If the Fed’s decision is based on creativity, the toll road is history. The opponents outside were a lot more fun than listening to the 650 people who registered to speak at the hearing.
I found a half-dozen from Newport-Mesa on the list before I gave up the search, which droned through an inadequate PA system into the early evening. Now the fate of the toll road is in the hands of Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, who has until Jan. 7 to weigh its benefits to the nation.
Seeking a moral to all this uproar, I would suggest two. First, we can seldom predict what issues — sometimes the most unexpected — may ignite the enormous response this one did. And, second, the good old American standby of public demonstrations is alive and active and remains a tool for the underpowered to take on the authorities.
