The Malibu Lagoon restoration project, which split enviromentalists into opposing camps and wound up in the courts, got the green light from a San Francsico Superior Court judge yesterday. From KPCC:

On Thursday a judge lifted his preliminary injunction on the restoration and affirmed the California Coastal Commission's decision to permit the restoration of the lagoon on one of the state's most popular and scenic stretches of coast, reconfiguring an area where Malibu Creek meets the Pacific Ocean at Surfrider Beach.

The judge had imposed a delay to consider a lawsuit some environmental groups had filed. They claim that the restoration plan is invasive and extreme, but the judge ruled that draining and bulldozing at the site can move forward because the Coastal Commission had considered all alternatives -- and the project won't block access to Surfrider Beach.

Opponents say they're going to keep fighting. More details in the LA Times and Malibu's Patch site.