SURFING SOAPBOX: On the news beat up north

The sun has now risen over the tallest of buildings and blasted its way into my 32nd-floor room of the Hilton in San Francisco. It’s an amazing view to say the least. From my balcony I feel an icy chill in the air with rows of buildings, panning out like a jigsaw puzzle of sorts. Just beyond is the frigid waters of San Francisco Bay.

I could sit for hours and write with a view like this, but I’m already running late for a hearing on offshore oil drilling, which I will be covering for Fuel TV as their correspondent. Yesterday, this hearing was front-page news here.

The last hearing I covered for Fuel TV was one in San Diego regarding the expansion of the toll road, and that was nothing short on a madhouse. I’m expecting this to be nothing short of that.

Perhaps even more maddening.

Word on the street here is that people love to protest in San Francisco.

When I am working as a TV correspondent at events like this, I always find it fascinating having to remain neutral in interviewing both sides of the argument. When I am obviously so pro ocean and beaches, I enjoy the discipline that is involved and listening to the opposing side. I think there is always something to be gained in listening to both sides of an argument.

With that said, one of my biggest pet peeves is stepping on a chunk of melting tar that squishes between your toes and drives you nuts with its putrid smell, while grabbing a little stick and trying to scrape it off as it rubs off and onto your fingertips.

After all, what good is the beach if we can’t enjoy the ocean?

Peace.

JAMES PRIBRAM is a Laguna Beach native, professional surfer and John Kelly Environmental Award winner. His websites include AlohaSchoolofSurfing and ECOWarrior Surf.com. He can be reached at Jamo@Aloha SchoolofSurfing.com