Simon Hosford prepares for departure
With less than an hour in the Belgian capital, there wasn?t time for sightseeing on La Grand-Place before the train to Cologne, just enough of a break to grab a cornet de frites in a busy street caf? outside the station.
No sooner done than we were off again on a sleek, red Belgian train. It was a Saturday and the carriages were packed but the journey was relatively short ? just under two hours. We raced through open farmland ? this is the old coal-mining part of Belgium, now dotted with wind turbines ? and pretty hamlets via Li?ge, across the German border and Aachen and on to Cologne.
The biggest city in the North Rhine/Westphalia region may not be terribly attractive, but it has three definite plus points: its location by the Rhine, the inspiring Dom, whose blackened 450ft spires loom over you as you exit the station, and the city?s local beer, the light, pilsner-like k?lsch.
I made my way to the Im Wasserturm, an architecturally fascinating hotel that occupies a 19th-century water tower and makes imaginative use of every space. I dropped my bags and took a peek inside the swarming Dom before heading to the open spaces of the Museum Ludwig and its superb collection of Modern and Pop Art. A short wander by the Rhine led me to the heaving Altstadt, where I grabbed a couple of glasses of k?lsch.
After supper in the hotel garden under a canopy of plane trees, it was time to catch the night train to Warsaw. A smiling Polish carriage attendant met me on the platform and showed me to my cabin, which included a bathroom with shower ? a pleasant surprise.
It was 10.30pm when the train pulled out of Cologne. I scanned my fellow passengers, a mix of German, Polish and a group of Japanese. I wondered about a cold beer but discovered there wasn?t a bar on the train and, for that matter, no buffet car either.
As the train rattled through a darkened Germany, I lay on the bed, headphones on, and listened to Kraftwerk?s synth classic Trans Europe Express on my iPhone ? it seemed appropriate as we slipped through near-deserted stations at Dortmund, Bielefeld and Hannover.
I awoke in what I imagined would be Poland but discovered, disconcertingly, that we were sitting outside a deserted Berlin Ostbahnhof. The smiling guard who brought me a cup of black tea and croissant told me in broken German that there had been a delay overnight ? without specifying its nature ? and we would be around three hours late.
I showered (the water refreshingly hot) and planned for a later arrival in Warsaw Central station, managing to get through to my guide Agnieshka to alter the time of our rendezvous.
When we eventually got back on track, I sat back to read and gaze out over a mix of forest, rich farmland and Polish villages, occasionally stopping at stations with names such as Rzepin and Poznan, where the furtive-looking businessman in the next compartment got off.
Holed up in our little compartments, there was virtually no interaction with other passengers, barring the odd guten Tag or dzien dobry in the corridor, which was a shame, but the time passed quickly enough and soon we pulled into Warsaw?s cavernous, underground central station.
My hotel was a short walk away and overlooked the Palace of Culture and Science, a ?wedding cake? skyscraper that was a ?gift? to the city from the Soviets and is not exactly loved. Agnieshka took me down to the perfectly manicured Royal Park at Lazienki, where there is a monument to Chopin, who lived in the city until his exile.
A sudden and savage hailstorm forced us to take cover at Strzalkowski, a caf? where we munched on paczki (marmalade) and jagodzianki (blueberry) doughnuts. A tram down the Royal Route took us along the showpiece streets of Nowy Swiat and Krakowskie Przedmiescie to the Royal Castle and the old town, which although almost completely destroyed during the war, was recreated thanks to a sleight of hand by the architect who, according to local legend, circumvented demands for the usual Soviet school of grey brutalism.
It is at the Warsaw Uprising Museum that you get the truest sense of Warsaw and its turbulent past. Its displays look mainly at the attempt by the Polish resistance to liberate the city from German occupation.
Everywhere in this superbly planned museum, with its fascinating artefacts, diaries, uniforms, weapons and equipment related to the event, you find a sense of Poland?s past both during the war and under its subjugation by the Soviet Union.
I then stocked up on food for the journey, buying salad, spinach pie and a beer at a deli before making my way to the station and a sign which said 1,122km to Moscow. The platform was heaving as the train pulled in and passengers carrying suitcases, boxes and string-wrapped parcels embarked.
The train was more basic than others earlier in the trip, but comfortable enough, with freshly starched sheets on the bed ? but no shower this time. When I asked if there was one, the matronly carriage attendant smiled and pointed at a leaking air-conditioning vent for the ?douche?.
With another black tea in hand ? served from a samovar in my matron?s compartment ? I settled down for the journey towards Belarus, a country considered to be Europe?s only remaining dictatorship, run since 1994 by Alexander Lukashenko, a former Soviet collective farm manager.
The strangest part of the journey came at 10.30pm, when we pulled into Brest Central station, where each sleeping car was separated and jacked up by cranes to have its bogies changed (Belarus and Russia use a different gauge from most of Europe).
Men in orange overalls worked under bright lights to complete the switchover. Meanwhile, border officials swept the train checking passports, visas and looking for contraband, while babushkas proffered cooked chicken, blinis and bottled beer.
I slept surprisingly well and woke to a view from my compartment that varied between immense tracts of farmland, villages of wooden houses, birch forests and sudden blots of ugly industrialised towns; bucolic past met dystopian future.
From a frenetic Moscow station my taxi took me past the spooky, faceless Lubyanka (the former headquarters of the KGB), Red Square and the Kremlin en route to the luxuries of the Kempinski hotel.
After a night (including a vodka lesson from the barman at the Kempinski) and morning exploring the city, I made for the 18th-century-styled Caf? Pushkin on Tverskoy Boulevard for tea and cake. Here my adventure ended ? I was flying back to London ? and I handed over the baton to Teresa, who was about to set off on the next leg of our round-the-world journey from Moscow to Beijing.
Orson Welles once said there were only two emotions in a plane: boredom and terror. There were no such feelings on this train journey to Russia.
Book the trip
Simon Horsford travelled with Railbookers (020 3327 0812; railbookers.com). It offers this trip from ?949, which includes London St Pancras to Brussels on Eurostar in standard premier; Brussels to Cologne in first class; one night at the Wasserturm hotel in Cologne; the Cologne to Warsaw sleeper in a private deluxe double cabin; one night at the Polonia Palace hotel in Warsaw; Warsaw to Moscow sleeper in a deluxe double cabin; and one night at Baltschug Kempinski hotel in Moscow.
This cost can be reduced to ?619 by travelling London to Brussels on Eurostar and Brussels to Cologne in standard class, with one night at the Azimut hotel in Cologne; Warsaw sleeper in a private economy double cabin, with one night at the Holiday Inn in Warsaw; and the Warsaw to Moscow sleeper in a private economy double cabin, with one night at the Park Inn Sadu, Moscow. Further information from Railbookers.
LONDON
Where to stay
St Pancras Renaissance Hotel ???
Impressively designed and the perfect place to start your journey; have supper at The Booking Office (020 7841 3540; marriott.co.uk; doubles from ?220).
COLOGNE
Where to stay
Im Wasserturm ??
Once Europe?s largest water tower, now a funky hotel (0049 221 20080; hotel-im-wasserturm.de; doubles from ?134/?107 per night).
Where to eat
Im Wasserturm (see above) has two restaurants, one on the ground floor and in the gardens in summer and another ? with sweeping views ? on the 11th floor. Both specialise in German cuisine and are exceptional.Alternatively, grab a wurst and a few glasses of k?lsch in one of the streets and squares in the Altstadt, such as Gaffel Haus (gaffel-haus.de) or one of the many busy bars alongside the Rhine.
What to do
The Museum Ludwig (museenkoeln.de/museum-ludwig) is worth a visit for its impressive collection of
20th-century art and the largest home of Pop Art outside the US. David Hockney?s A Bigger Picture exhibition recently arrived at the museum and runs until February.
The colossal Dom should be on your itinerary but go early or late (it?s open from 6am-7.30pm) as it gets crowded.
The Museum of the History of National Socialism (museenkoeln.de) offers insights into social and political aspects of the city during the Nazi period and is in the El-De Haus, the site of the Gestapo headquarters.
WARSAW
Where to stay
Polonia Palace ?
Smart and businesslike; ask for a room at the front overlooking the Palace of Culture and Science (0048 2231 82800; poloniapalace.com; doubles from ?88/?70 per night).
WHERE TO EAT
Polonia Palace (see above) serves good wholesome Polish and European cuisine ? the schnitze is very good as are the hearty soups. Otherwise there are decent restaurants on Nowy Swiat and Krakowskie Przedmiescie; or try the family-run Folk Gospoda (ul Walicow 13; folkgospoda.pl). Go to Strzalkowski on Market Square for the best doughnuts in town: ask for paczki (marmalade) or jagodzianki (blueberry).
What to do
Visit The Warsaw Uprising Museum (1944.pl). Housed in a former tram shed, it contains hundreds of artefacts related to the uprising in 1944 of Polish resistance fighters against the Nazis. There is also a fine monument at Powstania Warszawskiego.
Wander down shop- and caf?-lined Krakowskie Przedmiescie,then take a tram to Lazienki Park.
MOSCOW
Where to stay
Baltschug Kempinski ????
On the banks of the Moskva, with grand bedrooms and views of the Kremlin and Red Square from some rooms. Excellent breakfasts and vodka tastings in the piano bar (007 495 287 2000; kempinski.com/moscow; doubles from ?380 per night).
WHERE TO EAT
Caf? Margarita (28 Malaya Bronnaya Street) is an intimate, arty, down-to-earth caf? serving good wholesome food. The atmospheric and invariably busy Caf? Pushkin (Tverskoy Boulevard 26; cafe-pushkin) has an interesting and varied menu; go for afternoon tea.
WHAT TO DO
?Take a walk around the Red October district on Bolotny island. The former home of the Red October chocolate factory, this is where you?ll find art and photographic galleries, designers? studios, bars, caf?s and restaurants such as the sleek Art Academy on Bresenevska ya Naberejnaya.
Tips
Remember to take some sandwiches, snacks and drink on the train for the journeys between Cologne and Warsaw and Warsaw and Moscow.
Travel light ? you don?t want to be hampered by too much luggage on the journey, particularly in your cabin.
Don?t try to establish a friendly rapport with the officials on the Belarus border ? they don?t appreciate it.
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Commander Allan Gibson, head of the Met?s Directorate of Professional Standards, said: "These officers let the whole of the service down with their behaviour; but more importantly they let down their local community.
"There is no place for lazy attitudes in the MPS and those who are found to be failing in their duties will be held to account."
The activities were exposed during an undercover operation by Cmdr Gibson?s unit into the Safer Neighbourhood Team in the Mottingham and Chislehurst North ward of Bromley in 2010.
Disciplinary proceedings were only concluded last month.
One sergeant and a constable were sacked after the Met's disciplinary panel found them guilty of gross misconduct. Another constable and three of the team's community support officers resigned, while a fourth PCSO was dismissed.
In a statement, the Met said: "The disciplinary panel heard evidence that officers from the team had played backgammon and poker whilst on duty, watched TV in the office, frequently failed to go out on patrol, had not worked full tours of duty and also claimed overtime that had not been worked.
"In addition, one officer had gone out for runs during the working day whilst a further officer cleaned his golf clubs in the office. These activities appear to have taken place at the expense of policing duties, such as patrolling the local area."
Roger Charsley, an ex-police officer and now local councillor for the ward, said: ?I was horrified by this.
?The public expect the police to do their job not sit around watching television and playing cards.?
A Met source added: ?It was an extraordinary state of affairs.
?The public will be shocked to learn how little work was actually being done by this team.?
Neighbourhood teams were introduced by the Met in 2004 and subsequently rolled out across the country.
They were intended to make the police more accountable to the public because local people would get to know they designated team.
They were described at the time as the ?greatest development in community policing in the past 30 years?.
PCSOs have come under criticism since they were introduced by the last Labour Government.
Dubbed ?Blunkett?s bobbies? after the then Home Secretary, David Blunkett, critics warned they would result in policing on the cheap.
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BANGKOK (AP) ? On the eve of his landmark trip to Myanmar, President Barack Obama tried to assure critics that his visit was not a premature reward for a long-isolated nation still easing its way toward democracy.
"This is not an endorsement of the government," Obama said Sunday in Thailand as he opened a three-country dash through Asia. "This is an acknowledgement that there is a process under way inside that country that even a year and a half, two years ago, nobody foresaw."
Obama was set to become the first U.S. president to visit Myanmar with Air Force One scheduled to touch down in Yangon on Monday morning. Though Obama planned to spend just six hours in the country, the much-anticipated stop came as the result of a remarkable turnaround in the countries' relationship.
The president's Asia tour also marks his formal return to the world stage after months mired in a bruising re-election campaign. For his first postelection trip, he tellingly settled on Asia, a region he has deemed the region as crucial to U.S. prosperity and security.
Aides say Asia will factor heavily in Obama's second term as the U.S. seeks to expand its influence in an attempt to counter China.
China's rise is also at play in Myanmar, which long has aligned itself with Beijing. But some in Myanmar fear that China is taking advantage of its wealth of natural resources, so the country is looking for other partners to help build its nascent economy.
Obama has rewarded Myanmar's rapid adoption of democratic reforms by lifting some economic penalties. The president has appointed a permanent ambassador to the country, also known as Burma, and pledged greater investment if Myanmar continues to progress following a half-century of military rule.
But some human rights groups say Myanmar's government, which continues to hold hundreds of political prisoners and is struggling to contain ethnic violence, hasn't done enough to earn a personal visit from Obama.
Speaking from neighboring Thailand, Obama said Sunday he was under no illusions that Myanmar had done all it needed to do. But he said the U.S. could play a critical role in helping ensure the country doesn't slip backward.
"I'm not somebody who thinks that the United States should stand on the sidelines and not want to get its hands dirty when there's an opportunity for us to encourage the better impulses inside a country," Obama said during a joint press conference Sunday with Thailand's prime minister.
Even as Obama turned his sights on Asia, widening violence in the Middle East competed for his attention.
Obama told reporters Sunday that Israel had the right to defend itself against missile attacks from Gaza. But he urged Israel not to launch a ground assault in Gaza, saying it would put Israeli soldiers, as well as Palestinian citizens, at greater risk and hamper an already vexing peace process.
"If we see a further escalation of the situation in Gaza, the likelihood of us getting back on any kind of peace track that leads to a two-state solution is going to be pushed off way into the future," Obama said.
The ongoing violence is likely to trail Obama as he makes his way from Thailand to Myanmar to Cambodia, his final stop before returning to Washington early Wednesday.
Obama will meet separately in Myanmar with Prime Minister Thein Sein, who has orchestrated much of his country's recent reforms. The president will also meet with longtime Myanmar democracy activist Aung Sun Suu Kyi in the home where she spent years under house arrest.
The president, as he seeks to assuage critics, has trumpeted Suu Kyi's support of his outreach efforts, saying Sunday that she was "very encouraging" of his trip.
The White House says Obama will express his concern for the ongoing ethnic tensions in Myanmar's western Rakhine state, where more than 110,000 people ? the vast majority of them Muslims known as Rohingya ? have been displaced.
The U.N. has called the Rohingya ? who are widely reviled by the Buddhist majority in Myanmar ? among the world's most persecuted people.
The White House says Obama will press the matter Monday with Thein Sein, along with demands to free remaining political prisoners as the nation transitions to democracy.
The president will cap his trip to Myanmar with a speech at Rangoon University, the center of the country's struggle for independence against Britain and the launching point for many pro-democracy protests. The former military junta shut the dormitories in the 1990s fearing further unrest and forced most students to attend classes on satellite campuses on the outskirts of town.
Obama began his Asian tour on a steamy day in Bangkok with a visit to the Wat Pho Royal Monastery. In stocking feet, the president and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton walked around a golden statue of a sitting Buddha. The complex is a sprawling display of buildings with colorful spires, gardens and waterfalls.
Obama then paid a courtesy call to the ailing, 84-year-old U.S.-born King Bhumibol Adulyadej in his hospital quarters. The king, the longest serving living monarch, was born in Cambridge, Mass., and studied in Europe.
_
Associated Press writer Jim Kuhnhenn contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-historic-myanmar-visit-underscores-progress-214229489.html
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Israelis take cover in a large concrete pipe used as a bomb shelter after a rocket was launched from the Gaza Strip.
Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images.
Just a few weeks ago, my husband, who served for many years as a reserve officer in the Israeli Defense Forces, announced he had officially retired from the army. We were sitting in our Tel Aviv kitchen eating almonds, and I told him how relieved I was?or to be more precise, ?It?s about fucking time.?? So on Thursday, as the IDF dropped bombs on Gaza, Hamas shot rockets into Israel, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu?s government gave the army the go-ahead to call up 30,000 reserve soldiers, I assumed my husband would not be one of them. The next afternoon, however, my phone rang. ?Are you sitting down?? my husband said?such a clich??and immediately I knew my assumption had been wrong.
Less than an hour later he was dressed in his army uniform, ready to go. I was crying uncontrollably, anything but the brave example the Israeli norm deems I should portray to our three sons. The boys were surprised to see their father in uniform, but it took them only a second to go back to their iPad. It would take me about an hour to stop sobbing, and while I acknowledge that it?s preferable not to fall to pieces in front of your children, I didn?t feel a good reason to hold myself back.?
I don?t want my sons to think that war is something we have to accept as part of living in Israel. The tears I cried were not just those of fear for my husband?s safety. I was shedding tears of regret over a conflict that should have been avoided. I was shedding tears for the country I moved to 15 years ago from America, because I wanted to be part of Israel?s road to peace. And tears for the fact that I?ve had to question whether the Israel of today is a place I want to raise my children, a place that I want them to defend in uniform, or if we?d all be better off going back to the United States.
Less than a day after his departure, my husband was home. Because of his age (43) and his diabetes, he was given permission to leave the army, but his friends and comrades who have also left their families to get ready for war can?t do the same. I don?t know if the call-up of tens of thousands of reserve soldiers suggests an impending ground operation in Gaza or is just a bluff. This is the question on everyone?s mind. What I do know is that Israel has been here before. Since withdrawing in 2005, Israel has gone back into Gaza with force numerous times??cutting the grass,? as these deadly missions are now referred to?and no big leap toward peace has been made on either the Israeli or the Palestinian side. Every few years the simmering war boils over into a large-scale conflict, reserve soldiers are called up, there are casualties on both sides, and when it?s over, nothing is better for anyone. If anything it?s worse.?
So here we go again: Gaza is being smashed, southern Israel is under constant rocket fire, and in Tel Aviv, where I live, our urban, secular bubble is bursting with every air-raid siren. The reserve-duty-age men are all gone. Some stores and businesses are closed. And at home, instead of talking about soccer games and homework, we?re talking about missiles. ?How was your siren today, Tom?? my 9-year-old son, Guy, asked his brother earnestly Sunday afternoon. Tom answered him with a big smile. ?We had a drill,? he said.? ?Everyone ran to the shelters. Then right after the drill, a real siren sounded.? Despite the seriousness of the situation, I couldn?t blame him for seeing the humor in that.
My sons went on to tell me that in each of their schools, the siren led to a stampede toward the bomb shelter. Some children went home after the real siren. Others hadn?t come to school at all. I don?t know why, but it hadn?t occurred to me not to send my sons to school. Don?t get me wrong: I am afraid. But outside of the immediate adrenaline-producing fear lies a deeper fear where I wonder whether a childhood spent living in a state of low-grade war, on both sides of this struggle, leads to adults who are drawn to the scent of blood? Is this a risk I?m willing to take? And today it?s not just low-grade war. This is the real thing, yet I send my sons to school as if to say life is normal. It?s a kind of lie.
Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=914f30b176313c5ce006c91c53a3c885
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The BYU women?s soccer team won an intense Sweet 16 match over Marquette Saturday night, finally triumphing on the eighth kick of a shootout to continue in the NCAA tournament.
Despite a combined 38 shots on goal, the teams dueled scoreless through regulation and two overtimes before an energetic crowd of more than 3,100 fans to bring on the shootout.
Back and forth the kicks went. The Golden Eagles grabbed the early advantage in the first round but missed the third attempt and the Cougars made theirs to put the teams back on even ground.
Both teams missed the fourth kick, when a make would have meant victory. Marquette then made the next three, forcing BYU to match each time to stay in it.
Then, Marquette?s eighth try sailed over the net. All the Cougars had to do was make the next shot to win.
Reserve Kayla Varney, who?d played just 13 minutes in the contest, calmly stepped up and buried the ball in the back of the net, touching off an enthusiastic celebration.
?More than anything, I was excited for the team,? Varney said. ?I?m just happy to keep the season going for the seniors.?
Before that dramatic moment, BYU fans held their collective breaths when goalkeeper Erica Owens collided with a Golden Eagle attacker near the end of regulation play. Owens was very slow getting up, but she did continue and finished out the evening.
Like Owens, Marquette goalie Amanda Engel had a fantastic game and really challenged BYU?s offense. She had nine saves on the night, and Owens had seven.
The Cougars started the game in attack mode and outshot the visitors 12-5 in the first half, but they weren?t able to find the target.
The situation reversed at the beginning of the second half, when Marquette dominated play for the first portion of the period.
Senior defender Lindsi Cutshall played what BYU coach Jennifer Rockwood termed ?one of the best games I?ve ever seen her play? to keep the Cougars in it along with the back line, despite a very aggressive offensive push by the visitors.
?Nothing gets by Erica,? Cutshall said. ?People made big saves when they had to tonight. At this level, physicality is part of the game. I think we handled it and it didn?t change anything we normally do.?
The Cougars will host their final home game Friday night, with the time and opponent to be determined.
?Obviously this was a huge, emotional battle for both teams,? Rockwood said. ?The fans were phenomenal. We?re really looking forward to the opportunity to play a team like Baylor or UNC at home.?
Beky Beaton can be reached at bbeaton@heraldextra.com.
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Bob Henderson (SGVN/Staff photo by Watchara Phomicinda)
WHITTIER - Oil, almighty. If Matrix Oil Corp. drills for the black gold in the Puente Hills - and only a judge can prevent that now - Whittier will have a lot of green on its hands. Maybe more than anyone realized. Maybe more than $1.5 billion, according to City Councilman Bob Henderson.
That's why Henderson prepared a report for the City Council last week urging Whittier to be prepared with a plan to handle oil revenues.
"The fund could easily grow to a half-billion in a short amount of time," he said.
And then, "over a billion and even higher if the oil field is as productive as the oil companies believe."
If that money starts flowing in the large amounts predicted, it ought not be spent loosely,
Joe Vinatieri (SGVN/Staff photo by Keith Durflinger)
said Henderson.The implications could be staggering, said Jim Markman, an attorney representing the city in oil lawsuits, such as giving the city the ability to operate without raising taxes.
"It could be tremendous," he said.
However, Henderson and Councilman Joe Vinatieri, both members of the Mineral Extraction Financial Plan Subcommittee, qualified their remarks at last Tuesday's council meeting by stating that there are no guarantees of oil income.
"It's speculative," said Vinatieri. "We have no idea of how much oil is out there."
Mike McCaskey, vice president of Matrix Oil Corp., said Henderson's estimates of oil revenue for the city are in line with the high end of estimates of the royalties
the city will receive, based on a 2011 environmental impact report.That report forecasts annual royalties of $7 million to $115million based on production of 1,000 to 10,000 barrels per day.
Santa Barbara-based Matrix has a 25-year lease on city-owned land in the Puente Hills, where the drilling is planned. Royalties of $100 million for 10 years would bring the city $1 billion.
Some California oil wells have been producing for more than 100 years, McCaskey said.
"It's possible, sure," said McCaskey. "It's a significant amount of money coming in, and they want to have a plan."
Even if royalties come in at low end of the predicted range, over a 25-year period the city would receive $150 million to $200 million, he said.
"That's pretty significant considering the city budget is $70 million," McCaskey said.
The amount also depends on the price of oil, which is volatile.
Chevron Corp. began to leave the field in 1991 because production costs were too high compared to the price of oil, according to McCaskey. At the time, oil was selling for only about $20 a barrel.
The project faces several serious legal challenges in court, however. One of the arguments centers around the fact that the city used money from Proposition A, a county voter-approved measure that taxes all county property owners, to buy the large swath of land in the Whittier Hills nature preserve. A portion of the preserve acquired with Prop. A dollars is proposed for oil and gas exploration.
The Los Angeles County Regional Park and Open Space District objects to only Whittier residents benefitting from this project. The district says that 1992's Prop. A measure taxed all county property owners and therefore, all of the county should benefit if the project goes forward.
"The repeated actions and statements of Whittier indicate a desire by the city to gain an unfair windfall from the oil drilling project that could allow Whittier and property owners in the city to receive a greater benefit than other County property owners subject to the Proposition A assessment," according to the county's lawsuit filed Oct. 25.
"Unless prevented by orders of the court," according to the county lawsuit, "Whittier will continue to take additional actions to allow proceeds from the oil drilling project to be spent in contravention of Proposition A and the project agreement."
McCaskey said while the outcome of the lawsuits facing the oil project remains an unknown, "we're very optimistic that they'll be resolved."
The primary litigant, Open Space Legal Defense Fund, has dropped its suit. However, the county, along with the Mountains Recreation Conservation Authority and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, will press their arguments in court Dec. 21.
"We're already submitting plans to start drilling in early 2013," said McCaskey.
Markman also cautioned that the amount of money Whittier will receive depends on multiple factors: the success of the test wells, how much oil is produced and the price of oil.
That said, however, "I would say that because of the potential of this, I can't imagine a councilman not supporting this plan," he said.
"Opportunities such as this are rare," he added.
"Also, the county, I'm sure, will share in this," Markman said. "When there's that much at stake, you have to pursue it."
The city's Mineral Extraction Financial Plan Subcommittee was tasked Sept. 11 with drafting recommendations for managing any revenue from forthcoming lease and royalty payments from the 2008 mineral extraction lease with Matrix.
At last week's council meeting, Henderson and Vinatieri said it is prudent to plan for a funding windfall.
"The funds must be allocated so that a portion can be used today to benefit the residents of Whittier, and a significant portion is to be preserved in an Endowment/Trust Fund to insure future generations can be afforded both a continuing revenue stream from the investment of the Fund's corpus ... and to provide a safety net to the City in the case of catastrophic disaster losses," said a staff report on the subcommittee.
Staff Writer Steve Scauzillo contributed to this report.
peter.fullam@inlandnewspapers.com
626-544-0821
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