Surfers gathered at Overlook Beach in Babylon on Thursday, but they weren’t navigating waves. Sitting on the second story of the picnic pavilion and looking out at the water, Babylon Town Supervisor Steve Bellone did some Googling, inaugurating the new wireless Internet installation.

Similar WiFi hotspots have been installed at Cedar, Tanner, and Venetian Beaches as well as all town marinas and will eventually be available in all pools, beaches, and parks in Babylon. The Internet is provided at no charge to anyone within the 750-foot range of the access point.

The Town of Babylon is the first municipality on the East Coast to offer this kind of service, although many have tried in the past. “Municipal WiFi is not impossible and can be done when taking the right approach,” according to Henry Quintin, President of Sky-Packets, the company that designed the setup and supplied the hardware.

New York City experimented with free WiFi in its parks but discontinued service in January. Philadelphia was forced to drop its plans for city-wide wireless Internet due to the prohibitive cost. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is exploring a proposal to install WiFi on commuter trains and offers WiFi access in Penn Station as a pilot program. Nassau and Suffolk county officials also proposed offering free WiFi across Long Island, but the idea has stagnated since Cablevision currently offers wireless Internet across LI, although it can only be used by Optimum Online subscribers.

BOULDER, Colo. — The sight of kayakers playing on standing river waves is a familiar sight in Colorado, but surfers? Over the past few years, landlocked beach bros have discovered that river waves can be surfed almost like ocean waves.

And Colorado communities that have constructed whitewater play parks (manmade obstacles in the water that increase wave size) on large rivers with heavy flows — like the Colorado River in Glenwood Springs, the Arkansas River in Buena Vista and Salida, and the Animas River in Durango — are seeing increased surfer traffic.

Michelle McReynolds of the Glenwood Springs Chamber of Commerce confirms that the town’s whitewater park has “definitely increased commerce and tourism in town.”

Basalt-based photographer Pete McBride, 38, has surfed all over the world and often surfs the Colorado River at the Glenwood Whitewater Park.

“You can’t always hop on a plane to follow good surf. This wave is practically in my backyard,” he says.

A Basalt town councilman raised on a cattle ranch in Old Snowmass, McBride took up surfing six years ago and can’t get enough of it.

“I love it. I surfed yesterday, and we’re heading out this afternoon again,” he says.

The wave “goes off” when the Colorado flows at 10,000 to 20,000 cubic feet per second, typically around April to June. McBride prefers riding a more nimble short board, but he often stands on the riverbank waiting his turn for the wave with kayakers and stand-up paddle boarders.

The inaugural Stand Up Paddling Nationals were held at the Glenwood Whitewater Park on May 31. The winner, Dan Gavere, beat about 20 other “watermen” in three disciplines: down-stream racing through Class II–III whitewater, slalom and surfing.

Surfing America, the National Governing Body for surfing in the USA, is pleased to announce that the band members of 311 have graciously invited the Surfing America Summer Surf Jam Festival to be a part of their concert on Sunday, July 12, at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine, CA.

This concert event is part of 311’s 2009 Unity Tour-on which the band is joined by Ziggy Marley and the Expendables for 28 shows coast-to-coast.

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“We are extremely excited by this opportunity,” said Surfing America’s executive director Mike Gerard. “And we’re deeply honored by the generous consideration that 311 is giving to the Surfing America cause. This is a huge promotional opportunity for Surfing America that gives the non-profit organization a tremendous chance to raise much needed funds to continue its work to advance the sport of surfing in the United States.”

The Surfing America Surf Jam is a collaboration of leading surf brands and surf media-uniting to promote the surf industry and youth culture in Southern California and beyond. Funds raised will fuel Surfing America programs aimed to develop and grow the sport of surfing in the USA.