Off-leash dog area closing

Lighthouse Field State Beach in Santa Cruz has been open to off-leash dogs in the mornings and evenings for twelve years. It looks like this will be ending soon; the state (who owns the land) has said it will ban off-leash dogs when the current agreement with the city expires in two years.

A small group of Santa Cruz residents - the Lighthouse Field Beach Rescue (not to be confused with the Friends of Lighthouse Beach) - sued the city for not performing an environmental impact study of the effects of off-leash dogs at Lighthouse Field when the city's general plan was amended to allow off-leash dogs. The Lighthouse Field Beach Rescue only appears through their lawyers - the actual size (and membership) of the group is not public.

The Court of Appeals recently reversed the original ruling (permitting off-leash dogs). Now, the city must either perform the environmental impact study or revert back to the 1984 general plan for the area, which specifically states, "pets should be restricted to leashes."

The estimated cost of the environmental study - $100,000.

It's unlikely that the city will spend the hundred thousand on the study.

And some of y'all still wonder why we're not setting up permanently in California. I don't want to be tied up in a lawsuit in a decade over the environmental impact of our water-fog system or because we planted pumpkins ...

Harry Potter IMAX - SF area

Not only is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire running at the IMAX at the Metreon - it's running at the IMAX at the Tech Museum in San Jose! Several showings are already sold out ... and I have no idea when I'll be seeing it, so this isn't a call for a group outing - teddytiger is already getting a group together first weekend to see it (somewhere) :)

Quote of the Day

From Pat Robertson on the 700 Club TV show, remarking on how Dover voted out the school board that mandated creationism Intelligent Design in the science classes:

"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover. If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God, you just rejected Him from your city. And don't wonder why He hasn't helped you when problems begin, if they begin. I'm not saying they will, but if they do, just remember, you just voted God out of your city. And if that's the case, don’t ask for His help because he might not be there."

Nice little town you have here. Be a shame if something happened to it.

It's amazing how, with the ID folks *under oath* saying it has nothing to do with God as Creator, when somebody decides against ID they're threatened with the Wrath of God™.

Oh, and continuing the thug theme, here's a jewel from Jerry Falwell back in September that I'd missed, talking about an "un-patriotic" American: "I feel it’s my obligation to whip him. In the name of the Lord of course. I feel it’s my obligation to whip him, and if I can’t do it then I look up some of my athletes to help me."