Protest the Marine Protected Area process in Eureka today at 4:30 p.m. Join the Eureka sport and commercial fishermen on land and, if you can bring your boat, in the water.

The meeting is in at the Aquatic Center at the northern end of Old Town right at the waters edge. This is the closest place where we can have a formal protest. The Crescent City meeting is at the Elk Valley Community Center on Thursday at 5 p.m. Out of respect for our Native American community; please do not attempt to protest there. You can go in and peacefully voice your opinion, but again please do not disrespect the meeting area or the Native American hosts.

Both meetings will have maps of proposed MPAs and individuals from the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative on hand to discuss options. At this point in the process, which still has one more round of Stakeholder meetings, there are three closed areas proposed in Del Norte County.

Sunday was the 66th anniversary of D-Day, June 6, 1944. It went by mostly ignored by all of us, no flags, and no mention, even from the pulpits.

Also, on Sunday, I finished Richard Maybury’s book, “World War II, the Rest of the Story,” which I heartily recommend everyone, from 14 to 100, procure and read carefully.

No offense to the “Greatest Generation,” but Maybury maintains that Normandy was unnecessary: Nazi Germany’s goose was cooked on Sept. 11, 1941, long before Pearl Harbor, when the first snow fell in Russia and the German army had yet to reach Moscow. Winter has always been Russia’s secret ally. (Funny how that date keeps popping up in history.)

Rep. Mike Thompson had an opinion piece in The Triplicate on May 15 recommending no more offshore drilling for California. As a retired civil engineer with 20 years’ experience in the oil industry, I respectfully disagree and provide the following rebuttal opinion.

Rep. Thompson contends that the risks of offshore drilling are too great and that it should not be done off California. He further contends there is not sufficient oil off California to justify drilling and that an incredible amount of marine habitat could be damaged beyond repair. He also contends that tourism and fishing would be hurt. He opines that California’s future is in renewable energy recognizing that this is decades away.