Beside the North bridge was land I wanted for a retreat center, a place of peace. A friend named it Sangha, a word for community. A friend of my parents funded the purchase, then wanted out. I found other investors to buy him out. That became my pattern. When someone wanted to leave, I found a replacement buyer or a loan to pay them back, often with interest. I took loans at high rates to keep my promises.
I wanted things to move faster, so I went to the mayor about Sangha. He introduced me to a developer, who did help us move faster. I trusted him with more and more, including South. I did not understand how much the project came to depend on him.
Then North got its permits after all. I had moved people to South to protect them, and now South had its own access dispute. That led to more land and another company, Slow Living.
While I was on a ten-day silent retreat, the developer brought machines onto South to reopen what he said was an old path. The work went beyond that path, without permits. Drone footage spread, and the story of Yoko destroying nature went far beyond Santa Teresa. I had approved reopening an old path, not new work. But I co-founded Yoko and I was leading it, and Yoko's name was on it.
South's permits were later obtained. That is not the same as settling every claim about that work.