I heard about this story from Rush while I was driving to work, and I thought I'd share it with you in case it doesn't get picked up anywhere else. Apparently, Georgica Pond, one of the most expensive and exclusive areas in East Hampton, New York, has been overflowing with water due to record rainfall this season and flooding the basements and septic tanks of the many rich liberals who live nearby.
Unfortunately for the normally-environmentally-conscious residents -- like Steven Spielberg and Martha Stewart -- there are some protected birds that live on the narrow strip of sand that separates the pond from the Atlantic Ocean, and it would be illegal for the town to drain the pond, regardless of the damage that's being done to the mansions on the shore. However, despite the environmental regulations, and despite the potentially immeasurable harm that could have been caused to the Piping Plovers, a few nights ago someone had the audacity to cut a channel into the sandbar and allow the water from the pond to drain.
"I'm furious that someone would have the audacity to take it on their own to open up an outlet," said East Hampton Supervisor Jay Schneiderman.I have a sneaking suspicion that either the McCaffreys' basement and septic tank weren't flooding, or they know exactly who was involved in the caper. It's interesting to note that when all that needs to be sacrificed to save some spotted owls are some blue-collar jobs and some lumber there's one set of rules, but as soon as basements start flooding in the Hamptons, well, those Piping Plovers are screwed.Board of Trustees Clerk James McCaffrey said he and his wife, Nancy, who live near Georgica Pond, got up around 5 a.m. Tuesday after smelling something rotten. It was the newly exposed pond bottom. "She came back and said, 'The pond is out,'" he said. "I said, 'you have to be kidding.'"
McCaffrey called town environmental officials, who called East Hampton Village police. They called the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
"Whatever way they did it, I don't know," McCaffrey said. "I don't think any machinery was brought onto the beach. I think it was a task force of a number of men or a number of women. I don't know which."
Update:
I should have posted this earlier, since it's far more local: Malibu beach-access fight pits cash against hoi polloi. By law in California, there is no such thing as a private beach. Nevertheless, rich liberals like David Geffen and Barbara Streisand do their best to deny access to the common folk. They're all about property rights when it's their property.
