February 12, 2008
Big wave of unity stopped toll road in its tracks - San Diego Union Tribune- Topic: public speaker
To support this position, one transportation official, speaking in his allotted two minutes during the public comment portion of the hearing, played a regrettable tape of a Trestles surfer speaking to National Public Radio's Robert Siegel, explaining to Siegel that the reason surfers were opposed to the toll road was because they didn't want "909ers" at their beach. For some, this may be true, but for the thousands of surfers who gathered at Wyland Hall at the Del Mar Fairgrounds last Wednesday, the day marked a proud moment in surfing history, as surfers proved themselves to be a compassionate, conscientious subset of the population capable of rallying together in an uncanny manner when galvanized by a cause. As speaker after speaker – public officials and private citizens – spoke out for two minutes at a time, surfers carried signs and silently voiced their support via thumbs up or thumbs down, aware that too much rowdiness could impede the hearings. A speaker got up and told the commission that out of respect for the panel, rather than speaker after speaker droning on about why it's absurd to build a toll road through a state park, the surfers would simply entrust the Coastal Commission to make the right decision. read more
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