Posts Tagged: commissioners

A tale of tension at the Coastal Commission

Bixby Creek Bridge in Big Sur, south of Carmel. (Photo: Tom Tietz)

by ALEX MATTHEWS posted 02.04.2016

For those attempting to oust Charles Lester, the executive director of the California Coastal Commission, the upcoming hearing is a referendum on his job performance. For the environmentalists who follow the commission, it’s a coup and an attempt to seize the upper hand in the power struggle between pro-development interests and an environmentalist staff that they believe has defined the commission since the reign of Peter Douglas.

Coastal Commission executive director under fire

The California coast along Redwood National Park, north Humboldt County, (Photo: Don Forthuber, redwoods.info)

by JOHN HOWARD and ALEX MATTHEWS posted 01.19.2016

A move to oust the executive director of the California Coastal Commission is under way, an effort that marks the most significant attempt against the commission’s ranking administrator in two decades. Commission Chair Steve Kinsey wrote a letter to Executive Director Charles Lester, saying the 12-member panel “will consider whether to dismiss you” at the commission’s February meeting.

Ticking clock: California redistricting in SCOTUS’ hands

Congressional districts in the Inland Empire, approved by California's redistricting commission in 2011. (Map: Ballotpedia)

by PAUL MITCHELL posted 02.24.2015

ANALYSIS: A case before the U.S. Supreme Court, with arguments set to be heard on March 2, could reduce the role of the State Redistricting Commission, invalidate the 2011 Congressional lines, and hand to the legislature the immediate responsibility of redrawing 53 valuable seats.