Publisher's Notebook

• Taking Oneself Literally in Malibu •

ANNE SOBLE

There's something incongruous about the stock glossy used with most of news articles about David Evans, aka U2 guitarist The Edge. Though garbed in working class attire, Evans appears to care little about the masses when it comes to getting his way. His decision to challenge the California Coastal Commission in court really should be thought of as the case of Evans v. The People of California.

Rocker subculture results in many of those who work their way up the entertainment ladder being catapulted into a surreal world. Sycophants and groupies rotate cult-like in orbits around delusional egos. The centers of these universes think they can buy anything and anyone, and may reflect the old proverb that they know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

Evans is now taking his stage name so seriously that he won't accept not being allowed to build on the edge of one of the few remaining undeveloped ridgelines that offer a sense of the majesty of the Santa Monica Mountains. He could relocate house plans, but if one is used to giving orders and getting one's way, there is no reason for one not to expect his cadre of well paid flacks, consultants and attorneys will do his bidding.

After all, money was even able to buy silence from some of the very people who should be most opposed to Evans' proposal. This silence actually came for free during the Coastal Commission hearing because it proved not to matter when the votes were counted.

Now that Evans is making the move to the courtroom, discovery could seek access to property records that were denied to the CCC. Validated documentation would have to show that the owners of the separate parcels are not figureheads but have complete control. They can sell their parcels at will to whomever they want, whenever they choose, and are able to alter their development plans without permission from Evans.

In short, these documents will have to contradict the many public statements made by Evans that the acreage in contention is his property, the development is his vision, and the total package is his compound. They will also have to have been recorded in a way that is not subterfuge in response to the CCC denial.

A property rights smokescreen has been designed to try to associate Evans with the typical California homeowner for whom their home is their biggest investment and the core of their lifestyle, but it will take more than a knit hat and worn denim to convince them that they have anything in common with someone who has no regard for their natural resources.

Most Californians take great pride in the public spaces that they own and care deeply about the environment. They want the state's natural treasures to be protected for future generations, and they are not easily fooled by crafty multi-media campaigns.

Californians also know that the concept of the color green can stand for more than a catchword for environmental awareness.