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Important information about
Island City Council election
Candidates and those helping
campaigns, take note. In late
March The Islander will publish
statements from each of the City
Council candidates. These will
begin with name, occupation, age
and years on Catalina. Each can-
didate will then have a maximum
of 500 words to explain their posi-
tions on issues and why readers
deserve their vote. From now until
the election, the Islander will only
print election letters that deal
with issues, not specific candi-
dates.
Waterrlevel
As of Monday, Feb. 15, the Middle
Ranch Reservoir water level mea-
sured 197 acre feet.
Planning director hearing
The City Council hearing of
Amanda Cook’s appeal of then-
City Manager Ben Harvey's deci-
sion to fire her last October is
tentatively scheduled to continue
on March 10.
Freight case to Public
Utilities Commission
The California Public Utilities
Commission will hold a hearing
Thursday, Feb. 25, to decide
which freight companies will be
allowed to ship goods to Catalina
island.
Letter to the Editor
John King explains why he
resigned as chair of the Catalina
Island Chamber of Commerce
Board of Directors. ‘ r
See story, page 2
Harbor Clean-Up is Saturday
The Annual Avalon Harbor Clean-
Up has reached its 35th year. The
event is scheduled for Saturday,
Feb. 20. As a tribute to the pic-
neers of scuba, there will be a vin-
tage dive gear exhibit on display
next to the stage on Crescent
Avenue. See story, page 4
The Catalina Island Women’s Golf Club held their annual Valentine
Scramble Golf Tournament last Thursday, Feb. 11. Wearing shades of pink
Wand sportingxelentiaeaeartsen shirts andrhats, the golfers enjoyed a
morning of perfect golfingweather. .Seen above are them,
place team members Ellen Hodge. Alison Osinski, Judy Greer, and Phyllis
Lorenzen. ln second place was the team with Pat Hoefs, Val Schafer,
Betty Tejeda and Marty Ashleigh. Elena Maria won the closest-to-hole
contest, and Betty Tejeda won for the longest drive. After the tourna-
ment, the participants had lunch at Maggie's Blue Rose. Courtesy photo
FnioAv February 19,
VOLUME 102, Issue 8
www.'l'HECArALmAlsunnamcom
ISLHIIDGR
No water
rationing
change yet
A decision on further
rationing might be
made in June
BY CHARLES M. KELLY
A Southern California Edison
representative told the City Council
this week that the Island remains
in Stage Two (25 percent) water
rationing.
Jeff Lawrence, senior project
manager for Edison, said if more
strict rationing is required, a deci-
sion could come in June. If further
rationing is required, it might be less
than 50 percent.As for Edison’s new
desalination unit, Lawrence said
the plant will have all the permits
required to operate by mid—March.
He said the additional 60,000 gal—
lons that the plant can produce will
be available in April. The council
has asked for an Edison representa-
tive at each council meeting.
Officials may reclassify Island Fox as threatened
Catalina Island Fox
status could be
called ‘threatened’
STAFF REPORT
Federal wildlife officials
recently proposed removing three
subspecies of foxes native to
California’s Channel Islands from
the Endangered Species list. If the
proposal is approved, the Catalina
Island Fox would be reclassified,
or “downlisted” as threatened.
The public has until April 18 to
comment on the proposal. '
According to Julie King,
Catalina Island Conservancy direc—
tor of Conservation & Wildlife
Management, the Conservancy’s
work with the Island Fox is not
yet done.
“While the recovery of the
endangered Catalina Island Fox
population is one of the great
conservation success stories, the
Catalina Island Conservancy will
be engaged in active management
of the foxes on the Island for many
years to come. Conservation work
is never done, especially on an
Island visited by nearly one mil—
lion people each year. As a result,
the Catalina Island Fox will be
downlisted, rather than delisted,
because of the need for continued
management,” she said.
The US. Fish and Wildlife
Service recently announced
a proposal to remove the San
Miguel, Santa Rosa and Santa
Cruz Island Fox subspecies from
the Federal List of Threatened
and Endangered Wildlife would
be a historic success for the mul—
tiple partners involved in recovery
efforts. ‘
The Wildlife Service is also
proposing to downlist, or improve
the status of, Island Foxes on
Santa Catalina Island from endan-
gered to threatened under the
ESA. Since the Island Foxes were
Fox, Page
MYSTERIOUS ISLAND
Catalina’s facts, folklore andfibs
This Week: Into Dakar
BY JIM WATSON
through severe growing pains.
Film benefit to feature
classic comedies
The 29th Annual Catalina Island
Museum Silent Film Benefit takes
place at 1 pm. on Saturday, May
21, in the historic Avalon Casino
Theatre. See story, page 5
For both economic and cultural
reasons, the countryside just ain’t
where it’s at anymore in many
countries. It’s a worldwide
phenomenon, with people
in rural areas increasingly
moving from their small
towns and villages to the
big city lights, where there
are (supposedly) jobs and
health care and something
that resembles an infra—
Editor’s Note: This is the sixth
in a series of columns detailing the
author’s travels to Africa.
Jim Watson is the author
of “Mysterious Island:
Catalina,” available on
Amazon, Kindle and in
Lady Lancers advance to Avalon.
second round of playoffs .
The Lady Lancers Basketball pro-
gram after the win against Holy
Martyrs goes into the playoffs
ranked No. 2.
See story, page 8
Like many large cities
around the world—and
I’m speaking specifically of the structure.
developing world—the Senega— Like most of these urban areas,
: lese capital city of Dakar is going Watson, Page
You can get anything you want—and a bunch of things that you don't
want—at the Marche
Sandaga in downtown Dakar. Photo by Jim Watson
