California

We wish to thank the Air Pollution Control District board for taking action to investigate a potential problem related to air pollution from the Oceano Dunes State Vehicle Recreation Area. By ordering the first phase study several years ago, they were able to clarify that there is, in fact, an air pollution problem from the Oceano Dunes.

They then followed with a second study to determine the cause. The board deserves our collective applause for having the insight, concern and commitment to have the studies conducted.

Kyle Magin

Reasons to close or leave open the Greenhorn Creek recreational area to off-highway vehicles are apparent as soon as you enter the rugged canyon.

Walls rise sharply on either side of the creek, which is littered with crossings and any number of places to pull off and snap some picturesque views of the Sierra Nevada.

David Sneed

The county Air Pollution Control District board struggled Wednesday to agree on what to do about high particulate pollution on the Nipomo Mesa in light of a scientific study linking the dust to the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area.

After hours of public comment and discussion, the board voted 9-1 to officially receive the study and told air district staff to come up with a list of ways to lessen the pollution. Pismo Beach City Councilman Kris Vardas voted no, saying that too many questions about the validity of the study had been raised.

David Kelly

Reporting from San Bernardino - After an emotional 4-hour debate Tuesday, San Bernardino County officials lifted a key restriction on off-road vehicles, angering those who say the move will further erode the quality of life in the desert.

"They have left us defenseless against the onslaught of off-road vehicles," said Philip Klasky, president of Community ORV Watch in Wonder Valley. "They have put the rights of special interests before the rights of private property owners."

Stacy Moore

SAN BERNARDINO — The Board of Supervisors’ vote to amend San Bernardino County’s off-road ordinance Tuesday came after several members of the public, most of them from the Morongo Basin, spoke both for and against the amendment.

Victoria Fuller of Joshua Tree predicted if the staging-permit is removed, “Any property could become a de facto OHV park.”

Ken Layne

Regarding your “Off-road rule could be history” story of March 20, voters should be aware that San Bernardino County supervisors Neil Derry and Brad Mitzelfelt are deliberately ignoring a long public process to regulate off-highway vehicle abuses in the desert.

When word first spread of their apparent plans to allow up to 199 OHV riders to hold dirt-bike races on tiny 2.5-acre residential lots for up to six days in a row, without so much as a permit that takes the neighbors’ concerns into account, I wrote polite e-mails to both Derry and Mitzelfelt. Neither responded, despite my personal note to Brad reminding him that we’d met at an environmental fund-raiser and that I voted for him in 2008.

Imran Ghori

Almost four years after San Bernardino County adopted rules restricting off-road vehicle use, the Board of Supervisors is considering loosening the regulations.

The board, at a 1:30 p.m. hearing today, will consider eliminating a requirement that a gathering of 10 or more off-road riders obtain temporary-event permits in advance of the outing.

Andrew Edwards

The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors is set to extend its Tuesday meeting for a special session to consider a change to off-roading rules that will make it easier for the sport's enthusiasts to gather for rides.

The session is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. The change under consideration has to do with what county law calls "staging." County ordinance No.3973, which was approved in 2006, requires off-roaders to pay $155 for a riding permit if 10 or more people meet to go off-roading.

A 42-year-old Manton man was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after he was injured in an all-terrain vehicle crash Thursday evening.

Cecil Smith suffered major injuries, including a cut forehead and chest injuries, when the ATV he was driving rolled over on Wilson Hill Road near Manton about 7 p.m., California Highway Patrol officer Jack Polen said.