Representative Mike Levin Honors Victims of Encinitas Bluff Collapse on House Floor
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representative Mike Levin (D-CA) honored the victims of the bluff collapse at Grandview Beach in Encinitas, California. On August 2nd, Julie Davis, Annie Clave, and Elizabeth Charles passed away after a coastal bluff collapsed on top of them. Representative Levin recently met with Dr. Pat Davis, who lost his wife, one of his daughters, and his sister-in-law on that day.
Levin recently called on Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Russell Vought to approve federal funding for the Encinitas-Solana Beach Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Project, also known as the San Diego County Shore Protection Project, which would stabilize tall bluffs that erode due to high-energy storm swells, posing threats to life, property, and critical infrastructure.
Several days before the Encinitas collapse, Levin called on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide additional federal funding for the Planning, Engineering, and Design (PED) of the Solana Beach-Encinitas Coastal Shore Protection Project.
Click here for video of Rep. Levin’s speech or see below for a transcript of his remarks:
Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I rise today to recognize an unimaginable tragedy that occurred in my district last month. On August 2nd, three women from the same family died when a coastal bluff at Grandview Beach in Encinitas collapsed on top of them. Julie Davis, Annie Clave, and Elizabeth Charles.
They were enjoying a day at the beach with family and friends, celebrating Elizabeth’s triumph over breast cancer. Suddenly, all three were lost.
There is a lot that I would like to say about the government’s responsibility to help prevent similar tragedies in the future, but instead I want to use this moment to recognize the extraordinary light that all three of these women brought into this world.
I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Pat Davis, who lost his wife, one of his daughters, and his sister-in-law on that day.
Today, Dr. Davis is committed to ensuring that no one else experiences the same kind of loss that he has. He has called for action from local, state, and federal officials to prevent future bluff collapses, and we stand together in these efforts. He is truly an inspiration.
Please take a moment to think of Julie, Annie, and Elizabeth. May they rest in peace.
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