RE-NAMING THE CASINO POINT MPA FOR DR. BILL - UPDATE

[Ken Kurtis]

Sadly, yesterday (10/13) the CA Fish & Game Commission voted 4-0 to deny our request to rename the MPA for Dr. Bill. They did emphasize that this in no way reflects on the merits of renaming the MPA for Dr. Bill nor the local diving community support for that effort. But the denial comes on what is essentially a technicality as they have a requirement that a person must be dead for at least five years before they'll consider renaming an MPA after them. (On top of that, they seem reluctant to rename an MPA for a person regardless.) So because Bill has not been dead for five years - not even a year yet - our petition was rejected on that basis.

As I was not available on Thursday when the petition was voted on, I was granted time Wednesday to speak to the Commission and basically pointed out that they could make an exception to the 5-year rule and asked the matter to be referred back to staff for a review of the merits. Mike Laban spoke on Thursday and made similar points.

The good thing that came out of this is that the Commission had a brief discussion that, and I'd like to think it was because of the points Mike and I brought up, they really ought to review their general policies every now and then. Their Executive Director pointed out that there was language in their regs that called for regular review of these policies and that it hadn't been done for at least 15 years, which she conceded isn't "regular."

But at this point the move to rename the MPA for Dr. Bill is moot at least until December, 2026.

 

[covediver]

You do not necessarily have to wait. A bill introduced into either the California Assembly or Senate to do so, passed and signed by the Governore can override a decision made by a Commission. These types of bills are not uncommon. I am no longer familiar with the district in California, but given that you have a petition is a great start for approaching whoever the assembly member is for Catalina. Is thete much opposition to the renaming? If not, you may want to approach the member of the Assembly, Senate or both to sponsor a bill for such an honorific. The assembly member whose district covers catalina would be a good place to start. A resolution from the Avalon City council or harbor commission (not sure if those are the correct entities) would go a long way to getting the attention of the assembly member or senator. I think naming the area after Dr. Bill is very appropriate. Assembly members look for opportunities to ingratiate themselves to their constituencies. These types of bills seldom encounter much opposition. In the meantime, is there a portion of the area under local control (e.g., the upland area where divers stage) that could be renamed. Then in 2026 it would just be a matter of extending the name to the area controlled by the commission.

 

[theduckguru]

5 year period seems reasonable.

 

[lexvil]

Assemblymember Patrick O'Donnell Representing the 70th California Assembly District

Assemblymember Patrick O'Donnell Represents California's 70th Assembly District

a70.asmdc.org