Guess Who's Feisty?

From Surfline's SurfWire
Saving Trestles: Anatomy of a Miracle
By: Serge Dedina
February 12, 2008
PRESS RELEASE

The decisive rejection last Wednesday by the California Coastal Commission (8-2) of the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) proposed 241 toll road that would have obliterated much of San Onofre State Beach Park was one of the most significant decisions in the history of the agency. The vast and overwhelming coalition that assembled to defend one of California's most popular state parks and one of the world's best and most famous surf spots was historic. The more than 3,000 people who assembled to defend San Onofre were the largest crowd in the history of Coastal Commission hearings.

Since the environmental movement is not accustomed to such overwhelming victories, we do not always analyze our successes or failures. But due to the scope of the landmark movement to preserve San Onofre and the diversity of the coalition that came together in the "Woodstock of the surf movement" last Wednesday, it is critical to understand why the Save Trestles-San Onofre Coalition won.

Here is a very brief and preliminary synopsis of the Super Bowl size victory:

Coalitions Matter: While the Surfrider Foundation did a brilliant job of mobilizing the masses and creating the coolest marketing campaign in the history of the environmental movement (kudos to Surfrider CEO Jim Moriarty and Matt McClain, Surfrider's savant marketing and communications director), the Save Trestles/San Onofre coalition included the best and brightest of California's environmental community. The Sierra Club, through the Friends of the Foothills alliance used the best tactics of grassroots organizing and direct mail to get the public to take action and organize key advocacy trips to Sacramento for grassroots campaigners (including myself).

NRDC, Endangered Habitats League, California Coastal Protection Network, California State Parks Foundation, The City Project, and a host of other organizations and consultants also provided the political and legal savvy to help derail the toll road. Additionally elected officials such as Susan Davis, Christine Kehoe, Lori Saldana, Pam Slater Price and a variety of California elected city officials provided their strong endorsement and created legislation to ensure the protection of San Onofre. Overall this was as sophisticated environmental coalition and campaign I have seen.

Diversity Counts: One of the most cogent arguments made to the Coastal Commissioners was that obliterating San Mateo Campground and San Onofre Beach State Park was an issue of environmental health and justice. The recreational users of San Onofre State Beach Park are among the most culturally diverse of any coastal state park in California. On any given day in San Onofre State Beach Park you can talk quad design with Chinese-America surfers from Irvine, admire the grace of multi-cultural cross-county high school running teams from San Clemente traversing the park's trails, marvel at the prowess of some of the world's best Hispanic surfers, and listen to conversations "In about four different languages" according to Pat Zabrocki of Surfshot Magazine in an interview with Treehugger Radio.

At the commission hearing, Los Angeles civil rights and environmental attorney, Robert Garcia and Acjachemen activist Rebecca Robles and other Native American leaders, provided a moving and passionate defense of San Onofre as a critical site for providing access to open space and recreational resources for underserved communities. The San Mateo Creek watershed is actually Panhe, a key Acjachemen religious, historical, and ceremonial site. The involvement of Latino, African American, Asian-Pacific Islander and Native American organizations in the Save San Onofre coalition only underscores the need for the environmental movement to dramatically expand its attempt to reach out to underserved communities and people of color. This is not just an issue of tactics and strategy but a moral and ethical imperative that will help us reclaim the heart and soul of the environmental movement.

The Surf Industry Flexed its Muscles: The multi-billion dollar surf industry is relatively young and just starting to flex its political muscles (please note that WiLDCOAST the organization I run receives financial support from a number of surf companies and the SIMA trade association). The surf industry was an active participant in this campaign and was out in full-force for the Commission hearing. This is a very positive and welcome sign for the future of the coastal protection movement in California and worldwide.

The TCA's Arrogance: Alex Brant-Zawadzki, a feisty writer The OC Weekly said it best in a recent blog ("Why the Toll Road is Dead").

..the root cause of the Transportation Corridor Agencies' failure to gain Coastal Commission approval for their Final Solution to San Onofre State Beach: ARROGANCE.


The TCA overreached by attempting to ram a private toll road through one of California's most beloved state parks and global ground zero of the surfing world. The secretive agency must have believed that surfers and the people of California would sit idly by while it paved over paradise. The TCA blew it.

This battle is far from over. The TCA will take it case to the U.S. Department of Commerce, but the decisive nature of the Coastal Commission decision proves that in California, it is a bad idea to mess with our state parks.

Why The Toll Road Is Dead

Why The Toll Road Is Dead
Posted by Alex Brant-Zawadzki
February 10, 2008 8:16 PM
Navel Gazing, OC Weekly's world-famous staff blog

The Foothill-South (241) toll road extension, as we know it, is dead.

Bold claim, you say? Presumptuous, maybe? Not so.

Recently mi hermano Gustavo Arellano pinpointed the root cause of the Transportation Corridor Agencies' failure to gain Coastal Commission approval for their Final Solution to San Onofre State Beach: ARROGANCE. The TCA presumptuously and sometimes even indignantly refuted the majority of criticism of their project, as reflected in the Response to Comments section of the Environmental Impact Report. A juicy excerpt:

Comment Number: O19-13
Commenter: Terrell Watt Planning Consultants Comment: There is a remarkable claim made that PM10 emissions will increase but that PM10 levels will not and that violations of state standards will not worsen (AQR 4-69, 4-70, 5-10). This defies all logic. And of course that is without accounting for most of the PM10 emissions. Obviously any increase in emissions will increase PM10 levels. The large emissions increases that would actually occur would increase the levels substantially, quite possibly above the federal standards.
Response: The comment is incorrect in summarizing the statements in the Draft EIS/SEIR...."

The comment is incorrect. The impacts are insignificant. You're wrong. We're not listening. Nya nya nya. This has been the general tone of the TCA's response to criticism in the past, and it continues today.

READ THE REST AT BLOGS.OCWEEKLY.COM/NAVELGAZING

Dead End for the Toll Road

Originally Posted on Navelgazing, the World-Famous OC Weekly Staff Blog.


Coastal Commission Denies 241 Permit
Posted by Alex Brant-Zawadzki in 241 Toll Road, Breaking News
February 6, 2008 11:21 PM
Permalink | Comments (0)

The California Coastal Commission voted at 11:18 pm Wednesday night to deny a coastal permit to the Transportation Corridor Agencies. It will now be much more difficult for the TCA to construct the Foothill-South (241) toll road extension.

The vote was 8-2 in favor of denying certification.
More to follow!

VOTES BY COMMISSIONER:

Blank – NO
Burke – YES
Clark – NO
Kram – YES
Neely – NO
Reilly – NO
Shallenberger – NO
Wan – NO
Kruer – NO
(some voters were inaudible due to cheering)

UPDATE:

Some Coastal Commissioners had very tough questions and very tough language for the TCA. Here are my favorite excerpts:
Commissioner SARA WAN, herself a scientist, was "appalled" at what she called the TCA's "false science". She even suggested the TCA's management plan for the mouse was "not a management plan at all except perhaps as a plan to drive the Pacific pocket mouse into extinction."
Commissioner MIKE REILLY cited the "limited value" of the TCA's $100 Million offer, and declared that "there is no legal way for us to concur with certification of this project."
The real kicker was Commissioner STEVE BLANK, who grilled the hell out of new TCA CEO Tom Margro. Citing TCA's claims that the 241 would serve as an evacuation route in a nuclear disaster, Burke said, "I was led to understand [San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station's] operating license was contingent upon having an approved evacuation plan. Has the government declared their plan inadequate?"
MARGRO: No - but can I elaborate?
BURKE: No, thank you, you've answered the question.
Burke then cited the TCA's threat that it could cost $70 Million to renew the lease for the state park.
BURKE: "Has the Navy ever denied the renewal of a lease of a state park?"
MARGRO: "I can't answer that question."
BURKE: "I believe the answer is no."
Burke went on to cite law discussed in this blog (State Park Scare Tactics) which would potentially allow for the lease to be renewed at less than $70 Million .
BURKE: "Doesn’t this mean there is a clear path for the lease to be renewed at a price other than $70 Million dollars?"
MARGRO: "It's possible."
BURKE: “Since Navy didn’t ask for $70 million dollars … Is it possible that they might ask for a dollar in 2021?”
MARGRO: "If they make findings."
BURKE: "So really at best it's a $30 Million dollar proposal"
MARGRO: "I would say it is a $100 million dollar proposal – for state parks."
BURKE: "Or a $30 Million dollar proposal?"
MARGRO: "Or $30 million – which still benefits state parks."
BURKE: "I have another question - Is there a price tag for a state park?
MARGRO: "Not that I’m aware of."

Mr. One Thousand (Forty Six and Counting)

Dude. My facebook Cause, Save Trestles, has over 1,000 people in it. That's unbefreakinglievable. http://apps.facebook.com/causes/view_cause/5626

Here's something someone just posted there (I LOVE that other people have started posting now, by the way) about the upcoming Coastal Commission meeting, scheduled for Wednesday Feb. 6 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

THE TIME TO SAVE TRESTLES IS NOW!

On Wednesday, February 6, the California Coastal Commission (CCC) will hear the application for the Foothill-South toll road that will run through San Onofre State Park.

This project threatens precious coastal open space, water quality and the surf break at Trestles, and it would set a dangerous precedent for YOUR State Park system.

Join hundreds (if not thousands) of Surfrider Foundation activists and other opponents of the toll road for a rally at the CCC hearing. Come help us send a clear message that our State Parks and open spaces deserve saving!

This is literally THE most important hearing in regards to protecting Trestles and San Onofre State Park. We need an enormous crowd to attend. Please help spread the word to all your family and friends in Southern California.

The Surfrider Foundation and partners are renting buses and organizing carpools in San Clemente and San Diego. We are also providing lunch, tee shirts, and posters/sign for all supporters. Surfrider has it all organizedyou just need to show up.

If you have questions about the hearing, or are interested in organized transportation, email Stefanie Sekich at SSekich@surfrider.org.

Hoping you can make it,
Your friends at Surfrider

What: Crucial Vote to Save Trestles at California Coastal Commission
When: Wednesday, February 6, 2008. Please arrive by 9am.
Where: Del Mar Fairgrounds at Wyland Hall
2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd.
Del Mar, CA 92014
Just off the I-5 in Del Mar at Via de la Valle exit.

Visit the Fairgrounds website for complete directions. Please consider carpooling.

membership@surfrider.org • Surfrider Foundation

Three Formerly Blind Mice

See How They Run
Posted by Alex Brant-Zawadzki in Main
September 21, 2006 3:09 PM
Permalink | Comments (0)

To hell with stem cell research - now they're just being silly.

From today's Sludge Report:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Human embryonic stem cells can partly restore vision in blinded rats, and may offer a source of transplants for people with certain eye diseases, researchers at a U.S. company reported on Thursday.


Great. Exactly what we need - rats with enhanced eyesight. Coming soon: eighteen-legged spiders that shoot acid and cockroaches with mounted artillery.
Three blind mice were unavailable for comment at press time, but the Farmer's Wife, their official spokesperson, reports to have "never seen such a thing in her life" as such blatant discrimination against disabled mice in favor of disabled rats.

New HIGHLIGHTS reel!

Yeah, I'm a law student. And that means that I can't blog as much as I used to.

Well, not for free anyway. I'm getting paid a paltry sum (though it's pretty generous considering how often I actually post) to blog on OC Weekly's world-famous staff blog, Navel Gazing, which is nice because I used to do so for free, years ago. In reviewing some of those pieces I've decided they belong on here, in case something should ever happen to the Weekly servers or something. So we're going to see a long string of highlights from here on in.


Give Me (Bomb) Shelter
Posted by Alex Brant-Zawadzki in Main
July 24, 2006 12:07 PM
Permalink | Comments (1)

I get by with a little help from my friends. Got a note from one of 'em today, in fact, a patriot hard at work supporting our troops.

[Dear Navy Customer],

On Friday we discussed pushing the Dev. updates from February to the [Server of Imminent Doom]. As you know, these updates broke the Dev. server last February which makes the outcome of any Live push questionable. Per your request, I had planned to make the updates tomorrow (Tuesday).


Since the tape backup isn't working at the moment, we (you and I) have decided to hold off on the live push until that situation has been remedied. This is to confirm that a) you made the request to push to live, b) I have informed you that there is a software related danger in doing so, and c) we have decided to hold off until the hardware situation can be corrected (at which time we will push the unreliable updates and hope for the best).


Please acknowledge.
Thanks,
[If You Need Me, I'll Be Hiding In The Basement]
Support for [Division X]
Naval Surface Warfare Center


So there's actually a noble, patriotic soul out there who has the opportunity to crash a Navy server - has an obligation as an order-following employee to bring that bastard down - but instead this person would rather let everyone know that we've been saved from crappy software. And our savior is crappy hardware.

The Navy's current slogan is "Accelerate your life", but you can't accelerate very fast unless you "Update your equipment".