High Surf, New Lakers Coach and Blog on Patch

Today is May 31. It is the 151st day of the year. We are under a waning crescent moon. Sunset will occur about 8 p.m. Here are five things to know:

1. The National Weather Service forecast for today calls for sunny skies with a high near 68 degrees with patchy fog tonight after 11 and an overnight low around 55 degrees. A high surf advisory is in effect from 9 a.m. today until 9 a.m. Thursday with high surf of 6 to 8 feet with maximum sets of 10 feet mainly on south facing beaches and there will be a high risk of rip currents on all area beaches today and tonight.

Forecasters expect patchy fog Wednesday morning that will gradually clear to become mostly sunny with a high near 65 degrees.

2. The Los Angeles Lakers will hold a news conference this afternoon to introduce new coach Mike Brown, 41, who is replacing Playa del Rey resident Phil Jackson. Jackson retired after coaching the Lakers for 11 of the last 12 seasons and leading them to five championships.

3. The average price of a gallon of self-serve regular gas in the Greater Los Angeles area dropped to $4.058 cents today, continuing a decline that has spanned more than three weeks. The average price a month ago was $4.261 a gallon, according to the American Automobile Association.

4. Patch is looking for bloggers. We recently rolled out a new blogging platform and are looking for local bloggers to write about whatever they want, whenever they want. If you're interested or want to learn more, send me an email: Paul.Chavez@patch.com

5. Did you know that you can follow Marina del Rey Patch, which also covers Del Rey and Playa del Rey, on Facebook and Twitter?