Feinstein steps up to the plate

It’s heartening that a politician of the rank of Sen. Dianne Feinstein -- who hails from Northern California, after all -- has taken a personal interest in the fate of Bluebird Canyon.

Feinstein, who visited this week, was shocked by the state of the landslide zone so long after the event. Much has been done to remove destroyed homes, but much remains to make the area safe for the remaining residents farther up-canyon, not to mention giving displaced homeowners the ability to rebuild.

She hit the nail on the head with the observation that Laguna is simply too small a city to bear this burden alone. The state and federal governments must step up and help restore the public infrastructure, if nothing else.

The refusal of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to take responsibility has put a kink in receipt of funding virtually promised to the city by the state Office of Emergency Services.

Although state officials determined that state emergency funds are warranted, the fact is that no state disaster relief check has yet landed on the city manager’s desk.

Instead, the state is appealing FEMA’s decision that the landslide was not a result of winter rains, for which disaster relief was approved. The appeal is expected to take many months.

If state officials cannot change the minds of FEMA, there is no telling how much -- or even whether -- state funding will be forthcoming.

Unfortunately, by her own admission, Democrat Feinstein has little clout in the Bush Administration’s FEMA. Surely some of our local Republican leaders can join hands with the Senator to try and wring some cash from the government.

The loss of influential Congressman Chris Cox has been felt sharply in Laguna in the aftermath of the slide and the refusal of the federal agency to acknowledge the need here.

A new representative won’t be in place until the end of the year, and by that time, millions will need to be spent to shore up the area for winter.

Feinstein will need all the persuasive muscle she can muster to induce disaster relief officials to act.