Milk Shakes, Memorial Day Reminders and Beach Grades

Happy hump day, the last Wednesday of May. The weather is expected to continue to improve with sunny skies and highs in the mid to upper 60s. Here is some news in brief for the day:

has added a roster of unbelievably delicious milk shakes (shown) to its menu. The choices, from basic strawberry or chocolate, to Chunky Monkey and Orange Creamsicle, are perfect summertime treats. A word to the wise, though: This is not your local ice cream shop. Be prepared to wait a good 20 minutes for your frozen treat. (To be fair, Patch expects that as the summer progresses, Danny's fine waitstaff will get the milk shake-making process under control. And, frankly, they are worth the wait.) The shakes are $6.95 each. We've come a long way from this.

Heal the Bay is having a news conference in Santa Monica at 10:30 a.m. today to release its 2011 Beach Report Card, assigning an A to F letter grade to 456 locations throughout the state, according to levels of bacteria found in the water. The better the grade a beach receives, the lower the risk of illness to ocean users. Come back to Patch this afternoon to see how Venice and neighboring beaches fared. Summer is here?

Speaking of summer, the Venice Beach detail of the LAPD's Pacific Division would like to remind everyone that starting Memorial Day and ending Halloween night, dogs are not allowed on Ocean Front Walk, or in the park, on Saturdays, Sundays or holidays, between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m.

More than 400 people attended the in Marina del Rey on Saturday, co-sponsored by the Venice Neighborhood Council and the Villa Marina Council. On June 9, there will be a neighborhood watch organizational meeting in conjunction with Mar Vista Neighborhood Council and the Pacific Division at Mark Twain School. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more information.

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