Coastal Calif. Town Knows Sorrows Mudslides Bring

As with Oso, Wash., the coastal Southern California town of La Conchita knows the sorrows that a major mudslide can unleash. In 2005, a wall of debris slammed down from a bluff soaked by winter storms, killing 10 people and damaging or destroying 36 homes.

BOHEMIAN ENCLAVE

The huge mound of debris still sits where it came to rest in La Conchita, a town of about 300 residents who enjoy a laid-back beach lifestyle without the expenses of places such as Santa Barbara about 15 miles to the north along U.S. Highway 101. The buried homes are a stark reminder of lives lost — and the danger that persists. Resident John Leis survived the deadly Jan. 10, 2005, mudslide, and still leaves his rented house to find a hotel room during heavy rains. "It's always there in the back of your mind," Leis said of the danger.

A CRUCIAL DIFFERENCE

In La Conchita, the slide came on a Monday, after several days of rain. The sun was shining, and many of those who had been stuck indoors were outside. As a result, when the hill broke loose, many people were able to get away. The slide in Oso happened Saturday morning, when many people typically are at home. Of the 49 structures in the neighborhood, authorities believe at least 25 were full-time residences.

JIMMIE WALLET

One man became the face of the La Conchita tragedy. Jimmie Wallet had left his wife and three daughters at home to pick up some ice cream when the slide hit. He watched the wall of mud curve toward his block and ran to his home, but it was buried. Wallet, his face and clothes caked in mud, dug for hours overnight in a desperate — and vain — attempt to save his family.

THE AFTERMATH

A jury found that the company that owned 700 acres on the bluff above La Conchita failed to build adequate drainage. La Conchita Ranch Co. agreed to sell its assets to pay for damages claimed by 36 plaintiffs who were injured or lost relatives or property. Meanwhile, geologists have said that the bluff overlooking La Conchita will give way again.

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Published on: 10:52 AM

BITCOIN MYSTERY Calif. man denies creating digital currency after report

A 64-year-old Japanese-American man is vehemently denying any connection to bitcoin, despite a Newsweek cover story identifying him as the brains behind the bits. 

?Dorian S. Nakamoto, whom Newsweek identifies by his given name, Satoshi Nakamoto, told the Associated Press he has nothing to do with the bitcoin, a digital currency that has no physical form and lacks any ties to a country. Bitcoin is also wildly successful, as far as currencies go, with everyone from football teams to food shops announcing plans to accept the digital currency.

Reached at his home in Temple City, Calif., Nakamoto acknowledged that many of the details in Newsweek's report are correct, including that he once worked for a defense contractor. But he strongly disputes the magazine's assertion that he is "the face behind bitcoin."

Widely circulated stories have said in the past a genius kid in Tokyo came up with the concept. Not so, writes Leah McGrath Goodman in a cover story for the recently re-launched Newsweek magazine.

'I am no longer involved in that and I cannot discuss it. It's been turned over to other people.'

- Satoshi Nakamoto

“Far from leading to a Tokyo-based whiz kid using the name ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’ as a cipher or pseudonym (a story repeated by everyone from Bitcoin's rabid fans to The New Yorker), the trail followed by Newsweek led to a 64-year-old Japanese-American man whose name really is Satoshi Nakamoto. He is someone with a penchant for collecting model trains and a career shrouded in secrecy, having done classified work for major corporations and the U.S. military,” Goodman wrote. (See a picture of Nakamoto at Newsweek.com.)

Nakamoto, who lives in the foothills of Los Angeles, called the cops on Goodman when she showed up at his door.

"I am no longer involved in that and I cannot discuss it," he said, according to Goodman. "It's been turned over to other people. They are in charge of it now. I no longer have any connection."

Nakamoto graduated from California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, Calif., with a degree in physics, but Newsweek found him through his interest in model trains -- which he upgrades and modifies through computer-aided design (CAD). He lives in a “modest, single-family home in Southern California” and drives a silver Toyota Corolla CE, Goodman wrote -- and is worth an estimated $400 million.

In bitcoins. Of course.

That wealth may not last long. Mt. Gox, a Japanese company that is the world’s largest exchange of bitcoins, filed for bankruptcy protection at the end of February, announcing a massive theft of several hundred million dollars worth of the digital currency.

The bitcoin market had been tumultuous before that, with massive fluctuations in price driving exchange rates up and down by tens or even hundreds of dollars per day. The stress of the industry may be one reason 28-year-old Autumn Ratke, CEO of U.S.-based bitcoin exchange First Meta, committed suicide recently.

The explosion in popularity of the coin made reported early investors like Nakamoto instantly wealthy. Goodman interviewed Bitcoin's chief scientist, the 47-year-old Gavin Andresen. Another early investor, he has done well by bitcoins.

"I made a small investment in bitcoin and it is actually enough that I could now retire if I wanted to," Andresen told Newsweek. "Overall, I've made about $800 per penny I've invested. It's insane."

Nakamoto has been reluctant to spend his fortune, Goodman wrote -- money his family could use. The reason might be simple: He does not want to participate in the bitcoin madness, she noted.

“If you come out as the leader of bitcoin, now you have to make appearances and presentations and comments to the press and that didn't really fit with Satoshi's personality," Andresen told Newsweek.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

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Published on: 8:07 PM