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cdchase@qualcomm.com
**** URGENT attack on coastal protections **** Please forward and repost ****
WRITE or ATTEND meeting on July 12th *** see below for other actions ****

Plans To Fire Exec. Dir. at July 12 Meeting

From:   Warner Chabot (Center for Marine Conservation) 415 391-6204
<cmcpac@igc.apc.org (Warner Chabot)>
Ann Notthoff (NRDC)  415 777-0220,

What:   Republicans on the California Coastal Commission have fired their
next missile in their war to roll back the Coastal Act and to dismantle the
Coastal Commission. They plan to fire Executive Director Peter Douglas.  A
decision to fire Mr. Douglas has just been placed on the Commission's July
12 meeting in Huntington Beach.  The vote will be on the last day of a
three day meeting.   This action follows last month's appointment by
Assembly Speaker Pringle of two new Commissioners who previously violated
the Coastal Act (see background below).  Putting the item under Executive
Session on a Friday afternoon is a cowardly attempt to hide this action
from news coverage.

Where:  Huntington Beach - Waterfront Hilton, 21100 Pacific Coast Hwy.
Huntington Beach.

When:   The Commission meets from Wednesday July 10  through Friday, July 12.
        Commission supporters are needed for a rally on July 10 and to
testify on July 12th.

What you can do:  This assault requires the maximum response.  The next two
weeks will determine the future of the Coastal Commission.  Please help us
with the following:

        1) Media Coverage - Write Letters to the Editor and ask for
Editorials to challenge this attack.

        2) Write the Commission -Mail or Fax a letter to Louis Calcagno,
Chair of the Coastal Commission.  Use the points below to object.  Address:
45 Freemont, Suite 2000, San Francico CA 94105.  FAX #: 415 904-5400.

        3) Rally on July 10 - Join a rally from 11:00 to 12:00 at the
Hilton.  This will be followed by testimony at the noon "Open Public
Comment Period"  Contact: Debbie Cook-714 841-4484

        4) Testify on July 12 - Commission discussion on the proposal to
fire the Executive Director begins at 1:00  on Friday.  Testify against
this blatant attempt to destroy the Commission.

Key Points:

*       This Spring, the Commission gave the Executive Director a positive
performance evaluation and a 10% raise.  Two of the Governor's appointees
were on the Subcommittee that recommended the raise.  Why the rush to now
fire him?

*       This is a blatant effort to eliminate the independence of the
Commission's professional staff.  The future integrity of the Commission is
at stake.

*       The Commissioners who asked for this item should stand up and
identify themselves.  They should justify to the public, in advance, their
reasons for taking such drastic actions.

*       This vote is a test of whether the Commissioners are independent of
the Governor and Assembly Speaker Pringle or if they are puppets doing the
bidding of their masters.

 "This is a declaration of war on the Coastal Act and the Coastal
Commission.  Republican commissioners appointed by Wilson and Pringle plan
to gut the Act and the Commission by first eliminating independent,
professional staff.  Just a few months the Commission gave the Executive
Director a good performance evaluation and a 10% raise.  What's their
justification to now fire him? The burden is now on them to publicly
justify just why this drastic action is needed.   Like the Newt Gingrich
Congress, our California Republicans are trying to roll back 25 years of
Coastal Protection," said Warner Chabot, Pacific Region Director of the
Center for Marine Conservation.

Background:  The twelve Coastal Commission members are appointed equally by
the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly and the Senate Rules Committee;
each provide four appointments.  Recent appointments include Commissioners
that are extremely hostile to the fundamental goals and objectives of the
Coastal Act.  Several new Commissioners have publicly stated their desire
to repeal key Commission policies which protect the environment and
maintain public access to the beach.  They have proposed  firing of the
Commission's Executive Director, reducing the size of the Coastal zone,
removing public coastal access requirements and establishing new rules that
prohibit Commission staff from making specific policy recommendations to
the Commission.


Protecting California's Coastline Additional BACKGROUND ************
FAREWELL TO THE COAST? excerpted from Planning and Conservation League
newsletter May/June '96; you may visit their website at:
http://www.pcl.org/pcl

       The California Coast was preserved by the voters in an initiative
       sponsored by PCL, Sierra Club, the Coastal Alliance, and many
       other groups in 1972, in response to the rapid development and
       destruction of the coast in the 1960's. Passage of Proposition 20 was
       one of the greatest triumphs by California conservationists. In 1975
       the Legislature turned that victory into law by creating a permanent
       Coastal commission, and charging that body to protect the public's
       right to coastal access and beauty. Development was to be severely
       restricted outside cities, and views and access were to be preserved.

       The commission is a hybrid body, with twelve members. Four each
       are appointed by the governor, the Senate Rules Committee, and the
       Speaker of the Assembly. Under Pete Wilson, the governor's
       appointees clearly lean toward development, the Senate's (thanks to
       Senator Bill Lockyer) lean toward environmental protection, and
       Speaker Willie Brown's appointees tended to be split between
       conservation and development. A few of Governor Wilson's
       appointees at least try on some occasions to follow the mandate of
       the voters to protect the coast.

       But Speaker Curt Pringle (R, Orange) has gone entirely to
development interests. His four new appointees include one county
supervisor who
       almost always sides with developers, one unknown believed to be
       sympathetic to developers, and two almost unbelievable appointees
       who have personally violated the coastal act and have had to pay
       large fines or settlements.

       This is really like letting Count Dracula run the blood bank. There are
       now seven or eight reliable votes against coastal protection out of
       twelve, and the commission will almost certainly side with polluters
       and developers every time.

       What can be done about this dreadful situation? First, lawsuits can be
       filed when the commission goes against its own statutory authority,
       but we can rely on the new commissioners to strain as hard as
       possible up against that law without violating it too often. After all,
       the commission was given a lot of discretion because of the
       complexity of regulating 1200 miles of coastline, up to several miles
       inland.

       Second, conservationists can hope that a new speaker will take
       office after the November elections, and make new, more moderate
       appointments.

       Third, the environmental community can take matters into its own
       hands, and sponsor another coastal initiative in 1998, restricting the
       discretion of the commission, so that even very bad commissioners
       cannot undermine the requirements of a new, tougher coastal
       protection act.

-----------------------------------------------------------

IN the SHORT TERM - we need to flood the meeting of the Coastal Commission
on the 12th and let them know that Californians support protections for the
coast.

If you cannot attend, plase write and pass this along to friends who could
attend or write.

Onward and upward...
--cdc

Carolyn Chase,
Please visit ;-)
San Diego Earth Times, http://www.electriciti.com/sdet/
Earth Day Network http://www.cfe.cornell.edu/EarthDay/ednethome.html

Tel: (619)272-0347 (SDET)
FAX: (619)272-2933
email: cdchase@qualcomm.com
P.O. Box 9827 / San Diego CA 92169

"What is faith worth if it is not translated into action?"
                                                                 --Gandhi



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Date: Tue, 2 Jul 1996 21:49:36 -0800
To: earthday@qualcomm.com
From: cdchase@qualcomm.com (Carolyn Chase)
Subject: Help Repel Attack on Coastal Commission!!!!!