Environment

Frye Endorsed For Coastal Commission

By Ed Joyce / Reporter

Published June 12, 2009 at 3:20 AM PDT

This story was published more than 15 years ago.

A San Diego City Councilwoman and longtime conservationist is getting support from environmental groups for a position on the California Coastal Commission.

More than 40 environmental groups are urging the state Assembly Speaker to appoint Donna Frye.

Become a KPBS sponsor

Speaker Karen Bass has two Coastal Commission appointments to make before the end of the month, including one representing San Diego.

Bruce Reznik is the Executive Director of San Diego Coastkeeper.

He says Frye has worked on coastal protection issues for nearly 30 years.

"There's frankly a lot of pressure on commissioners to be pro-development and and pro-growth and pro-industry," Reznik says. "And you really want somebody who has had the experience and the willpower to really stand up for what he or she believes in. And that's something that I think everyone would agree that Donna is very willing to do."

Council President Ben Hueso is seeking reappointment to the commission. His term expired last month.

Become a KPBS sponsor

Reznik says in recent years the Coastal Commission has taken more of a pro-development stance and is not fulfilling its mission.

The commission is charged with protecting, conserving and enhancing the state's 840 mile coastline.

Tags

Ed Joyce

twitter

Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.

See stories by Ed Joyce