terra non firma: another day, another lawsuit

Thursday, May 26, 2005

another day, another lawsuit

this seems to be the week the latimes is covering all the legal wrangling over "public" spaces taking place lately. first, the grand ave development project is approved after 5 years and 3 mayors. then, sci-arc's legal troubles are chronicled in its fight to keep and buy its land. and today - we learn that after more than 20 years of promises, geffen and his buddies in malibu's millionaire row have been forced to open up public pathways from the PCH to the beach that crosses their property borders. for a longer explanation of the legal issues, check out this archive on legal affairs.org from two years ago. it makes the opposition to opening up public pathways pretty clear:

But the resistance to public beaches is not limited to the lucky few who live on the beach. There are other Malibu residents who worry that opening the beaches to the public will attract the wrong crowd—namely, the urban working class from Los Angeles, 40 miles away.

fortunately, the Geffen Commemorative Walkway (did he die and no one told me?) opens to the public on memorial day. and I, for one, hope those unwashed hordes of the urban working class descend upon the walkway. maybe throw a bbq on it. blast some snoop dogg (after all, he's on geffen's label). perhaps warble a couple of songs from dreamgirls. yeah, he's producing that too.