LOS ANGELES – A proposal led by U2 guitarist The Edge for five mansions overlooking Malibu, Calif., has been rejected by California’s coastal development agency, despite assurances by him that it would be one of the greenest developments in the world.
The California Coastal Commission voted 8-4 Thursday against the proposal, citing concerns that it would irrevocably damage the environment.
Staff told the commission that approving such a project would set a precedent and invite other large developments to rugged, environmentally sensitive locations.
“In my 38 years, I have never seen a project as environmentally devastating as this one,” said Peter Douglas, executive director for the commission. “An environmentally sensitive person would never pick this site to develop.”
About 40 people signed up to speak, a mix of supporters and opponents, including Malibu residents, environmental groups and elected officials.
Robert Steinberg spoke in support of his musician son-in-law, whose real name is David Evans, and his daughter Morleigh. They were just trying to get their home built, he said.
The proposal called for five multilevel homes of up to 12,785 square feet to be built on 156 acres in the Santa Monica Mountains. Project designers said the homes would have the top green building certifications and the guitarist said the mansions would be some of the most environmentally sensitive in the world.
The Edge and his partners had earlier agreed to give the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy more than $1 million.
Teen singer’s video taken off YouTube over flap
LOS ANGELES – Rebecca Black’s official “Friday” music video has been taken off YouTube.
The page where the video starring the 13-year-old singer once played now says it “is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Rebecca Black.”
Black’s spokesman said her team sent a takedown notice to YouTube because of a dispute over the video with Ark Music Factory, which Black’s parents paid $4,000 to produce the song and video.
Earlier this week, the firm began charging viewers $2.99 to watch the clip.
Lawyers for Black and Ark Music have been haggling over who owns the rights to everything “Friday”-related since it became a sensation earlier this year.
Actress-envoy Jolie visits refugee camp
ALTINOZU, Turkey – U.N. envoy Angelina Jolie traveled to Turkey’s border with Syria on Friday, sharing fruit and dessert with some of the thousands of Syrian refugees who have fled their government’s bloody crackdown.
The Hollywood celebrity and goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees arrived in the Turkish province of Hatay on a private jet with boxes of toys for the refugee camps and visited one of the three refugee camps in Turkey, where nearly 10,000 Syrians have sought refuge.
Jolie spent more than two hours with about 1,700 refugees at a camp in Altinozu, 12 miles from the Syrian border, asking how they were in Arabic and then speaking with them through an interpreter, Turkey’s NTV television reported. It said she took notes, showing particular interest in the women and children.
“The people in this camp have fled in fear for their lives, and many told me they were distraught about the safety of loved ones still in Syria.” Jolie said in a UNHCR statement.
She praised Turkey for welcoming the refugees.
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