Content area
Full Text
Saying they want more control over San Diego's growing cruise-ship industry, the Board of Port Commissioners voted Tuesday to reduce the powers of the local Cruise Ship Consortium from that of a largely independent body to one that reports directly to the board.
Commissioner Dan Larsen was the only member of the board to vote against a series of changes affecting the cruise ship industry, which receives about $100,000 a year from the port. The other commissioners backed the redesigned Cruise Ship Consortium in a 5 to 1 vote.
"We should keep the consortium as it is," Larsen said. "To be successful, it has to have a degree of independence. They must have the freedom to choose their own course of action. If there's nothing wrong with it, why change it?"
The Cruise Ship Consortium was set up eight years ago by the San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau to try to bring major cruise lines into San Diego Bay. Former City Councilman Bill Cleator, who helped set up and manage the...
