By Samuel Strait – Reporter at Large – January 24, 2021 When commercial fishing struggles to pay its bills, the harbor will not be far behind. In recent years as the commercial fishing fleet has scrambled to overcome shrinking seasons, regulations, high fuel costs,insurance and a host of other responsibilities, so has the harbor struggled to pay its bills. The passage of Measure C in 2018 and the subsequent income, did not mean that the Harbor Commission was in the clear and could start taking on projects that were flawed from the very start. The recent dive into solar power should not make any one on the commission comfortable with that decision as there are a number of issues with solar power that have clearly been over looked. If the commission is trying to emulate our feckless governor and his insistence that California will be into solar power, electric cars, and new houses powered by the sun, they might be over looking the impossibility of his eco friendly dreams for the State. Currently both solar and wind power make up less than ten percent of the power sources in the entire state. Electric vehicles represent about the same percentage of cars in the State. We currently have at least two recharging stations in this area, and they do not appear to be over used. Solar power itself has an even bigger set of problems that have unlikely to have been mentioned when the harbor was talked into its current set up. Maintenance and durability here on the coast will become an issue early on in the life of the harbor's solar array. It may not come back to haunt the harbor's current commission, but at some point in the near future it will. In the mean time money has been spent on the project the harbor can ill afford, and the debt for the inner boat basin remains. With poor fishing seasons possibly on the horizon, and tourism as an alternate income less certain in the immediate future if ever, worrying about the light bill seems a bit short sighted. Clearly the focus might have been more in line with the promises made when Measure C was placed on the ballot of taking care of the debt and the long over due deferred maintenance that has built up over many years. I am not certain how many voters make the mistake of taking office holders at their word, but apparently enough that believe the propaganda that sold Measure C to the public would result in responsible behavior in the harbor commission's meetings and decisions. I would say that is not the case. While I agree with one of the comments made about the first portion of this series, a Santa Cruz Boardwalk along the road to Whaler's Island, it might be a bit of a stretch in the times we are living. Many coastal community's have taken ideas similar to that and made for a welcoming place for visitors to spent time and money. While it may not allow for a full time ferris wheel, entertainment for a substantial portion of the year could attract people to the harbor. Small communities which have utilized their assets to the fullest generally do much better. The harbor would do well to heed that measure of success, rather than chase Governor Newsom's dreams.