Monterey Bay Forum

Federal agency National Oceanographic & Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) recently pressed criminal charges and has levied huge fines against a nationally known biologist for feeding large fish.

Also, NOAA recently levied enormous fines — which keep going up — against two persons using jet skis to save surfers in Monterey Bay.

The overall issue is that a federal agency (NOAA) under Obama and with the blessing of local congressman Sam Farr now controls access of the public to use of Monterey Bay. Do you accept this control?

Because the jet ski users are contesting the charges, NOAA’s response has been to double and triple the fines. Per discussion by Dr. Bill on radio 1080, NOAA is acting as judge, jury and prosecutor and not allowing any defense.

Sam Farr, congressman for the Monterey and Santa Cruz, CA area, refused to come on a local radio show Saturday, Jan. 14 and discuss his views of NOAA and the legal charges against people using the Monterey Bay for work and play. Sam Farr’s office likewise did not contact the radio station. Farr’s offices were contacted repeatedly without success.

“Put a sign on your car, in your window and on a telephone pole telling Sam Farr what you want” says Dr. Bill on 1080 Radio. “Or just write, Sam Farr — Farr Out!”

NOAA’s senior positions are filled with political appointees who push for the political agenda of the current administration. Dr. Bill refers to NOAA as the “green Gestapo”.

Per the 1080 radio show Jan. 11, 2012 NOAA spent millions of Obama Stimulus money on a new building close to the beach at Asilomar CA state park in Monterey, CA. NOAA will not permit any non-native plants in the area and has built a building which, to put it mildly from the comments of listeners to the raido show, does not blend into the environment. Check out the NOAA building next time you drive along the Asilomar state beach beach in Monterey.

For more information on NOAA, congressman Sam Farr’s lack of response to air his views on NOAA and current fining of the biologist and jet ski users contact
www.ksco.com

Autism Vox has thoughts concerning the most helpful statements that have stuck with her regarding her autistic son now almost an adult. One was, it is not the hand you are dealt but what you do with it. So true.

I would add, keep looking for new ways to communicate. Get a dog the child can train and interact with. Find a trainer who knows how to work with autistic children. Try water. Surfing or simply listening to the waves can sooth and open communication. Music and singing are other avenues.

In my view, Applied Behavioral Analysis has serious limitations. Don’t trust the verbage you hear about ABA being the only scientifically based therapy. Any good therapist uses art and science. And serendipity. written by Cameron Jackson cameronjacks@gmail.com

For more, visit Autism Vox

Santa Cruz is an ideal spot for children with autistic spectrum disorders to experience the healing and calm by surfing in Monterey Bay. We need something similar to Surfers Healing which is located in southern California. See below. If you are interested in starting such a camp or know of children who might benefit contact: Cameron Jackson, licensed psychologist 831 688-6002 cameronjacks@gmail.com

More info
For more information, contact Jennifer Tracy, camp coordinator, at (949) 370-1083 or go to www.surfershealing.org

The roar of the ocean surf lures thrill-seekers and adrenaline junkies to ride the waves. But many autistic children, like 8-year-old Alex Acebal of North Las Vegas, find the crashing waves a calming serenity to their normally jangled restlessness.

By the age of 3, Alex showed typical signs of autism such as failure to make eye contact, delay in learning to talk and throwing tantrums that went beyond the typical “terrible twos,” his mother, Shanea Acebal, said.

After being diagnosed with autism, Alex was enrolled in the school district’s autism program, but his parents were looking for other ways to break him out of his shell, his mother said.

Then she learned of Surfers Healing, a nonprofit foundation that runs free day camps for children with autism that allows them to ride a surfboard with a professional.

Israel “Izzy” and Danielle Paskowitz have run a for-profit surfing camp for 37 years. They started the Surfers Healing foundation and camp in 1999, after seeing the effect surfing had on their autistic son, Isaiah.

About 60 autistic children from the Las Vegas Valley are scheduled to attend the camp in San Diego on Aug. 5.

Many autistic children suffer from sensory overload. Simple sensations could overwhelm them, but for some reason, being on the water helped Isaiah to focus, Izzy Paskowitz said.

With Isaiah on the front of his surfboard, and his father steering from the back, the two spent the day surfing together.

“There’s something magical that happens that still, to this day, freaks me out,” he said. “It’s the surf of the ocean, but it’s really bigger than that.”

Now 18, Isaiah Paskowitz is surfing on his own and his behavior is stable enough to where he can be in public without having fits, his father said.

“I don’t think his behavior would be as consistent as it is now,” he said. “I know when he was in the water, that just helped him calm his nerves.”

Shanea Acebal saw a similar response in her son, Alex, though the first time at the camp was highly emotional for both mother and child.

“My son was screaming. He did not want to go into that ocean. He did not want to go with the surfer, and I was sobbing,” she said. “I was frightened for my son to see him crying.”

Alex’s mood did not change as he and the surfer paddled out over the waves to a spot beyond the breakers, where the water was placid.

They sat there for about 10 minutes and Alex showed he was no longer scared.

“We saw them paddling in and they were about to catch the wave. I saw my son’s face and he was smiling and he was excited. He was happy,” Shanea Acebal said. “When they came on the shore, he was calm, he was focused. Throughout the entire afternoon, he just sat still, which is very rare for a child with autism.”

More than 2,000 autistic children attend Surfers Healing camps on both coasts each year, Izzy Paskowitz said.

“Parents just have to let go and just let them try,” said Shanea Acebal, who helps the foundation organize Las Vegas families to attend. “There are parents who struggle on the beach and have a hard time seeing their child cry, but it’s worth it. If they try it once and they don’t like it, OK. But at least they tried it.”

Surfers Healing has teamed with Opportunity Village to raise money for the children with disabilities it serves locally and to provide autistic children the chance to attend the surfing camp.

The two charities are hosting a fundraiser from 3 to 9 p.m. on June 24 at Marie Callender’s, 600 E. Sahara Ave. Proceeds from a raffle will benefit Opportunity Village, and the restaurant will donate 15 percent of all sales to Surfers Healing.

This summer, Shanea and Alex Acebal will attend the camp for the sixth year.

Alex looks forward to surfing and on a recent family trip to Southern California, he was playing in the water and loving it, his mother said.

“He did ask, ‘Do we have a surfboard?’” she said. “He was in the water and he wasn’t scared.”

For more info go to: Surfers Healing