We’ve had a string of good fortune recently, at least in the way of public access to public beaches, so it was probably only a matter of time before a little bad luck washed ashore. And this bad luck washed ashore as an entitled “local” who refuses to obey state laws. Now before we berate billionaire Vinod Khosla, let’s give him the benefit of the doubt — we’re sure he has his reasons. You see, the ultra rich have problems the non-super-wealthy would never understand. And me not being a billionaire (or a millionaire for that matter), I am having quite the time trying to understand what exactly those problems in this context are. Basically, to me, he is being nothing more than a self-righteous asshole. But that is merely my opinion, that of person who doesn’t own a coastal mansion. What do I know?
According to The Daily Journal, years and years of fighting this guy and finally winning a verdict that was supposed to restore public access, “[c]oastside residents reported a San Mateo County sheriff’s deputy has threatened to issue trespassing citations not sanctioned by the district attorney and the property manager is denying people entrance unless they pay to visit the secluded crescent shape beach.”
“I’m concerned that the court made a ruling and it’s not being enforced by the police department or sheriff’s deputies whose job it is to uphold the law. Not only are they not enforcing it, but they’re actively preventing it from being enforced,” Half Moon Bay resident Matthew Zeltzer told the publication.
“Only after the defendants make a permit application and everybody agrees on what the term of access at Martin’s Beach is going to be, is it appropriate for them to kick people off the property as they are doing now,” added Eric Buescher, an attorney representing Surfrider.
In the meantime, Khosla’s attorneys have requested another chance to defend themselves against Surfrider, which is why there is all this supposed confusion and subsequent refusal by him and a handful of the authorities.
Fortunately, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe refuses to entertain this ludicrous attempt by Khosla to assert his will: “Until this issue is completely worked out in the court, until they basically have resolved it and we know what the rulings are, because we still don’t, … we’re not going to court [to prosecute] citations.”
Read the entire story on The Daily Journal.
