Late Wednesday (September 14), the Protect Our Communities Foundation and the Center for Biological Diversity won a battle against the California Public Utilities Commission: the state First District Court of Appeals granted the groups their petition and will review the commission decision to permit the building of a natural-gas power plant on the beach in Carlsbad.

Organizations challenging the commission cannot take their cases to superior courts; they must go straight to the appellate court, which almost always refuses to hear them. This has continued even while the former commission chief executive has been under criminal investigation for his cozy relationship with Southern California Edison over the closing of the San Onofre nuclear plant. Ratepayers were told to pay almost all of the cost of the closing while stockholders got off with very little payment. The appellate court would not hear it.

April Rose Sommer, executive director of the Protect Our Communities Foundation, says the utilities commission took an illegal action in approving "this unneeded and dirty power plant," and she is "thrilled" the appellate court will take a look at the matter.