drakes_bay_oyster_company
Supporters of Drakes Bay Oyster Company heard pleas for financial support during a $500 a head dinner at McEvoy Ranch last Sunday. The farm, which is awaiting an answer to its request for a hearing by an 11-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit, has been relying on the generosity of law firms and fans to fuel its legal battle. Corey Goodman spoke of the poor science that spurred that battle; former Representative Pete McCloskey addressed the original idea behind the seashore, which he argues included the indefinite operation of the oyster farm; Tolar Nolley, a Virginia man who founded an oyster collective in the Chesapeake Bay, spoke of the universal benefits of the bivalve; and lawyer John Briscoe offered a rousing interpretation of the Ninth Circuit’s recent ruling and reason to hope there’s a good “mathematical” chance the farm could prevail. Later, the crowd ambled up a road flanked by green-gold hills to an olive grove where a chef’s table stretched between two rows; people were treated to six courses that included multiple salads. — Tess Elliott David Briggs