Having sat through several of the South Coast MLPA meetings, I’m feeling drained. Countless hours of sitting through public testimony, hearing extremists fabricate stereotypical untruths on how fishing is totally devastated along our coast, and trying to keep up with SAT guidelines (none of which would be given ample time to be properly disputed, even by those on their own team). By the end of it, my brain was feeling like scrambled eggs. But I’m sure my participation is nothing compared to the sacrifice of those who served on the Regional Stakeholders Group. Paul Lebowitz was one of those stakeholders and he represented the public’s fishing interests–read his lastest blog post on Western Outdoor News. Here’s a sobering snippet:
What else should we expect when private money funds public policy? The MLPAI staff served their paymasters rather than the people of the state. The MLPA law itself would not be the problem if it were enforced as written. It’s supposed to cost the state $250,000 a year, not $25 million or more. Point the finger at those who hijacked it.
