West
Shark Watch: What to do if you see a shark at the beach
The director of a renowned shark research center in California shared how to stay safe and the importance of not panicking if you encounter a shark at the beach this summer season.
Chris Lowe, the director of the Shark Lab at Cal State University (CSU) Long Beach, told Fox News Digital that sharks will act aggressively when they feel threatened by humans.
“If an animal feels threatened, it will act aggressively,” he said. “If you chase a cat down an alley, and you corner it, it will arch its back and raise its fur.
“It will act aggressively to try to scare you off,” Lowe said.
CALIFORNIA SAFEGUARD PROTECTING BEACHGOERS FROM SHARKS ON LIFE SUPPORT, EXPERT WARNS
The Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach works to educate the public on sharks and reduce fear. (iStock)
Lowe said that through research at the Shark Lab, they have learned that sharks in Southern California are regularly around swimmers– and most of the time largely ignore humans.
“I think a lot of times when people see sharks in Southern California, it’s because the shark wants to be seen, like they will literally swim right in front of people,” he said. “And a lot of times, they’re very shy. They’re very coy.”
“We see many sharks just completely ignore people on the surface,” Lowe said.
FLORIDA MAN ATTACKED BY SHARK ON BOATING TRIP
The shark researchers said that in the event you spot a shark, keep your eyes peeled on the predator.
“What we always tell people is to look, keep your eyes on the shark,” Lowe said. “Let the shark know you see it and track it.”
“If your face is in the water, follow the shark. It knows where your head is. It knows where your eyes are,” he said. “If you’re on your surfboard, turn your surfboard towards it. So the head of your surfboard acts like the head of an animal, and the shark feels like it’s being watched.”
Chris Lowe said that if you spot a shark, keep your eyes on it at all times. (Education Images/Universal Images Group)
Lowe said that if you lose track of the shark, look behind you because the predator is likely stalking you.
“If you lose sight of the shark, the first place you should always look is behind you, because that’s what all predators do,” he said. “If they’re going to investigate something, they’re going to investigate it from behind because that’s the safest way to do that.”
WOMAN CONQUERS FEAR OF SHARKS BY SWIMMING WITH OVER 20 OF THEM
Lowe said that an aggressive shark can be identified if it’s “rapidly coming in and then zipping away.”
“What an aggressive shark looks like is its rapidly coming in and then zipping away and coming in closer and zipping away or circling and getting closer and closer,” Lowe said.
He said that if the shark is swimming slowly, it could mean that it is just curious and not aggressive.
“But if they start picking up speed, that’s usually associated with aggression,” he said.
FILE – This photo taken on July 5, 2022, shows a sand tiger shark in the Scientific Center aquarium, in Hawalli Governorate, Kuwait. (Asad/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Lowe said that shark aggression is typically associated with two reasons: for defensive reasons or if the predator is protecting its food source.
“There could be some food nearby that it’s trying to protect, and therefore it might be acting aggressively towards a person,” he said.
Lowe said that if a shark starts acting aggressive, they slowly back away without losing eye contact.
“Just keep slowly moving back, always facing the sharks, swimming away,” he said. “And then if you get out of the water, notify other people, let lifeguards know. Let other people in the water.”
WATCH: White Shark Tagging
The Shark Lab at Cal State University (CSU) Long Beach tirelessly works to research shark behavior and inform the public.
Lowe said that the center has a variety of different ways to encounter the public and help them become more informed about shark activity and shark behavior.
“One way is through what we call, Shark Shacks,” he said. “The Shark Shacks are pop-ups at a bunch of beaches across Southern California several times during the summer.”
“We also have a big open house at the university on July 20th, which we call Sharks at the Beach,” he said. “So this is where we get to invite the community in to see the Shark Lab.”
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For sale in San Francisco: A 45-foot-tall metal sculpture of a naked woman.
Her name is R-Evolution. Her hair is pulled back and her facial expression is serene. Her mechanized chest expands and contracts, as if she’s breathing. And she tips the scales at 13,000 pounds (not that it’s anyone’s business what a lady weighs).
She will stand in Embarcadero Plaza across from the historic Ferry Building until October. Then she goes on sale. The artist says “she can go anywhere in the world,” but whoever buys or leases her will need a crane and a 60- to 80-foot bucket lift to resurrect her.
Since she was first unveiled as a temporary installation in April 2025, the giant statue, created by artist Marco Cochrane and modeled after California dancer and singer Deja Solis, has spurred debate about whether privately funded works are really public art. It also questions whether R-Evolution is a celebration of femininity in a free-spirited city that has long embraced public nudity or a hypersexualized shock piece from a male artist.
But debate, per the public and private entities who brought her to the plaza, is kind of the point. Art, they say, is supposed to be controversial.
An attempt to revitalize public space
R-Evolution is part of Big Art Loop, a privately funded initiative that aims to bring up to 100 temporarily installed large-scale sculptures — a minimum of 10 feet high or wide preferred — to public spaces along a 34-mile walking and biking trail over the next few years.
R-Evolution in Embarcadero Plaza in April 2025.
(Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times)
Big Art Loop is funded by the Sijbrandij Foundation, a nonprofit established by billionaire Sid Sijbrandij, co-founder of the software company GitLab. It is curated by the art production agency Building 180, in partnership with the city’s Recreation and Parks Department and other public agencies.
“We’re going to continue to lean in to our arts and culture because that is driving our comeback here in San Francisco,” Mayor Daniel Lurie said in a September video promoting the Big Art Loop.
A city news release last year said R-Evolution’s arrival “aligns with San Francisco’s broader efforts to revitalize downtown” by increasing foot traffic to the battered business district, where office vacancy rates soared to record-high rates of more than 30% amid the pandemic-era pivot to remote work.
Controversial lady and Burning Man
Like a few of the Big Art Loop pieces, R-Evolution originally debuted at Burning Man, towering above the sweaty and stoned desert masses in 2015.
Critics of R-Evolution say the statue and other massive pieces along the billionaire-backed Big Art Loop did not get as much community input and were not subject to the same intense scrutiny by the San Francisco Arts Commission as other public artworks.
“I think what a lot of people, myself included, are frustrated by is the fact that these private entities are able to remake the public landscape in their own image,” Max Blue, a San Francisco Examiner art critic, told Gazetteer San Francisco in October, adding: “I don’t like these sculptures. I think a lot of them are just left over from Burning Man.”
Visual artist DJ Meisner told the Gazetteer: “It’s just so clear when you see the art that it’s like, ‘Oh, I’m supposed to be unbelievably wealthy and high looking at this.’ I’m neither of those things, so I’m just annoyed to be looking at it.”
Female representation or inappropriate?
Before R-Evolution was installed, an art vendor with a booth in Embarcadero Plaza wrote in a letter to the Arts Commission, saying she thought the statue, whose bare butt faces the Ferry Building, “might be very inappropriate for children.”
Another vendor wrote: “A naked woman statue designed by a man feels out of step with the times.”
The creator of the piece, Cochrane, said in a statement: “Women’s presence in public art is rare. When they are depicted, it is often through outdated or passive narratives. R-Evolution challenges that. She stands strong, aware, and grounded — calling for a world where all people can walk freely and without fear.”
Love her or hate her, she gets eyeballs
Julie Richter, a spokeswoman for Big Art Loop, told me in an email Thursday that R-Evolution, which had been slated for removal in April, got “very positive” feedback that led to her Arts Commission-approved extended stay through October. That feedback included positive reviews from most tourists, art vendors and nearby local businesses, according to a pitch to extend the statue’s stay by Big Art Loop and Building 180.
Near R-Evolution’s current perch, Vaillancourt Fountain — a colossal, crumbling Brutalist concrete sculpture that was unveiled in Embarcadero Plaza in 1971 and became a skateboarding mecca — was equally reviled and revered. Despite fans’ efforts to save it, the city removed it this spring.
Today’s top stories
The Visalia sign seen from Highway 99.
(Tomas Ovalle / For The Times)
These are California’s most affordable and least affordable cities
What we know about the boat accident near Alcatraz
- A memorial cruise turned tragic when a boat sank near Alcatraz Island, leaving one passenger dead, three missing and 17 rescued.
- The search for the missing was challenged not only by high winds and rough seas, but because the incident took place in a particularly deep channel of the bay dredged for cargo ships.
Scientists fear when the San Andreas fault finally snaps
- Scientists warn the region’s long earthquake drought is building dangerous strain on the San Andreas and San Jacinto faults, raising the odds of a devastating multi-county “Big One” in coming decades.
- With scenarios forecasting violent shaking from downtown L.A. to the Inland Empire, experts say the fault’s growing stress is a stark reminder to strengthen preparedness before nature resets the clock.
What else is going on
Commentary and opinions
This morning’s must-read
Other must-reads
For your downtime
The dining room at Baldi in Beverly Hills.
(Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
Going out
Staying in
A question for you: As temperatures rise in SoCal, how do you stay cool?
Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.
And finally … your photo of the day
The trunk of a flooded car is seen in an underground garage along Palm Avenue in West Hollywood after a water main break sent thousands of gallons of water rushing down Sunset Boulevard and the surrounding area on Thursday morning.
(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)
Today’s photo is from Times photographer Allen J. Schaben in West Hollywood, after a water main break sent thousands of gallons of water rushing down Sunset Boulevard and the surrounding area on Thursday morning.
Have a great day, from the Essential California team
Hailey Branson-Potts, staff writer
Hugo Martín, assistant editor, fast break desk
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, weekend writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters
How can we make this newsletter more useful? Send comments to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com. Check our top stories, topics and the latest articles on latimes.com.
Denver Broncos football is right around the corner.
As the 2026 World Cup nears its July 19 final, sports fans will soon begin turning their attention toward NFL training camps. The Broncos are set to open training camp on July 31 — two weeks from today — with the first of 14 practices open* to fans.
*Due to construction at the team’s facility, capacity at practice will be limited to approximately 1,000 fans, so (free) tickets are required to attend. Those tickets became available on July 1 and were quickly claimed. (Tickets are sometimes returned, though, so fans should check Ticketmaster for potential available tickets.)
Broncos training camp schedule
- Friday, July 31: 10 a.m.
- Saturday, Aug. 1: 10 a.m.
- Monday, Aug. 3: 10 a.m.
- Tuesday, Aug. 4: 10 a.m.
- Wednesday, Aug. 5: 10 a.m.
- Thursday, Aug. 6: 10 a.m.
- Friday, Aug. 7: 10 a.m.
- Saturday, Aug. 8: 10 a.m.
- Monday, Aug. 10: 10 a.m.
- Tuesday, Aug. 11: 10 a.m.
- Wednesday, Aug. 12: 10 a.m.
- Monday, Aug. 17: 10 a.m.
- Tuesday, Aug. 18: 10 a.m.
- Wednesday, Aug. 19: 10 a.m.
Fans should note that Denver’s practice schedule is subject to change due to weather. Be sure to check the team’s Twitter/X page for the latest updates on the practice schedule.
In addition to the open camp practices, the Broncos will play three preseason games in August, including two at home. After that, Denver will open the season against the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football on Sept. 14.
Social: Follow Broncos Wire on Facebook and Twitter/X! Did you know: These 25 celebrities are Broncos fans.
Letter to the Editor: Apartment Vacancy Rates Paint an Incomplete Picture
By David Malcolm | Voice of San Diego
In last Saturday’s “Politics Report,” Will Huntsberry tackled the thorny issue of apartment vacancy rates (apparently the highest in this century) and the impact on affordability. He also correctly wrote that the city of San Diego needs “strategies beyond build, build, build.”
What’s Really Happening
My company owns and operates apartment rental complexes in San Diego County (San Marcos, Encinitas, La Jolla, El Cajon and South Bay) and in Temecula (Riverside County). Here is what we are seeing.
Base rents are stable … but offers of two months’ free rent are common. That is a de facto 16.7 percent reduction on annualized rents. Reducing base rents is not possible in the face of rent control measures and, even more importantly, bank loan covenants. Thus, concessions like two months’ free rent are not hard to find.
Read more
New study shows promising step forward in improving Parkinson’s treatment
by Nicole Abrams | Times of San Diego
A small molecule was found to increase the benefits and reduce the side effects of the standard drug for Parkinson’s disease, according to a new study from UC San Diego startup called Sinopia Biosciences.
L-dopa or levodopa is the main treatment for Parkinson’s disease, but its benefits wane over time and can cause involuntary movements called dyskinesia. About 90% of patients with Parkinson’s disease develop dyskinesia in 9 or more years of using L-dopa, and 70% develop motor fluctuations in 9 or more years of using the drug, according to the study.
Read More
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