Q&A with former California Coastal Commision leader

The Center for the Blue Economy hosted a Q&A with Dr. Charles Lester Tuesday night. He’s the former executive director of the California Coastal Commission. He spoke about the Past, present and future of the California coast.

A crowd of people came together at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey’s Downtown Campus.

All were there to hear Dr. Lester’s take on California coastal issues. Topics ranged from the sea level, coastal erosion and even the Cemex sand mine.

Jason Scorse with the MIIS Center for the Blue Economy helped put the event together. He moderated, asking a series of questions specifically about the Central Coast.

“That was really what I wanted to get at, was local issues and then the stuff coming down from the federal government” Scorse said.

The audience also had a chance to ask some questions.

“People continue to be concerned about this tension between private and public interests and wanting to make sure that whatever we do along our coast is appropriately balancing those interests so that the public is not gonna lose out” Lester said.

Scorse says events like Tuesday’s help the Center for the Blue Economy achieve the goals they have for the Central Coast.

“We want us to adapt to climate change in a forward thinking rational thoughtful way that protects the public interest and it’s fair and transparent” Scorse said. “We want to be able to look back and be able to say Monterey did it right.”

The Center for the Blue Economy says they’ll have the discussion on their website within 2 weeks. To view it and find out more, follow this link.