When popular Martin’s Beach was purchased in 2008 and padlocked to the public, the new owner kept himself so well hidden that no one knew who to be angry with. Now signs are pointing to a possible culprit: Silicon Valley venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, co-founder of Sun Microsystems.
Peter Douglas, who for four decades wielded unrivaled influence over arguably the most picturesque stretch of land and sea anywhere, announced Wednesday he is retiring as head of the California Coastal Commission.
El Granada (San Mateo County), CA; July 27, 2011: For the second time in two years, Dan Sterling and his family have defeated an attempt by the California Coastal Commission to illegally and unconstitutionally violate their property rights, as they’ve tried to negotiate the permit process to get approval to build a family home on their own land.
During a San Rafael hearing of the California Coastal Commission that backers saw as a the culmination of more than a year of work, the law regulating and limiting vacation rentals in the Live Oak area and beyond won unanimous approval from the 12-member body, despite continued opposition by some vacation home owners.
PLEASURE POINT – The county has agreed to pay an extra $800,000 to an Antioch-based contractor who won a $7.3 million contract to armor Santa Cruz’s East Cliff bluffs against erosion, settling a million-dollar dispute over the cost of the work.
The California Coastal Commission will hold a public hearing and act on the request by Santa Cruz County to add LCP regulations specific to vacation rentals in the Santa Cruz County coastal zone on Wednesday July 13, 2011 in San Rafael, CA
Some argue that county-planned improvements are overkill and threaten to remake the area as a Mid-County version of Santa Cruz’s more upscale West Cliff Drive.
“We are disappointed that the overall conservation score for the Commission dropped from 66 % in 2009 to 61% in 2010,” said Michael Endicott, Advocate for Sierra Club California. “Commissioners appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger, in particular, have backslid from gains in 2009 to casting pro coast votes in 2010 only 43% of the time.”
Some locals wonder if the good intentions are misplaced, if replacing this half-mile stretch of rugged, ragged blufftop road means Pleasure Point loses some of its grit, and with it, some of its spirit.