Geffen to let public on its beach

Twenty-two years after agreeing to open a public access walkway across his Carbon Beach property in exchange for the okay to build a large house, David Geffen — reluctantly — gave up his fight to keep the gates locked. Steve Hoye, founder of Access for All, picked up the keys and took a look Thursday.

"Mr. Geffen isn't very happy with us at this time," said Hoye. "But we hope to meet with him and address his concerns: what hours it will be open, trash cleanup and procedures if there's a problem."

[snip]

"Mr. Geffen threw everything at us, including the kitchen sink, and nothing stuck," Hoye said. "If we've been through this, we feel we can withstand any challenges in the future."

The Coastal Commission attorney quoted in this morning's Times story, Daniel A. Olivas, has another reason besides the settlement to smile. His children's book, Benjamin and the Word, just got a nice review in Kirkus.