Bishop lawyer turns down top TRPA job

Wednesday, May 3, 2000 | 11:58 a.m.

In a letter to the California-Nevada TRPA, Greg James said he considered the post "one of my highest personal goals" and "the pinnacle of my career in public service."

But he said his two sons wouldn't have been with him if he took the job based at Lake Tahoe, and his family responsibilities came first.

James, director of the Inyo County Water Department and special legal counsel to Inyo County, had been picked last week from three finalists interviewed by TRPA's governing board.

The other finalists were Pamela Wilcox, Nevada's State Lands administrator, and Bill Allayaud, a principal planner for Salt Lake City and former planner with the California Coastal Commission.

More than 100 people applied for the job, vacated by Jim Baetge in January due to health concerns.

TRPA was established by Congress in 1969 to take the lead role in preserving Lake Tahoe, which is suffering from a host of ecological ills. Algae growth resulting from human-caused pollution is stealing the lake's famed clarity at an average rate of more than a foot each year.

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