Appalled and ashamed 

The 2017-18 SLO County grand jury investigated the issue of air quality on the Nipomo Mesa and Oceano beach community. After months of work, it delivered its findings to the Board of Supervisors: The board has the authority to terminate vehicular riding activity on La Grande Tract, from which most of the pollution comes. On July 17, the Board responded that "on La Grand Tract, county ownership is interspersed with privately owned parcels and that plotting the location of the county owned parcels and maintaining riding barriers effectively limit the county authority as title holder." This is nonsense. The fact that it would be difficult to find and fence off county lands doesn't in the least threaten or reduce county's authority over its land. I attended the meeting and asked that the language of the response be changed as follows: "Yes, the board had authority to stop vehicular riding activity on its land in La Grande Tract and it chooses not to exercise it because it thinks it would be hard to find the boundaries and to protect them against off-roaders' trespassing." Supervisors Bruce Gibson and Adam Hill made and approved the motion while the other three supervisors did not. I am appalled that most supervisors refuse to take responsibility for the dust pollution on the Mesa and to Oceano residents. I am ashamed that those supervisors undermine the board's authority and cower at State Parks' aggression and contempt.

Lucia Casalinuovo

Oceano