In a not-so-stunning admission this week, the California Coastal Commission conceded political bias — and apologized.
From here, the commission needs to end its ideological crusades and refocus on its core mission: protecting public access to the state’s beaches.
The 12-member commission — packed with the appointees of the governor and left-wing legislators — settled a 2024 lawsuit from SpaceX over political comments its members made about that company’s owner, Elon Musk.
As part of the settlement, the commission apologized for “improper” remarks about Musk’s political views at a 2024 hearing on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch program.
These comments apparently included disparagement of Musk’s tweets, of his alignment with President Trump, and of his Republican support.
At the same time, the commission refused a SpaceX petition to increase the number of Falcon 9 launches from Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County.
Political bias doesn’t get more blatant than that.
Also this week, California Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, introduced a bill to curb the commission’s ideological meddling in local July 4 fireworks displays.
The Fireworks for Freedom Act would relax certain environmental rules to prevent the coastal commission from denying permits for Independence Day pyrotechnics — as the panel did with Long Beach.
The commission apparently would have the organizers use drones, rather than fireworks, at five times the price. (Another example of green policies driving costs skyward.)
In fact, the traditional show, “Big Bang on the Bay,” has delighted coastal spectators for 15 years — with no environmental ruin observed to date.
And Long Beach is home to one of the largest ports in the United States: a major, near-continuous source of air pollution, carbon emissions, and ocean contamination.
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It’s hard to believe, then, that a 15- or 20-minute fireworks show, once a year, is much of a threat to the area’s nature.
Fireworks on Independence Day are as American as it gets, right alongside the stars and stripes, the national anthem, and Western freedom itself.
Perhaps that’s why the lefty commission seeks to block them.
The panel should return to its original remit from 1972: preserving public access to state beaches so the sand can be enjoyed by all.
