We don't really know much about Ms. Carol Severance (yet) but her assault on Texas' open beach law comes at an interesting time.
- She is a California lawyer who is apparently wealthy enough to own a half dozen beach houses in Texas.
- If she owns any beach property in her native state, it's underwater too - but that condition is not related to cyclonic weather phenomena.
Severance, under cover of the shadowy Pacific Legal Foundation, has come frighteningly close to upending five decades of legal precedent so she can get paid off (her version of "not get[ing] a dime") by the taxpayers of Galveston County. Periscope was curious about Severance' involvement with Pacific Legal. Alas, she is not on the board but these eleven rich white guys are.
Nonetheless, following the Great Recession era playbook of the monied who've been wronged; Severance, rather than paying her own legal bills, is attempting to extract cash from what's become by default one of the bigger wallets out there (the Texas taxpayer). Utilizing the litigation engine of the handiest right wing, astro-turf organization available, Severance is looking for a quick million bucks or so. If she can't get paid off, she seems content with finishing the job that Ike started.
A cursory look at Pacific Legal's website will tell you all you need to know: lots of American flags, pictures of the snail darter, links to Fox News... you get the idea.
A cursory look at Pacific Legal's website will tell you all you need to know: lots of American flags, pictures of the snail darter, links to Fox News... you get the idea.
In a decision that sent shock waves through the gulf coast environmental and legal community, the Texas Supreme Court agreed with her. Either Severance and Pacific Legal Foundation get paid off (i.e."[not] get a dime") or Galveston's critical beach restoration project is stopped dead in its tracks.
It is at this point the helpful right wing blogger points out to his wide-eyed readers that "this is a complex legal issue".
Actually, it isn't.
Since 1959 Texas has protected our beaches as public treasures which have, almost without exception, been freely accessible - to reactionary lawyers and mindless socialists alike. It's a tradition Texans and their politicians have taken pretty seriously and have (until November) uniformly protected against numerous challenges.
Irony is showing new signs of life. A panicky California mouth-piece aided by her veins-in-your-teeth nut-job 'public interest group' have, for the moment, successfully accomplished what rabid Texas 'property rights' types never have.
A recent walk down a heavily developed three mile stretch of coast in northern California provides a preview of what sandy shorelines become without these sorts of laws. Along this particular beach southern Marin County, only about half the waterfront is accessible. The other half is littered with threats from billionaires about what they'll do to you if you cross them.
In a avalanche of amicus briefs, the Supreme Court is being subjected to the outrage that has resulted from this ruling.
Aha, I hear you saying.... but what can I do?
We hear someone has come up with the bright idea of forming The Texas Beach Party. The 'party' raison d'erte would be the defense of the Texas coastline from California plutocrats - or any other interloper.
A humble suggestion from Periscope: the Beach Party will be in need of a couple dozen volunteers in bikinis to help get the spin cycle started.
Ladies with such qualifications should watch this space for further details. A bright future of political activism awaits . . .
Prospective staff of Texas Beach Party
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