Posted by Eric Frasco on September 17, 2002 at 21:36:10:
Garry Trudeau's "Doonesbury" cartoon was great today!
If you missed it, this weeks episode has the character "Zonker" travelling back to his old Malibu digs to visit "Old Surfer Dude," who brings up the topic of "the fight for Coastal Access." He further goes on to refer to David Geffen (big time movie producer) as the "Dark Leader" of the "Malibu Mansion People."
You may have missed it, but there is a big battle brewing in Malibu. Many of the rich residents of Malibu that have beach front mansions have built a three mile long impenetrable barrier to the beach. They have fenced in their property from one end to the other, despite the fact that many agreed to allow a corridor along one side or the other of their property for public access. This agreement was with the California Coastal Commission, and many of the agreements were made almost 20 years ago. But they came with an expiration date - if these access points are not developed and maintained, the corridor reverts to the owner of the property.
Many of the expiration dates of these corridors are coming up within the next year or so. The Beach Access Committee of the Greater Los Angeles Council of Divers (GLACD), chaired by Craig Gelpi, has been following these developments and has been posting observations and updates on the GLACD web page (www.glacd.org).
So where does Geffen come in to this? (Summary of facts follows, may not be completely accurate due to an attempt to be concise and to the point): He has filed a lawsuit against the California Coastal Commission and another grass roots organization called "Access for All," claiming that the CCC corridor is unconstitutional.
In other words, he is throwing money and attorneys against non-profit organizations in order to bully his will on the rights of the peoples of California.
At any rate, it is great to see that Garry Trudeau is using "Doonesbury to make another humorous and well principled political commentary against money and lawyers vs. the American Public. I look forward to the upcoming episodes of Doonesbury. It is wonderful to see national attention focussed on local issues.
-Eric-