The California Coastal Commission, the nation's premier land-use zoning agency and the guardian of more than 1,000 miles of coastline, is experiencing internal turbulence amid a move to oust the commission's executive director, Charles Lester.
From Capitol Weekly's John Howard and Alex Matthews: "A move to oust the executive director of the California Coastal Commission is under way, an effort that marks the most significant attempt against the commission’s ranking administrator in two decades."
"Commission Chair Steve Kinsey wrote a letter to Executive Director Charles Lester, saying the 12-member panel “will consider whether to dismiss you” at the commission’s February meeting."
"Kinsey’s Jan. 14 letter, reviewed by Capitol Weekly, emerged Tuesday after days of intense wrangling at the powerful agency. A statement was posted Tuesday evening on the commission’s web site for the Feb. 10-12 meeting, saying that “two items regarding the executive director have been set for public hearing and/or closed session (and) the employment status of the executive director … and if necessary, consideration of the appointment of an interim executive director … ”
Despite all the talk of climate change, greenhouse gases and global warming, Gov. Brown's proposed budget directs major resources to the automobile.
From the California Health Report's Dan Weintraub: "Weeks after returning from the Paris summit on climate change where he was hailed as a leader in the movement to limit greenhouse gases, Gov. Jerry Brown has proposed a new transportation budget that celebrates the car."
"In 2016-17, Brown wants to spend $16 billion on transportation, and most of that would go toward making it easier for people to drive. The Democratic governor wants to build new roads and highways and repave old ones, and use more technology to speed traffic."
"Brown does dedicate some new money to transit and rail improvements, including the high-speed rail project that he sees as part of his legacy. But he proposes almost nothing to promote “active transportation” – human-powered movement through neighborhoods and cities on bikes and on foot that is not only better for the environment, but also for our health."
Speaking of global warming, the temperature of chilly Lake Tahoe is on the rise -- and has been for decades.
From the Chronicle's David Perlman: "Like hundreds of lakes around the world, Lake Tahoe has been warming steadily for more than 40 years, with surface temperatures rising faster than the global warming rate of oceans and the atmosphere, an international survey has detected."
"In an era of rapid climate changes, the effects of their long-range impacts on the environment of the world’s lakes are varied, but before many decades they could threaten human access to drinking water, fisheries and irrigated croplands, the group of more than 60 scientists has concluded."
"Their survey of 235 lakes from around the world finds that the water temperature has risen by an average of 0.61 degrees Fahrenheit during every decade for at least the past 25 years."
Inch by inch, drop by drop, the recent storms that have pummeled Northern California are starting to make a dent in the drought.
The Bee's Ryan Sabalow and Phillip Reese tell the tale: "Since Friday, a series of storms have dropped close to 2.5 inches of rain in Sacramento, helping replenish reservoirs drained to historic lows last summer. More importantly, the storms have added to the snowpack blanketing the Sierra, a stark contrast to last year, which dawned with the state’s driest January in more than 100 years."
"The last few days have brought more than 2 feet of snow to the high Sierra, even as warmer-than-average temperatures are resulting in rainfall at lower elevations."
"January marks the beginning of storms associated with the powerful El Niño conditions in the Pacific Ocean, a phenomenon linked to above-average water temperatures along a stretch of the equatorial Pacific roughly twice the size of the United States. The warming leads to a shift in weather patterns that typically brings heavy rains, particularly to Southern California."
Los Angeles has agreed to pay millions of dollars to two men who said they were locked up for years because of phony evidence concocted by police detectives.
From Emily Alpert Reyes and Matt Lait in the LAT: "The Los Angeles City Council agreed Tuesday to pay more than $24 million to settle lawsuits from two men who alleged that investigations by dishonest LAPD detectives led to their wrongful murder convictions and caused them to spend decades behind bars."
"Kash Delano Register, who won his freedom in 2013 after lawyers and students from Loyola Law School cast doubt on the testimony of a key prosecution witness, will receive $16.7 million — the largest settlement in an individual civil rights case in the city’s history, his attorneys said. Bruce Lisker, who was released from prison in 2009 after a Times investigation into his conviction, will get $7.6 million."
"Though the cases were unrelated, both men contended that detectives ignored evidence of their innocence and fabricated evidence of their guilt. City lawyers concerned about the police misconduct allegations recommended the settlements, saying in confidential memos to the City Council obtained by The Times that taking the cases to trial could be even more financially devastating."
And from our "Whoops" file we learn that a house, a historical treasure with links to the Bill of Rights, was partly demolished before officials realized a mistake had been made.
"A Pennsylvania building believed to be the birthplace of the Bill of Rights was partially demolished earlier this month because developers didn’t know the origin of the site, The Sentinel reported."
"The building, originally known as the James Bell Tavern, hosted a meeting in 1788 of anti-Federalists opposed to the ratification of the new nation’s Constitution. The group began calling for changes to the document, and their plea was eventually heard when the Bill of Rights was adopted in 1791."
"But while several documents from the original 1788 meeting are preserved, and the tavern was initially deemed qualified for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, a formal designation wasn’t sought, PennLive reported."
“Whether intentional or by error in 1995, the Bell Tavern was not listed as an historic, protected building on the Township’s Cultural Features Map and Historic Buildings List referred to in our zoning ordinance,” a news release from Silver Spring Township officials said.
Like we said, "Whoops!" ....
