Recently in Palos Verdes Peninsula Category

I couldn't get in touch with Palos Verdes Homes Association President Philip Frengs before deadline last week to get him to comment on his apparent legal victory over the Palos Verdes Peninsula school district.

PVHA had no alternative but to mount a vigorous defense of the governing documents. The District fought their battle not only in Court, but in a failed public relations campaign.

When: Wednesday, July 27, 2011 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Where: The Conference Room at Peninsula Center Library

Palos Verdes Library District Trustees will host a workshop for residents interested in running for a position on the Library Board at the November 2011 election. The workshop will be from 7:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 27, 2011, in the Conference Room at the Peninsula Center Library, 701 Silver Spur Road, Rolling Hills Estates, 90274. Information about the Library District and the role and workload of an elected Trustee will be reviewed. Questions from prospective candidates are welcome. All interested parties are invited. To assist with handout printing, please notify the Library of your intention to attend by contacting Nicole Gentica in the Library administrative offices at (310) 377-9584, ext. 245 or by email at ngentica@pvld.org.

The Fish Contamination Education Collaborative has a new post up with a helpful questions and answers about the Palos Verdes Shelf Superfund site.

The collaborative -- meant to provide information to local fishermen about DDT in fish and sediment off Palos Verdes -- provides a starter set of facts to those unfamiliar with the contamination. Worth a look if you don't know about this major Superfund site, which had far-reaching environmental effects in Southern California.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is in the process of proceeding with a massive cleanup plan that includes capping part of the site, some 40 years after DDT stopped flowing into the area.
 

Sarah Sikich, coastal resources director for Santa Monica-based nonprofit Heal the Bay, says she considered quitting the grueling, emotional and lengthy process that led to the creation of nearly 400 square miles of marine protected areas off the Southern California coast.

In a blog post, Sikich writes that the Marine Life Protection Act initiative was her biggest professional challenge, one that brought her to tears. I know local fishermen who participated who were also drained by the process -- which involved many meetings lasting hours upon hours -- as well.

Last month, the state Fish and Game Commission approved a plan that will limit or halt fishing in some of the most prime waters between the Mexico border and Point Conception in Santa Barbara County. That includes about 20 square miles off the Point Vicente and Abalone Cove -- but not the most prized area surrounding Rocky Point.

Sikich describes one particular emotional negotiation over Point Dume protected areas in Malibu, which were strengthened by a state panel in exchange for keeping Rocky Point open.

One day we spent several hours arguing over a 1,000-foot stretch of
Malibu coastline. Our facilitator calmly kept the conversation going,
while we stakeholders got heated about where the MPA boundary lines
should be drawn. I got more and more frustrated as the boundary got
farther away from where I thought it should go from a conservation
perspective. But those representing fishing interests felt the same way
about the area being protected. Eventually, we found a middle ground
that everyone could live with, and the facilitator called for a quick
break.

I stepped outside with a colleague and friend and immediately burst
into tears. She asked what was wrong, and I explained that I was
emotionally exhausted and felt like we had just given so much towards
compromise. My immediate reaction was disappointment. Had I given in too
much? She understood my frustration, but also put things into context
when she said all that discussion centered on less than a ¼ mile of
coastline, and we burst into hysteric laughter.  Of the entire 2,355
square miles of ocean in the South Coast being considered for MPAs, we
were arguing for hours about a mere fraction of that area (0.0005% to be
exact!)

She draws a list of lessons learned from the contentious process: be creative; be a partner; be emotional. Worth a read.

San Pedro sea urchin diver Bob Bertelli is the focus on a new multimedia story from KPCC on the implementation of the Marine Life Protection Act.

As a member of the regional stakeholder group that drew the boundaries of a series of proposed fishing closures, Bob is a familiar face to those who have followed the longrunning MLPA process. I reached him yesterday on his boat; he said he wasn't sure he'd be able to make "the big vote" at the Fish and Game Commission meeting in Santa Barbara Wednesday.

In a nice story from KPCC's Molly Peterson, Bob is an example of a fishermen who is somewhat skeptical of the science behind marine protected areas, which are intended to protect habitat and marine ecosystems. Like many watermen, he thinks the potential socioeconomic impact of fishing closures has been vastly understated.

KPCC also visited kelp beds off Rocky Point with representatives from Santa Monica Baykeeper and Heal the Bay, two of a number of environmental groups that are disappointed that the pristine, productive northern Palos Verdes area was not protected.

On Monday, KPCC had a story highlighting Fish and Game Commissioner Mike Sutton, who flew Petersen over the coast from Torrance Airport to take a look at some of the areas that will be protected.

Try taking public comment from more than 700 speakers. That's how many have signed up to address the Fish and Game Commission in San Diego this morning on implementation of the Marine Life Protection Act.

Wow. Commission Chairman Jim Kellogg just warned the audience that the fire marshal might have something to say about the crowd at the meeting at the Four Points hotel.

The meeting is one of the last chances for the public to comment on a controversial plan to halt or limit fishing -- with the intent of protecting habitat and ecosystems -- in nearly 400 square miles of ocean off Southern California. Locally, proposed marine protected areas off the Palos Verdes Peninsula have been a serious point of contention between fishermen and environmentalists.

The commission is set to take public comment on the plan today. Kellogg said -- if there are still speakers waiting when the meeting is shut down at 6 p.m. -- public comment may be continued into tomorrow's meeting.

A decision on the regulations and a related environmental impact report is set for mid-December.

You can watch the meeting online.

The Wall Street Journal today has a front-page story on the poop and plumage that embody the good and bad of peafowl on the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

The feature story focuses on the ongoing debate in Rolling Hills Estates, which Breeze reporters Sandy Mazza and Donna Littlejohn kindly covered for me when I was on vacation earlier this month.

There's a video with the WSJ story that gets some nice footage of the pesky but beloved birds. Worth a read and a watch.

In case you haven't heard about it or read my story, a Rolling Hills Estates resident reported seeing a mountain lion last week.

Rumors about big cats on the Palos Verdes Peninsula have surfaced repeatedly over the years, but definitive evidence has never proved the existence of a mountain lion. Authorities say it's highly unlikely but not impossible that a cougar is roaming The Hill.

Today, I got an anonymous voicemail from a caller saying he too had seen the alleged mountain lion when driving through the area on Saturday night.

"I almost killed it on Palos Verdes Drive North," the man said. "It had either killed something in the road or found some roadkill."

"It's a big cat," he said. "It's no joke. It's true."

So ... have you seen it?

Readers, let's get this news party started:

The man arrested on suspicion of killing Cori Desmond told investigators that he didn't strangle the Torrance woman, just that he found her dead body on the street, scooped it up and then drove to San Bernadino to dump it in the mountains, documents show.

A controversial plan to close or restrict fishing in nearly 400 square miles of Southern California ocean, including waters near Palos Verdes, in hopes of protecting marine habitat has moved forward with the state Fish and Game Commission.

Investigators continue to probe the shooting death of a Rolling Hills Estates attorney, but few new details have emerged.

A former Redondo Beach police sergeant has been charged with embezzeling more than $75,000 from his police union.

These winter storms have brought some big waves to the South Bay, but it seems like local surfers aren't so impressed.

The state's foreclosure rate dropped 13 percent from October figure.

Two Narbonne High receivers will lead their football team Saturday at L.A. City Section Division I finals.

Readers, wake up from your turkey and retail coma to catch up on local news:

Plans for a high-density senior housing complex in the heart of Torrance have resurfaced.  Again.

How did you spend Thanksgiving? Volunteers at Torrance church offered food, comfort and friendship to South Bay folks.

Bravo shoppers for bucking a dismal economy and flooding stores this morning in search of bargains. Our own business columnist Muhammed El-Hasan shares his Black Friday experience from last year.

And while you're out shopping, why not pick up an athletic ball to bring to the Breeze's annual holiday ball drive, which supports local youth-focused nonprofits?

A jury has found that William Sadowski was legally sane when he killed a Los Angeles International Airport police officer in 2005. Now, he's headed for a lifetime in parole, rather than a mental institution.

One Palos Verdes Estates young lady has reached what could be the highest echelon of academic honor, earning a prestigious Rhodes scholarship.

After more than a year of fighting for a dog park on The Hill, it looks like a Palos Verdes Estates couple is finally starting to see some success.

Thanksgiving is sooo yesterday. Bring on Christmas, and visits from Santa Claus throughout the South Bay.