Storybook

One Hell of a View

When Peter Douglas, longtime chair of the California Coastal Commission (CCC), died in 2012, the accolades flowed like wine. Though a state-level official, he was prestigious enough to land a New York Times obituary lauding him as a “sentry of California’s coast.” The same obit quoted a colleague who dubbed Douglas “the world’s greatest bureaucratic street fighter.” That was intended as a compliment, but the description also suggested something less savory about Douglas’ approach: Like a street fighter, he was willing to fight dirty if he thought it was the way to win.