This from http://www.sandiegogeologists.org/Calendar.html:

Unfortunately, there's more to Lyne's loss than I've posted so far. But I wanted to allow a little time before going into it ...

When I was a Regional Director in Region 3, I took notice of Lyne's excellent efforts to preserve one of her favorite flying sites at Blossom Valley (near San Diego). As Director, I joined Lyne at several California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) meetings where one or both of us spoke to protect that site (and others) from massive power line projects. Around that time, Lyne began confiding in me about some of the bullying in the San Diego Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association (SDHGPA). At one point I asked her about being featured in a Regional Newsletter that I was planning (which would help to promote her efforts). Here's what Lyne wrote to me in response:


At the time, I wanted to report this abuse to our national association, but there were very few people within USHPA who I felt I could trust. So I kept Lyne's identity "incognito" as she requested, but I added her to my own list of pilots who'd been bullied, beaten, or banned in the San Diego area. Lyne wasn't the first pilot to request anonymity, and so I always had to make my case at USHPA without actually naming names. I took a similar route with the City of San Diego.

Unfortunately, the USHPA Board never did anything to fix the problems here in San DIego. They implicitly backed the SDHGPA at every turn. Even to this day, the USHPA Board backs the SDHGPA over the Torrey Hawks. It turns out that the Gliderport generates a huge number of new pilots (mostly paraglider pilots) in the San Diego area, and that means new members for USHPA. Many of these new pilots are infused with the same gang-like attitude that permeates the concession, and they end up being bullies just like David Jebb and the others that Lyne mentioned and encountered. Many of these new pilots also end up becoming members (and sometimes officers) of the SDHGPA.

In a similar manner, the City of San Diego also ignored all requests to reform the oversight of the Torrey Pines Gliderport. By coincidence, a lawsuit had been filed against the City for management violations of Coastal regulations around 2006, and the City settled it with an agreement to create a Torrey Pines City Park Advisory Board. It's clear that the City didn't want to do this, and they dragged their feet on creating that Board for over a year. Eventually, it was formed and headed up by the Mayor's own appointee - Virginia "Ginny" Barnes. I attended every single meeting of that Board, and at every single meeting I spoke and asked about addressing the management issues at the Gliderport. Initially, Ginny said "we'd get to that later", but eventually it became clear that the Board would never address the management issues that caused the lawsuit in the first place. At one point, Ginny (who chaired the meetings) refused to allow me to speak during the time set aside for public comment. This may be a violation of City rules, and I may pursue that in the future. Rather than talk about the ongoing management issues (pilots banned and bullied), Ginny just wanted to talk about the physical design of the park. She talked about grass and handicapped access. She talked about buildings and scenic overlooks. But she never talked about who would oversee the concession to keep the violations and abuses from happening again.

Eventually, in 2010, the Board just stopped meeting. It's still listed on the City's web site, and it still says it meets every month. But the meetings never take place. So I began speaking before the San Diego City Council urging them to resume the meetings of the Torrey Pines City Park Advisory Board. I also wrote to various Councilmembers and even visited them during their office hours. But with all that effort, still nothing has been done.

Just recently, I heard of the sad passing of Lyne Perry. I remembered her email messages from over a year ago, and I dug them up. I could hear the desperation in her voice as I read those letters, and my heart sank. As Director, I had done my best to fix the problems in San Diego, but I got no support from USHPA - on anything. I hadn't been able to fix what Lyne and I both knew was terribly wrong in the local club. I still haven't been able to fix it.

Now, as many of you know, I only spend a week or so each month in San Diego due to family commitments elsewhere. So I don't have the luxury of speaking at the City Council on a regular basis. But yesterday, I made the time to go downtown and finally give voice to Lyne's letter of despair. Here's what I said:


The actual video from this presentation is available at:

http://granicus.sandiego.gov/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=3&clip_id=4787

That video shows the entire Council session, but my public comment starts at 1 hour, 3 minutes, and 30 seconds into the recording. It should look something like this:

That specific section of the June 7th, 2011 Council video is now available here:



We must never forget.

It's been 13 years since Lyne Perry took her own life after citing the bullying at Torrey Pines Gliderport.

We must never forget.