West
Beloved sandcastle artist booted from California beach by luxury hotel after nearly 20 years
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For nearly two decades, families posed for photos beside his towering sandcastles, couples got engaged in front of them, and holiday visitors returned year after year to see what he would build next.
Now, the man affectionately known as “The Sandcastle Man” is no longer building on the stretch of Southern California beach where he became a Coronado fixture.
Hotel del Coronado confirmed to Fox News Digital that it and sand artist Bill Pavlacka “have parted ways” effective Feb. 5, ending his nearly 20-year run crafting elaborate sculptures on Coronado Beach outside the historic resort.
“We can confirm that Hotel del Coronado and The Sandcastle Man have parted ways effective February 5. We wish The Sandcastle Man continued success,” a hotel spokesperson said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.
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Bill Pavlacka, known as “The Sandcastle Man,” poses beside one of his sand sculptures on Coronado Beach in California. The longtime beach fixture recently parted ways with the Hotel del Coronado after nearly two decades building on the resort’s beachfront. (Daniel Knighton/Getty Images)
The hotel did not provide any additional details about the decision.
Pavlacka’s sand creations, ranging from whimsical holiday displays to custom wedding proposals, anniversary tributes and birthday messages have long-drawn crowds along the iconic shoreline adjacent to San Diego.
The circumstances surrounding his departure were detailed in a letter and interview quotes reported by The San Diego Union-Tribune, as well as in statements Pavlacka shared on social media.
The Union-Tribune reported that Pavlacka was formally notified in a letter from the hotel’s human resources director that he was no longer permitted to operate on hotel property. According to the newspaper, the letter said that in recent months a new incident had come to light “involving consumption of alcohol, resulting in a negative guest experience.”
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A sandcastle sculpture created by Bill Pavlacka sits on Coronado Beach in Southern California with the Hotel del Coronado in the background. Pavlacka has built proposal displays, holiday scenes and custom creations along the beachfront for nearly 20 years. (Daniel Knighton/Getty Images)
Pavlacka denied that allegation in an interview with the Union-Tribune.
“There was no alcohol. I don’t drink alcohol out there,” he said. “I asked the hotel guy who complained, ‘Did you see me drinking?’ He said, ‘We’re not going to go there.’ If they want me out of there, that’s OK. I’m not going to fight and argue with them.”
The Union-Tribune also reported the letter stated Pavlacka was “no longer permitted to operate ‘The Sandcastle Man’ or any other business on the premises of the Hotel del Coronado… explicitly including the Hotel’s beach.”
The newspaper further reported that the hotel owns portions of the beachfront and, citing the California Coastal Commission, has the right to control that property so long as public access is not denied.
Pavlacka told the Union-Tribune he believes the decision may have been influenced by messages he sometimes carved into his sculptures. The newspaper reported the hotel letter said that as a condition of operating on the hotel’s beach property, Pavlacka’s sandcastle content was to be “neutral” and “free of political or controversial messages.”
Pavlacka said he had incorporated phrases such as “I believe in freedom of speech” and “I love democracy,” along with a quote attributed to Mark Twain: “Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.”
He said the messages were interpreted as political.
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The historic Hotel del Coronado is seen in Coronado, Calif. The beachfront resort confirmed it has “parted ways” with longtime sand sculpture artist Bill Pavlacka, known locally as “The Sandcastle Man.” (Daniel Knighton/Getty Images)
“The hotel always says I do not work for them, but they kicked me off the property,” he told the Union-Tribune. “But I have tremendous support in San Diego and almost all the feedback I’ve gotten is positive. So I can’t understand why all of a sudden things changed.”
Local supporters echoed that sentiment.
“Bill is hardworking and quiet and never have we ever seen him drinking,” Kimberly Weed told the Coronado Times. “This is a huge loss for the people of San Diego, and everyone loves ‘The Sandcastle Man.’ Bring him back and appreciate the joy it brings people from all over the world.”
Ken Fitzgerald told the outlet, “There is nothing controversial, much less offensive, about a quote from one of America’s greatest authors about the importance of truth and objective reality in our nation’s civic life.”
Pavlacka addressed the split in a Facebook post.
“After nearly two decades, Hotel del Coronado and I have parted ways. Building sandcastles in front of the hotel, and meeting guests from all over the world, has meant everything to me,” he wrote.
“While I’m saddened this chapter has ended, I’m excited for greater creative freedom ahead,” he added, directing supporters to find him “just north of the main lifeguard tower on Coronado Beach.”
The San Diego skyline from Centennial Park in Coronado, Calif. (Christopher A. Jones via Getty Images)
In his interview with the Union-Tribune, Pavlacka said he plans to continue building sandcastles elsewhere.
“I won’t give up, I’ll still build sandcastles. It may not be here, it will be somewhere,” he said.
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Pavlacka also publishes a price list on “The Sandcastle Man” website.
The page states: “Sandcastles and lessons on Hotel Del Coronado property must be pre-approved by the hotel.” It adds that prices are subject to change based on design complexity and may include add-ons such as music, lights, rose petals and travel fees.
Pavlacka is currently seeking donations per his most recent Facebook post.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Pavlacka for additional comment.
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San Francisco, CA
San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers Live Stream: How to Watch MLB
Division-leading Dodgers aim to snap home losing trend as they open series against the Giants in a matchup of NL West foes
After dropping their second straight home series over the weekend, the Los Angeles Dodgers head into Monday night’s series opener against the San Francisco Giants sitting atop the National League West Division standings, aiming to avenge a series loss to the Giants from two weeks ago. San Francisco has lost nine of its last 12 games overall and have dropped seven in a row on the road as they begin a 10-game road trip that will keep them away from home until Memorial Day Weekend. The Giants will start Trevor McDonald (1-0, 1.29 ERA) in his fourth start in the Majors while the Dodgers will counter with second-year Japanese import Roki Sasaki (1-3, 5.97 ERA) who has given up a home run in five consecutive outings.
How to Watch San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers:
Date: May 11, 2026
Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
TV Channel: MLB Network
Location: Dodgers Stadium
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Dodger center fielder Andy Pages, who has helped Los Angeles claim World Series titles in each of his first two years in the Majors, leads the team this season hitting .333, ranking the 25-year-old Cuban third among all hitters in MLB. Pages is hitting .371 so far in May with five extra base hits and 10 RBIs and has successfully reached base in 13 of his last 14 games.
With nine hits in seven games so far this month, Giants second baseman Luis Arraez is hitting a team-leading .310 at the plate in 2026 and is on pace for his eighth career 100-hit campaign. Arraez is one of only two active players with a career batting average above .300, hitting .316 for his career and leads Houston’s Jose Altuve by 15 points.
What time is Giants vs Dodgers?
Coverage of the San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers starts Monday, May 11, at 10:00 p.m ET. Tune in to see if the Dodgers can beat the Giants for the fifth time in the last six games at Dodger Stadium or if San Francisco can beat LA for the fourth time in the last five head-to-head matchups.
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Denver, CO
The hippo had to go, but the Denver Zoo slashed its water budget
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DENVER — Zoos are of necessity big gulpers of water, a fact that has some zookeepers in the drying American West working to rapidly upgrade efficiency and reduce unnecessary irrigation or leaks.
Denver Zoo, formally known as the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance, has rapidly reduced its demands on threatened and declining water sources, including the Colorado River.
Among the upgrades is a sea lion water filtration system that allows most of the water to be cleaned and reused each time the pool is drained. That’s saving more than 8 million gallons a year, zoo sustainability director Blair Neelands said. “You can get in there, scrub it with a toothbrush and refill it with the same water,” she said.
Similar upgrades to an African penguin showcase reduced its water use by 95% by largely eliminating what’s sent down the drain. (Like a backyard swimming pool, though, these tanks sometimes still need to be drained and refreshed with new water to reduce mineral buildup.)
“The biggest thing for us is swapping from dump-and-fill pools to life-support systems,” Neeland said.
Another biggie is replacement of a 50-year-old water main with funding of about $3 million from the city. There’s no way of knowing how much that pipe had leaked over the years, but Neeland suspected it was more than a million gallons a year. The savings should become apparent as the zoo tracks its water use over the next few years.
Creating hippo-sized water savings
When The Arizona Republic visited in 2025, the zoo was on the cusp of eclipsing a goal to reduce its water use by half of what it had been in 2018. The zoo had used 80 million gallons in 2024, or about 219,000 a day, a 45% reduction in just a handful of years. Much of the savings had come in the form of smarter irrigation practices and use of drought-tolerant native plants where possible. The landscaping also pivoted to recycled “purple pipe” water from the city, which owns the zoo’s land, restricting potable water to areas where animals really need it.
“When people hear ‘recycled water,’ they get worried about cleanliness and hygiene,” zoo spokesman Jake Kubié said. “But it’s safe for the animals, and it’s not their drinking water.”
Getting past the water conservation goal would mean draining the pool where Mahali the hippo spent most hours lurking with just his eyes, ears and snout visible to visitors. Because he spent so much time in the pool, the water needed daily changes. It amounted to 21 million gallons a year, not to mention water heater bills that drove the cost to $200,000 a year, according to zoo officials. They estimated that Mahali used as much water as 350,000 four-person households.
“This facility is outdated,” Kubié said. “Some day this will become a huge saver of water.”
That day came before year’s end, and it indeed brought a tremendous savings. The zoo shipped Mahali to a new home (and a potential mate) at a wildlife preserve in Texas and drained the pool one last time. Ending the daily change-outs shaved more than a quarter of the zoo’s entire water usage from the previous year. It put the zoo significantly beyond its goal.
Denver Zoo’s water savings are part of a broader waste- and pollution-prevention effort aimed at being a good neighbor in uncertain times, Neeland said.
“Water savings and drought is top of mind for anyone who lives in the Western United States,” she said.
In Phoenix, a different mix of animals
That’s true of the Phoenix Zoo, as well, where zookeepers must maintain landscaping and animal exhibits in a city that baked under 100-degree-plus high temperatures for a third of the days last year. The zoo creates a “respite in the desert,” spokeswoman Linda Hardwick said, but has no hippos, penguins, grizzly bears or many of the other species that would require big water investments for outdoor swimming or cooling.
“We really specialize in animals that will thrive in the temperatures here,” Hardwick said.
The Phoenix Zoo uses most of its water on landscaping. After a consultant’s 2023 irrigation assessment, the staff centralized irrigation scheduling under a single trained technician and employed technologies including weather-based controllers and smart meters. Salt River Project awarded $70,000 in grant funds for the upgrades and several thousand more for training.
The zoo uses about 189,000 gallons a day, she said. That represents a 17% reduction from 2023, or 20% when adjusted for the year’s particular weather and evapotranspiration demand.
Brandon Loomis covers environmental and climate issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Reach him at brandon.loomis@arizonarepublic.com.
Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
Follow The Republic environmental reporting team at environment.azcentral.com and @azcenvironment on Facebook and Instagram.
Seattle, WA
Cities Only Work if We Show Up
I have always been in love with cities. I joke with friends that I have crushes on cities the way they have crushes on good-looking strangers. Sometimes—as with Paris and London—my unrequited crush meant finding an excuse to move there. With Seattle, however, that initial attraction grew into a long-term relationship.
Liz Dunn
Phot by TRAVIS GILLETT
I arrived here as a “tech baby,” coming from Canada to work at Microsoft as a college intern. For a long time, I felt as though I were living in a bubble—until I realized I could pivot my career and work in and on the city I’d come to call home. Through my company, Dunn & Hobbes, I’ve done just that, spending more than 25 years building and renovating spaces for retail, restaurants, and creative work. I love old buildings—but what I love more is what happens inside and around them. I love making space for creative people and then watching them fully inhabit those places and thrive. I also love how a collection of structures on a block can become an economic and artistic ecosystem.
Working in real estate is not just about making deals—you’re crafting pieces of the city, and that comes with both impact and responsibility.
Small businesses are the heart and soul of any neighborhood. Research shows that locally owned businesses generate a much higher multiplier effect in the regional economy than national chains. Beyond economics, the independent shops, restaurants, and designers that comprise the core fabric of a city are the secret sauce that makes it feel unique.
Nowhere is that more evident than Capitol Hill’s Pike/Pine corridor, where I’ve conducted most of my work and lived out large chunks of my adult life. During the past 25 years, it has become a case study in what happens when you preserve character and invest in small business. The area was once filled with old auto-row buildings that had fallen into disuse. Instead of wiping the slate clean, local developers, including me, saw an opportunity for creative reuse. Those buildings turned out to be perfectly scaled for independent retailers and restaurants, creating a unique critical mass that offers a popular destination for locals and tourists alike.
What makes Pike/Pine special is its texture and grit—the layered history you feel in both the physical architecture and the spirit of the shops and restaurants. A large percentage of businesses are owned by members of the LGBTQ+ community, women, immigrants, and people of color. The density of independent retailers and studios—and the inclusive community that supports them—creates omething you can’t replicate with a formula. It evolved over decades, shaped by artists, musicians, designers and small entrepreneurs willing to take risks and plant their flags.
Today, neighborhoods like Pike/Pine face challenges that threaten the tightly woven ecosystem that makes them thrive. There’s a difference between gritty and too gritty, and during the past six years, it’s become harder to attract people. Foot traffic in neighborhood retail districts is dropping, even as downtown begins to recover with tourism. Small businesses are dealing with crushing cost pressures, many tied to public safety concerns and well-intentioned policies with unintended consequences. Public safety has been the elephant in the room—though I do believe we are starting to see improvements. At the same time, our habits have changed. Seattleites have been hibernating, whether because of repercussions from the COVID-19 pandemic or the convenience of delivery apps, streaming, and gaming.
And yet, people still deeply crave connection.
That’s why what’s happening in Pike/Pine right now is inspiring and hopeful. Many of the people who helped shape the neighborhood are still here, investing their time, money, and creativity because they care deeply about its future. We’re doubling down on what makes it special—art walks, a slate of new murals, the On The Block street fair, and Capitol Hill Block Party—all invitations for the community to come back out and re-engage.
This spring, on Saturday, May 16th, we’re launching something new: the Pike/Pine Spring Fashion Walk and Social. It’s designed to be an annual celebration that stretches across the neighborhood, anchored by a collection of activations at Melrose Market, and a runway show on the “catwalk” at Chophouse Row that will include Seattle fashion apparel leaders Glasswing, JackStraw, the Refind, the Finerie, and Flora and Henri. Neighborhood-based designer and brand activations up and down the corridor will include open studios, DJs, wine tastings, in-store pop-ups, and involvement from local college students—bringing in the next generation of designers and entrepreneurs. One of the goals is to remind everyone that Seattle still has amazing fashion “game,” offering a scene that is just as creative and diverse as anything you might find in New York or LA. At its core, this event is not about shopping. It’s about creating a reason for people to come together, to reconnect, and to experience the neighborhood as a shared space.
Because that’s the point. Cities work best when we show up—for them and for each other. Seattle’s culture is not something that exists just for us to consume; we are all participants in shaping it. So, my call to action is simple: come out. Walk around and meet your neighbors. Engage in what’s happening. It feels good—and it does good.
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