditions, but more rain means that more pollutants, including bacteria, are being flushed into the ocean. Rain flushes contaminants from streets, including trash, fertilizer, pet waste, metals, and automotive fluids into urban waterways. The untreated runoff drains directly into the ocean and results in elevated bacteria levels. Additionally, seasonal high groundwater tables may result in septic seepage reaching waterways.

According to the report, Marin experienced 41 sewage spills that reached a body of water in the 2018-19 monitoring period, up from 17 in 2017-18. That figure is about double the average for the 17 coastal counties (Los Angeles County had a high of 96 spills). The Marin spills amounted to 247,861 gallons of sewage reaching surface water.

Heal the Bay, based in Santa Monica, has analyzed water quality data at California beaches each year since 1991. It also rates beaches in Oregon and Washington. The Beach Report Card is funded by grants from the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association and the Grousbeck Family Foundation. See the full report at HealtheBay.org.

Marin EHS has monitored ocean, bay and freshwater sites since 2003 and posts sample results weekly. The samples are processed by the Napa-Solano-Yolo-Marin County Public Health Lab. The tests utilized, quantify the most-probable number of Total Coliform, E. coli, and Enterococcus bacteria present in each water sample.

While Heal the Bay looks at marine samples only, the County also tests several freshwater sites on Lagunitas and San Geronimo Creeks. In the 2018-19 season, those sites would receive poor grades. Bacteria exceeded recreational standards at the Inkwells in Lagunitas (75% of the time), Green Bridge near Point Reyes Station (52%), and Samuel P. Taylor State Park (41%).

If lab results indicate water samples exceed State of California standards for recreational waters, a warning sign is posted to alert the public that bacterial standards were not met. The California Department of Public Health advises beach users to avoid contact with recreational waters where warning signs are posted. People in contact with elevated bacteria levels in recreational waters may become ill.

Heal the Bay recommends beach users never swim within 100 yards on either side of a flowing storm drain, creek, or river in any coastal waters during a rainstorm. People should stay out of the water for at least three days after a storm has ended.

Learn more about the testing program at https://healthebay.org/.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

1 week ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.