On Tuesday, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ernest H. Goldsmith signed an injunction staying the Malibu Lagoon restoration project, which was scheduled to begin next Wednesday, June 1. The stay will remain in place until Goldsmith renders a final decision on the case, which is expected to be in October of this year. Several environmental groups had appealed the California State Parks-led project, which had been approved by the Coastal Commission, on the basis that it would harm plant and animal species in the lagoon. Goldsmith wrote in the decision, “The harm that would result from the project approved by the California Coastal Commission would be severe … Petitioners have shown to the satisfaction of the Court that many species and their habitat would not recover.”