[Source: Los Angeles Times] The warning signs appeared soon after Denise Kawamoto accepted a job at Today’s Fresh Start Charter School in South Los Angeles. Though she was fresh out of college, she was pretty sure it wasn’t normal for the school to churn so quickly through teachers or to mount surveillance cameras in each Read More…
Category: Local News
AQMD considers seeking a one-half cent sales tax in four counties for clean-air programs
[Source: Orange County Register] The South Coast Air Quality Management District is pursuing a one-half cent sales tax measure that would raise about $1.4 billion each year to pay for clean-air projects such as zero-emission cars, trucks, trains and cargo equipment. Some compare the proposal to ballot measures recently passed by voters benefitting transportation districts Read More…
L.A. weighs charging drivers by the mile, adding freeway tolls to cut congestion
[Source: Los Angeles Times] For years, Southern California lawmakers have tried to steer clear of decisions that make driving more expensive or miserable, afraid of angering one of their largest groups of constituents. But now, transportation officials say, congestion has grown so bad in Los Angeles County that politicians have no choice but to contemplate Read More…
FBI corruption inquiry could bring political fallout for Eric Garcetti and other L.A. leaders
[Source: Los Angeles Times] Mayor Eric Garcetti crisscrossed the country last year, arguing that Los Angeles is setting an example by boosting the minimum wage and investing in public transit, a record he says stands in contrast to the dysfunction of Washington, D.C. But if Garcetti runs for president, he could also face uncomfortable questions Read More…
Rush hour fee: ‘Congestion pricing’ plan proposed for LA commuters
[Source: CBSLA/News] It’s no secret that Los Angeles has some of the worst traffic in the world, but now county leaders are considering a plan that would charge commuters for driving in traffic-congested areas during rush hour. Metro and several other groups are pushing for “Congestion Pricing.” “Congestion Pricing is basically a way to relieve Read More…
State sues Quemetco, says battery recycling plant in City of Industry is guilty of 29 violations
[Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune] The state attorney general has sued Quemetco, the battery-recycling facility in City of Industry, citing 29 alleged violations involving failures to stop hazardous waste from migrating into the neighborhood and the underground aquifer, a source of drinking water for more than a million Los Angeles County residents, according to the Read More…
UTC Aerospace to end aircraft systems manufacturing in Chula Vista, cutting 300 jobs
[Source: LA Biz] UTC Aerospace Systems plans to wind down manufacturing at its Chula Vista aircraft plant beginning early next year, eliminating around 300 jobs. The company — a division of Farmington, Conn.-based conglomerate United Technologies — said the decision stems from ending production of certain commercial aircraft models. The Chula Vista plant builds aerodynamic Read More…
High level of toxic emissions cause closure of Anaplex, Paramount metal-finishing facility
[Source: Press-Telegram] The metal-finishing company Anaplex Corp. in Paramount was forced to close because of high-level emissions of a carcinogen on Thursday, Oct. 4, for the seventh time since February 2017. The South Coast Air Quality Management District ordered the temporary closure because the agency’s air monitors found above-threshold levels of toxic hexavalent chromium at the Read More…
Neighbors in Hacienda Heights concerned over lead-smelting plant expansion plans leave meeting frustrated
[Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune] More than 150 people attended a chaotic meeting Thursday night to hear about plans for a 25 percent increase in the recycling of toxic lead batteries at Quemetco’s facility in City of Industry, the lone lead-smelting plant remaining in Southern California. Many were frustrated over a workshop format chosen by Read More…