Beach Closed, Keep Out: Billionaire Tries to Block Surfers

Andrew Blankstein and Kevin Monahan - Friday, 29 Aug 2014 | 8:45 AM ET - NBC News

The beach is so central to California's identity that the right of surfers and sun lovers to access the sand is guaranteed in the state Constitution.

But now so many local landowners want to block public access to their chunks of the coveted coastline that there are several hundred alleged violations pending before state officials, including a highly charged case in which Vinod Khosla, a green energy billionaire with ties to President Obama, is fighting surfers over access to a beach south of San Francisco.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101957304#.