FliesWay2Much
Sep 7, 04, 10:54 am
Your tax dollars at work. Screeners -- Ever wonder why you can't get the funding to hire more people? Read on:
Owners of dinghies at Monterey's Fisherman's Wharf will be subject to new Homeland Security measures when cruise ships anchor in the harbor, including eight visits over the next three months.
Harbormaster Stephen Scheiblauer said his office is going head to head with the Coast Guard to reduce inconvenience to the local vessel owners. But as it stands, they will be required to show photo identification and be subject to a search of their personal belongings to use the wharf when ships cruise into the Bay.
The regulations are part of a "facilities security plan" required by the Homeland Security Act for ports that manage visitors from large, foreign-flagged ships. In Monterey's case, that means cruise ships.
And for owners of dinghies moored at the wharf that welcomes cruise passengers, that means they will have to show identification to use the wharf when the ships are in town.
One of the residents upset by the regulation is Etienne Constable, a Seaside resident who became a U.S. citizen in December.
"I thought, 'Geez this sounds like a cramp on my civil liberties that I don't deserve,'" said Constable. "My mother grew up in France during the war when the Nazis could demand your papers at any time.
"It's one of the things that I was always proud that we have here, that they can't pull you over and just ask you for ID at any time," he said. "Security at any cost? Is that what we've come to?"
Constable, who voted in his first election in March, said he never would have voiced his feelings about the regulations were it not for the rights afforded him as a citizen.
"We have to stand up and voice our opinions or we'll be searched walking down the street if we're not careful," he said.
Interesting that one of our newest citizens seems to have a firm grasp of the situation.
Link: http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/9598994.htm
Owners of dinghies at Monterey's Fisherman's Wharf will be subject to new Homeland Security measures when cruise ships anchor in the harbor, including eight visits over the next three months.
Harbormaster Stephen Scheiblauer said his office is going head to head with the Coast Guard to reduce inconvenience to the local vessel owners. But as it stands, they will be required to show photo identification and be subject to a search of their personal belongings to use the wharf when ships cruise into the Bay.
The regulations are part of a "facilities security plan" required by the Homeland Security Act for ports that manage visitors from large, foreign-flagged ships. In Monterey's case, that means cruise ships.
And for owners of dinghies moored at the wharf that welcomes cruise passengers, that means they will have to show identification to use the wharf when the ships are in town.
One of the residents upset by the regulation is Etienne Constable, a Seaside resident who became a U.S. citizen in December.
"I thought, 'Geez this sounds like a cramp on my civil liberties that I don't deserve,'" said Constable. "My mother grew up in France during the war when the Nazis could demand your papers at any time.
"It's one of the things that I was always proud that we have here, that they can't pull you over and just ask you for ID at any time," he said. "Security at any cost? Is that what we've come to?"
Constable, who voted in his first election in March, said he never would have voiced his feelings about the regulations were it not for the rights afforded him as a citizen.
"We have to stand up and voice our opinions or we'll be searched walking down the street if we're not careful," he said.
Interesting that one of our newest citizens seems to have a firm grasp of the situation.
Link: http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/9598994.htm