Energy and Nature

Saturday, August 09, 2008

Five ways to learn about the Sunrise Powerlink


If you're looking for information about the proposed "Sunrise Powerlink" transmission line, here are a few links to get you started.

News articles about the "Sunrise Powerlink" (two different sites with slightly different articles)




The California Public Utility Commission's two webpages about the "Sunrise Powerlink" appear to be down right now, so can't post links for them.

If you're looking for information from SDG&E's point of view, you can easily find it on the Internet. As you surf, be aware that there are astroturf campaigns supporting the Powerlink on the Internet that have financial connections to SDG&E.

I'm taking an indefinite hiatus from blogging and don't know when I'll be posting regularly again.

Photo: Prairie coneflowers on a lovely summer day in South Dakota

Labels: , , , ,

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Sunrise Powerlink decision delayed another three months

Yesterday, the Administrative Law Judge in the "Sunrise Powerlink" proceeding delayed the California Public Utilities Commission's decision whether to approve SDG&E's proposed transmission line by another three months.

Steven Weissman ruled that the earliest the Commissioners could vote to approve or disapprove the "Sunrise Powerlink" would be late November 2008. Their decision had previously been scheduled for August 2008.
You can read the judge's ruling for yourself here.

This morning's news coverage of the Judge's ruling:
San Diego Union Tribune
North County Times

The delay is needed so that portions of the project's draft environmental impact report can be re-circulated for public comment. Under state and federal law, new information about a possible wind energy project in Baja California (La Rumorosa) needs to be incorporated into the report.

Judge Weissman is being very careful to dot the i's and cross the t's because if the laws are not followed precisely, it makes it easier for this proceeding to wind up in court after the Commissioners make their decision.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has already said in an April 2008 letter that the La Rumorosa information should be incorporated into the environmental report because that wind project could potentially provide more electricity than the "Sunrise Powerlink," so must be fully evaluated as an alternative to the transmission line. The CPUC, whom Weissman works for, ignores the EPA at its peril. Read the EPA's letter here.

Judge Weissman also ordered the California Independent [sic] System Operator (the folks who control the electrical supply grid) to run some new numbers on projected economic benefits of the transmission line and alternatives to it. CAISO was also ordered to run new models of greenhouse gas emissions projected for the line and alternatives to it. These data runs will provide new information for his eventual recommendation on the case.

The greenhouse gas emissions data will be looked at carefully. The draft environmental impact statement said that greenhouse gases released during construction of the "Sunrise Powerlink" and through equipment leakage over its lifetime would be greater than greenhouse gases that could be avoided if the project carried renewable energy. This conclusion was a bombshell because it suggested that building big new transmission lines to carry renewable energy long distances would do more harm than good, at least when it comes to stopping global climate change. SDG&E and many other interests hated this.
The fight over greenhouse gas emissions numbers has significant implications for the huge boom in renewable energy that's currently underway, as well as the global climate change strategies of environmental groups.

Labels: , , , ,

Monday, June 16, 2008

The Sunrise Powerlink for beginners


If you're new to the "Sunrise Powerlink" transmission line issue, you can find great basic information at the Sierra Club's Smart Energy Solutions website.

Environmentally preferable alternatives to the "Sunrise Powerlink" are discussed in detail in this peer-reviewed report: San Diego Smart Energy 2020. (Link is for the Executive Summary, for the entire report, go here.

The best overview news article about the "Sunrise Powerlink" is this one. The best overview of how SDG&E is using renewable energy claims to sell the "Sunrise Powerlink" to the public is here.

The Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club have been making their case against the "Sunrise Powerlink" together at the California Public Utilities Commission. Their opening legal briefs explain what's wrong with the Powerlink from an environmental standpoint, including what's wrong with the renewable energy claims being used to sell the Powerlink to the public.



The Desert Protective Council's Desertblog provides many "Sunrise Powerlink" stories that are not covered by the mainstream media. (You may need to scroll down once you go to the link.)

(And if you're new to this blog and wondering why I'm writing about this, when I lived in California, I was one of the San Diego Sierra Club's early leaders on the issue. Because newcomers to the issue still visit this blog, I occasionally update it.)

Photo: These transmission lines connect the Imperial Valley electrical substation to power plants in Mexico. The "Sunrise Powerlink" would orginate from this same substation and could provide additional transmission capacity for fossil-fuel power generated south of the border.

Labels: ,

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

What's next with the Sunrise Powerlink?


Thank you to everyone who attended the "Sunrise Powerlink" hearings in Borrego Springs yesterday. Attendance estimates were 650-700 people--a strong showing for a hearing that required San Diegans to drive more than an hour over the mountains into the desert on a Monday!

Four of the five Commissioners from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) were there: Peevey, Simon, Gruenich, and Bohn. The five CPUC Commissioners will be the ones voting whether to approve the "Sunrise Powerlink."

Desertblog covered the hearings live via Twitter.com. If that link didn't take you to Desertblog's Twitter posts, follow the directions at this Desertblog link to gain access. (Depending on when you go to Desertblog's Twitter page, you may have to scroll down to see the "tweets" from the hearings.)

What next with the "Sunrise Powerlink"? Desertblog will have updates as they occur.

If you're looking for basic information about the "Sunrise Powerlink" and better alternatives to it, check out the San Diego Smart Energy Solutions campaign.

Photo: Sempra Energy owns SDG&E, the utility company proposing the "Sunrise Powerlink."

Labels: , ,

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Stirling Energy Systems and the Sunrise Powerlink

Stirling Energy Systems has announced a $100 million investment deal with NTR of Ireland. Right now the news coverage is pretty skimpy, so I expect to be posting more later this week. (Update 4/18/08: Nope, I'm taking a break from posting. But you can read the coverage at Google News.)

(Original Post:) Here are some thoughts about SES from David Hogan at the Center for Biological Diversity:

Stirling Energy Systems Inc. pops up occasionally with a press release touting their ethereal desert project as ready for prime time, and the project forms nearly the entire basis for SDG&E’s claims that the Sunrise Powerlink will deliver renewable energy.

Public relations aside, consider that no hard facts supporting the viability of the Stirling Solar project made it into the official record of the California Public Utilities Commission proceeding on the Sunrise Powerlink when the Stirling project was addressed last summer. In contrast, consider the testimony of Barry Butler, a PhD expert in Stirling solar technology who concluded:

“Major reliability problems with the SAIC Stirling engine included hydrogen leakage through joints and seals, internal engine seal leakage, swashplate actuator stalls, and heater head braze joint hydrogen leaks. That means that on average once every 40 hours a problem of some type required shut down and maintenance. Nearly continuous maintenance was necessary to keep the system “available” to generate electricity. … The commercial viability of the Stirling system is unproven at this time. …there is no possible way that dish/Stirling solar can move from high cost prototype models with substantive reliability concerns to large-scale production of high reliability low-cost commercial models by 2008 and full operation of a 12,000 dish, 300 MW array by the end of 2010.”

Neither Stirling Energy Systems Inc. nor SDG&E offered any expert witnesses to testify in support of the technical viability of the project and Stirling refused to release technical information during discovery. SDG&E officials testified that they did not screen the viability of the Stirling Solar project and that SDG&E will not guarantee that the Powerlink will carry renewable energy from this or any other source. Stirling Energy Systems has yet to file for required permits with the state or federal government to build the project despite a 2010 contract deadline with SDG&E. So it’s no surprise that SDG&E has reported to investors that it is unlikely to meet a state deadline the same year to deliver 20% of it’s energy as renewables.

So the Stirling project is desert mirage, the dust cloud behind which hides SDG&E’s massive Baja California fossil fuel infrastructure just itching to get to market in Los Angeles via the Sunrise Powerlink."

Labels: ,

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Walking the Sunrise Powerlink route

Video from two years ago, when I walked 78 miles of the proposed route for the "Sunrise Powerlink" transmission line. I'll warn you, not much happens in the video. But it's a good view of the Ocotillo Wells area and some of the existing small power poles, which are much smaller than what SDG&E intends to build.



This footage is from outside Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, which is much prettier and in better condition than the area I'm walking through here. This was the hardest day of my walk. I was exhausted from the previous day, when I walked for four hours in a sandstorm. By the end of that day, the mirror finish had been sandblasted off my sunglasses.

During the sandstorm, the small power lines made a singing sound, but they were silent the rest of my trip. This is very different from the loud buzzing and crackling the existing 500 kV line made. I walked for about two days next to the existing 500 kV line, and I could never forget it was there. I could still hear it at night over the noise of the Plaster City factory.

Video courtesy of GeoffreyHawk. Thank you!

Labels: , ,

Thursday, April 10, 2008

No place deserves to be a sacrifice zone


Tomorrow is the two-year anniversary of the day I started walking in the desert, along 78 miles of what was then the preferred route for SDG&E's proposed "Sunrise Powerlink" transmission line.

It's also the deadline for sending in your comments about the draft environmental report for the "Sunrise Powerlink."

I've been reading a book from the 70's, The Rape of the Great Plains: Northwest America, Cattle and Coal. It tells a story mostly about Montana, and small rural communities struggling to stop coal strip mines and transmission lines. They knew their area was being targeted as "sacrifice zone" for energy, and they didn't like it.

Some folks in the California desert know that their communities are now being targeted as a "sacrifice zone," this time for giant renewable energy facilities, and they don't like it either.

It's sad that almost four decades after the battles on the Great Plains, we still don't have energy that's both clean and respectful of local communities. It's not like it can't be done. Southern California Edison recently announced a solar project that shows one possibility.

Graphic credit: Jim Lydick

Labels: , , ,

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

No place for a power line

Video footage of the little-known southeastern San Diego County mountains that are a possible route for SDG&E's boondoggle "Sunrise Powerlink."



Meanwhile, SDG&E doesn't want to follow the example of Southern California Edison and provide rooftop solar energy to San Diego because --wait for it-- San Diego allegedly doesn't have enough concentration of warehouses. Do any of the executives at SDG&E realize how stupid the company sounds when they and their PR reps say this?

Video Credit: Cindy Buxton

Labels: , ,

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Sunrise Powerlink meetings you should know about



Opponents face off next week in meetings that will help decide the fate of the Sunrise Powerlink, SDG&E’s unnecessary and destructive $7 billion boondoggle (that’s the lifetime cost, folks, not just the construction cost).

Read more about these meetings here. They begin on April 7, 2008, with an important opportunity on April 11.

If you're coming to this website looking for basic information about the proposed "Sunrise Powerlink" and alternatives to it, go here.

Photo: Transmission lines that link the Imperial Valley substation to Mexican gas-fired power plants. All proposed routes for the "Sunrise Powerlink" would begin at this substation, making it easy for the "Sunrise Powerlink" to bring Mexican electricity to California. Electricity imported from Mexico = exported American jobs.

Labels: , ,

Friday, April 04, 2008

Are you paying for SDG&E's Sunrise Powerlink ads?

Check out what Desertblog has to say about the $45,000 misinformation campaign to promote SDG&E's boondoggle "Sunrise Powerlink" transmission line project.

Desertblog is posting much more often than I can about the "Sunrise Powerlink." I highly recommend subscribing to it (it's free!) so you can automatically get new articles as they are published.

SDG&E has shown a great lack of integrity regarding the "Sunrise Powerlink." In the case of this disinformation campaign, SDG&E doesn't even have the guts to deceive and mislead using its own name. Instead, it is using an astroturf "community alliance" to do its dirty work.

The $45,000 comes from SDG&E, channeled through the fake "community alliance." That means if SDG&E is your utility, watch out! According to Michael Shames, Executive Director of Utility Consumers' Action Network, SDG&E's customers are paying for the ads.

P.S. Those of you interested in SDG&E's PR campaigns may be interested in this article, which briefly discusses the 1980s, when SDG&E's approval rating was only 15%. Is the company headed back to those days?

Labels: , ,

Monday, March 31, 2008

New place to find out about the Sunrise Powerlink


Larry Hogue over at the new Desert Blog is writing about the "Sunrise Powerlink" fairly often. Larry's a wonderful writer and has great insight into what SDG&E's boondoggle high-voltage transmission line could do to the desert if it is ever built.

(And don't forget there are alternatives to the "Sunrise Powerlink.")

Labels: , ,

Friday, March 28, 2008

What could happen if SDG&E misses 2010 mandate

Am running out the door, but want to make sure everyone has this news:

San Diego City Attorney Mike Aguirre has put SDG&E on notice that SDG&E had better meet the 20% renewable energy quota mandated for 2010 or the City will have the right to cancel SDG&E's franchise with the City.

This is in response to SDG&E's recent Security and Exchange Commission filing that said SDG&E may not meet the deadline. Aguirre's letter also strongly urges SDG&E to have a contingency plan for meeting the renewables deadline even if the proposed "Sunrise Powerlink" transmission line is delayed or rejected. It also says the City asked SDG&E to look into in-basin (local) renewable energy back in 2003.

San Diego Union Tribune article here. Agurrire's actual letter here.

As far as other renewable energy options for SDG&E and the City of San Diego, take a look at what Southern California Edison has just proposed to do in Los Angeles: 250 MW of solar on rooftops of commercial buildings.

Labels: , , , , ,

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Why the Sunrise Powerlink is a fire risk


The information below comes from the Mussey Grade Road Alliance, one of the parties to the "Sunrise Powerlink" proceedings at the California Public Utilties Commission. This week, the Alliance submitted testimony for the "Sunrise Powerlink" evidentiary hearings.

The part about 230 kV lines causing fires is very significant because SDG&E has repeatedly claimed that the power lines that historically have caused fires are lower voltage than the ones the company wants to build.

San Diego County has suffered through more power line fires than anywhere else in Southern California , according to testimony submitted by the Mussey Grade Road Alliance to the state public utilities commission.

The testimony on power lines and fires was prepared for the commission by Dr. Joseph Mitchell, a physicist, on behalf of the Alliance and in connection with San Diego Gas & Electric’s project to build a 150-mile power line through San Diego County . The proposed route would travel through mountainous, chaparral back country terrain and cross the footprints of both the Cedar and Witch fires. The Witch fire, started by SDG&E’s power lines last year, was the largest of the Firestorm 2007 fires and the fourth largest in recorded California history.

Alliance research, based on Cal Fire data, shows that six of the 14 large power line fires in Southern California since1960 were in San Diego County. The Alliance investigated vegetation, size of the wildland-urban interface, wind intensities and fire suppression success rates to find out why San Diego has had more power line fires and found that none of these fully explain the excess of power line fires in San Diego .

”We aren’t sure why this is true,” said Ramona activist Diane Conklin, spokesperson for the Alliance . “We’ve ruled out most reasons and are left with a question. While we may never know the real reason, we certainly don’t want a major power line adding to the problem,” she said.

Also included in the Alliance testimony is evidence that 230kV lines, characterized as big transmission lines as opposed to the smaller and more frequent distribution lines, do cause fires and that there is no statistical difference between fire rates for 230kV lines and 69kV lines.

“SDG&E reported that another 230 kV started a fire on Stuart Mesa last June. A 230 kV line also started a fire six months before on Camp Pendleton in December 2006. So now there’s proof that big power lines do start fires. The full buildout of this project would add even more 230 kV lines to the back country. And there’s a 90% chance that, over its lifespan of 40 years, this power line project will cause a fire,” Conklin said.

“Wind and power lines are a lethal mixture,” she added. “We already know from the commission’s environmental report that there are severe fire risks associated with this project’s proposed and alternative routes – risks that cannot be reduced. Now we know that San Diego suffers more fires and that the big lines cause fires.

The Alliance testimony also notes a serious shortcoming of the more than 7,000 page draft environmental report issued January 3rd of this year. “While this was a magnificent effort, all of the surveys were done before the October 2007 firestorm," Conklin said. “So the report doesn’t register the fires’ effects on the land. They need to come down here and research the state of things now. "
The Alliance recommended non-transmission solutions for San Diego ’s energy future in its Phase 1 fire and power line testimony, Conklin said. This agrees with the commission’s draft environmental report which lists two non-transmission projects as the number 1 and number 2 environmentally superior alternatives to SDG&E‘s project.

Hearings on the power line project will begin in April in San Diego. A decision from the California Public Utilities Commission on the project is expected in August.

Photo: The sign underscores the flammability of the San Diego backcountry.

Labels: , , ,

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Seven ways to find out more about the Sunrise Powerlink


1) If you're looking for general information, visit the San Diego Smart Energy Solutions web page. It has

2) Here's what to do to stay caught up on what's happening with the "Sunrise Powerlink."

3) If you're looking for basic information about the project from the California Public Utilities Commission, such as the "Sunrise Powerlink" legal filings and schedule, go here.

4) If you're looking for information about the California Public Utilities Commission's environmental report that identified five environmentally superior alternatives to SDG&E's preferred "Sunrise Powerlink" project, go here. If you want to comment on the report, you have until April 11, 2008.

5) If you're looking for information about how much the "Sunrise Powerlink" will cost the public, visit the Utility Consumers Action Network website.

6) Other information sites about the "Sunrise Powerlink" from environmental and community perspectives include
7) If you want information about the project from SDG&E's perspective, Google "Sunrise Powerlink." You'll find websites for the utility company and the fake grassroots / expensive public relations campaign that promotes the project.

I'm not providing links to the SDG&E-related sites because you can find them easily on your own. And linking to them helps them to rise higher in the rankings of search sites such as Google. Conversely, if you don't like the "Sunrise Powerlink" and you have your own website or blog, you can help out by linking to sites like this blog or those listed above.

Photo: Wildflowers bloom in a beautiful area of the San Diego backcountry that is threatened by the "Sunrise Powerlink."

Labels: , , ,

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Alleged SDG&E insider reveals new power line plan


This week, I was passed a tip said to have come from a person who works for SDG&E. It suggests that SDG&E plans a new 230 kV transmission line that will bring in wind energy from east of San Diego without needing the Sunrise Powerlink. If true, this is big news.

I have no way of being able to prove or disprove this information, or to prove or disprove the person's alleged identity, so make of it what you will:

The new planned substation in East County will be on 80 acres and probably situated in the Boulevard area. It will tie into the wind energy being generated further east and brought into San Diego on a 230kV line. So [President of Sempra Generation Michael] Niggli’s argument about having to have Sunrise Powerlink to bring the required renewable energy into San Diego is not completely true. This new line which will happen regardless of Powerlink will reduce what is being pitched as the total energy dependent on the construction of the Sunrise Powerlink project. The wind generation will tie into the system and will be part of the total mix and actually takes pressure off the need for Powerlink.

Also, Sempra [SDG&E's corporate parent] owns wind generation plants in Mexico near La Rumarosa. There are also plans to bring that wind generated energy north of the border which will further decrease the need for Sunrise and increase the renewables that are required.

What to think? Well, last week there were two filings at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that may be related. I'm checking them out. If they turn out to be related, I will post more.

Photo: The desert near Ocotillo, CA. In this general area, there is talk of new wind energy facilities being developed, and it might be the region referred to by the alleged SDG&E insider.

Labels: , , ,

Friday, February 29, 2008

Alternatives to the Sunrise Powerlink

In the video, Bill Powers lectures about the kind of energy future San Diegans deserve to have. Bill's the author of the San Diego Smart Energy 2020: The 21st Century Alternative plan. It lays out energy alternatives to SDG&E's boondoggle "Sunrise Powerlink" transmission line.

Labels: ,

SANDAG advisory panel recommends against Sunrise Powerlink

News from a community member:

Yesterday SANDAG's Energy Working Group on a 10-5 vote passed a motion that describes both the "Sunrise Powerlink" and LEAPS transmission lines as "inconsistent" with the SANDAG Regional Energy Strategy. The motion is long.

This is stunning news. We did not expect a good result as the EWG Subcommittee had voted recently to support both transmission line projects in the form of supporting their continuing processing at the CPUC.


SANDAG is the San Diego Association of Governments.

Labels:

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Commissioner Dian Grueneich speaks about the Powerlink hearings

Here's news footage of the Borrego Springs "Sunrise Powerlink" hearing that happened this Tuesday. Dian Grueneich of the California Public Utilities Commission (the Assigned Commissioner for the proceeding) is featured.

Labels: , , , ,

Urgent Sunrise Powerlink meeting today

There's an urgent need for people to attend another downtown meeting TODAY to express their displeasure with the "Sunrise Powerlink." Don't let an obscure advisory board push through SDG&E's political agenda without a fight.

From Denis Trafecanty of Protect our Communities:

The next Energy Working Group meeting will take place Thursday, February 28, 2008 from 11:30am to 2:00pm in the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) 7th floor board room (in the Wells Fargo building at 401 “B” St. west). A highlight of the agenda will be the EWG transmission projects analysis. The topic for the meeting will be the Energy Working Group Committee (EWG) recommending to the full EWG Group that the Sunrise Powerlink and the LEAPS transmission project will both be consistent with the objectives of the 2030 Regional Energy Strategy. AND NEITHER THE EWG NOR THE FULL EWG GROUP ARE EVEN CONSIDERING ALL THE OTHER MORE PREFERRED REGIONAL ENERGY STRATEGY GOALS FOR 2030, like energy efficiency, in basin generation, in basin renewables, etc.

Months ago, the full SANDAG Board voted unanimously to hold off on any decisions pertaining to the SPL until the Draft EIR/EIS was released. Well, it’s now released and the EWG is going to only vote on transmission??? Please come to this meeting to tell them they are way off track. Parking is free in the building if you get stickers on the 8th floor after the meeting is over.

Labels: ,

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Together we are strong

Congratulations to everyone who took the time to go to the five California Public Utilities Commission hearings and tell Judge Weissman and Commissioner Grueneich that they want something better than SDG&E'/Sempra Energy's boondoggle transmission line.

Commissioner Gruneich told the San Diego Union Tribune that over 1,000 people attended and about 350 people spoke. That's amazing.

The only hearing where SDG&E/Sempra Energy made a halfway decent showing was the first, which was in downtown San Diego in the middle of the afternoon. Even there, and even though it meant taking time off from work, Powerlink opponents outnumbered supporters at least 2 to 1. That's a pretty pathetic turnout for the SDG&E/Sempra team, given that there were box lunches provided for the Powerlink supporters and flyers and action alert emails sent out.

At the other hearings, it was a near complete shutout by the opponents.

I have been getting wonderful first-hand reports about the hearings. Here are some things about the downtown San Diego hearing that didn't make the news accounts:

Dianne Jacobs spoke very forcefully for "NO' -- but saved most of her thunder for the Pine Valley (or maybe Ramona) hrg. What she DID speak to, interestingly, was SDG&E's multi-million $ PR campaign to fool the public into supporting this unnecessary project. She predicted that they'd be hearing from "supporters" who represent groups for which SDG&E sits on their board and/or otherwise contributes $. QUITE pointed. And then, Ron Roberts follows her! And acknowledges that he may be considered one of the "special interests" she warned of, but then of course assures us that he only has San Diegans' best interests at heart ... THAT was a pretty stark contrast of the positions on this project, right on the SD Bd of Supes.

There wasn't ONE sound after the pro-SDG&E speakers (a whole slew from San Marcos, for heavens' sakes), but always applause and cheers after "con" speakers.

Reps from the Del Mar Mesa and Carmel Valley Planning Boards (both of which have unanimously voted AGAINST this project) each made another very good point -- each of their groups have done extensive negotiations over the past 2 decades with developers and others, sometimes "foot by foot" to preserve some of the last bit of SoCal Chapparal, as well as necessary and very healthful open space and recreational lands. This project threatens to trash all that hard work.

Let me paint this picture for you....(someone must have snapped a shot)....
Scot Crider [SDG&E employee] rolling out a banner which says....'Clean Energy'....
Suits dressed in green t-shirts holding signs that have a picture of the planet
with rays of energy shooting out from it....
Who then proceed to carry on about how much they care about the environment....
and because they care about global warming they are happy to be bringing all of us
into the 21st century with this green plan of theirs.....
to save us from a bigger CO2 footprint....

Half of the Chamber was standing and so the sheriffs turned us out into the hallways
where we listened with a crackle box as our stereo rendition of what was going on inside.
The suits sitting next to the people in the halls looked visibly uncomfortable about all of this. I overheard Steve Peace say to a suited man, "well I guess we have to let the people have their say...."

This is absolutely hilarious. Steve Peace is the former California legislator who was the architect of the energy deregulation disaster that quadrupled San Diegans' electric bills and destroyed small businesses. So he's a "Sunrise Powerlink" supporter? Well, surprise, surprise.

Photo: Outside the downtown San Diego hearing. The banner has a picture of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park with the caption, "Sempry sez: Hey, you weren't really using this park were you?" Photo courtesy of Diana Lindsay.

Labels: , , ,