The Sacramento Bee’s editorial board calls the $2.5 million settlement by Facebook billionaire Sean Parker for bulldozing that Big Sur campground without a permit for his and singer-songwriter Alexandra Lenas’ June 1 wedding a “sweet deal.” But is the lavish bash—railed against by environmentalists—also rubbing off on wedding guests Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Attorney General Kamala Harris? The Bee faults them both for not questioning the extra-legal “Hollywood-like set” in one of California’s most iconic places.
The editorial’s headline: “Sweet deal for despoiler of Big Sur.”
Excerpts:
We wish bride and groom well, and forgive that we weren't on the guest list that included Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Kamala Harris and 300 other beautiful people.
[skip]
By the time the state learned of the work in mid-May, the damage was done. The staff considered shutting down the $4.5 million wedding. But love was in the air, even at the Coastal Commission.
Besides, entitled people like Sean Parker can buy their way out of certain predicaments. He agreed to pay $2.5 million to the state, and the wedding went ahead on June 1.
[skip]
Parker dabbles in politics, having donated $13,000 to Newsom and $100,000 to the 2010 initiative to legalize marijuana. But the commission's staff says Parker's friends didn't intervene. Nor, evidently, did the governor-in-waiting or the chief lawyer question creating a Hollywood-like set in Big Sur.
