Tea Leaves -- July 4, 2015

The tea leaves continue to swirl. I still bet that US gasoline usage will hit an all-time record this August. If it does, it will be interesting if the mainstream media covers the record. It goes against all conventional "wisdom."

Everyone I talk to is quite surprised to hear that we are nearing an all-time gasoline demand record -- despite all the EVs on the road, and Elon Musk delivering a record number of Teslas this past quarter.

And despite the CAFE standards that have been put in place since Abraham Lincoln ran on the "green energy" ticket. And despite all the subcompacts being bought by millions of Americans on both coasts. And despite all the folks taking advantage of the best public transportation system in the world, the Los Angeles Metro.

But I digress.

What made me think (again) about the gasoline demand record possibly being broken this year was this story in the business section of today's Los Angeles Times:

The confrontation between competing tour bus operators on Hollywood Boulevard escalated quickly.

Jeff Napshin, owner of Star Track Tours, was distributing fliers on a busy corner a few months ago when an angry rival approached, ridiculing Napshin. Cellphone video shows Patrick Hickey, owner of Rockin' Hollywood Tours, getting more and more irate.

"Get that phone out of my face," Hickey shouted as he pushed the phone away, sending it crashing to the ground. On the video, Napshin can be heard complaining, "He just hit me. You witnessed it."

The tour bus business on Hollywood Boulevard has become ultra competitive — at times downright hostile. Operators are looking to score big profits from a recent surge in visitors to Los Angeles.

If the surge has already begun, it will only accelerate in August.  I know I'm doing my part, putting a lot of miles on my 2005 Chrysler minivan.

More data points from the article:

The rivalries among tour bus companies have become more heated as tourist numbers have climbed.

Los Angeles set a tourism record last year, with 44.2 million visitors, a 4.8% increase over the 2013 tally.

By the way, most of these tourists stay in motels and hotels and don't give a hoot about water restrictions and the California drought. Just saying.

*******************************

Los Angeles Destination: Billionaires' Beach

High on my list this summer is to visit Carbon Beach in Malibu. I really doubt I will do it; it's such a pain to drive that far north along the ocean this time of year, but I would be doing my part to keep public access to California beaches a reality.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting:

In the decades-long struggle to make the beaches fronting California's well-heeled coastal communities more accessible to the public that owns them, a mile-long stretch of Malibu known as Billionaires' Beach has been the site of a particularly pitched battle.

And on Tuesday, the commission will officially announce the opening of another path about a half-mile from the Geffen property.

Activists call it an important victory in the fight between homeowners seeking privacy and people eager to expand their right to walk, run, lie and play on the sand, which is public property up to the average high-tide line.

The debate over the new Carbon Beach trail dates back more than a decade. Access proponents have long wondered why property owner Lisette Ackerberg, who supported many conservation causes, fought so hard to keep people off the public beach in front of the home she and her husband, the late Norman Ackerberg, built on the coveted stretch of coast.

If I go I will have to go alone. I would have to park several miles from the access point and take a bus or walk. The family unit traveling with me is unlikely to want to walk that far. I could park at one of my favorite "museums," The Getty Villa, and then walk the 5.8 miles to Billionaires' Beach. Three miles/hour -- two hours. Each way. Or better yet, bike it. I have a bike carrier and a bike out here; park the car at the Getty and bike to the beach. Hmmmm.....a great photo op.