Court allows Exide to abandon a toxic site in Vernon. Taxpayers will fund the cleanup

[Source: Los Angeles Times] A bankruptcy court ruled Friday that Exide Technologies may abandon its shuttered battery recycling plant in Vernon, leaving a massive cleanup of lead and other toxic pollutants at the site and in surrounding neighborhoods to California taxpayers. The decision by Chief Judge Christopher Sontchi of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court District of 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…

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…

NASA satellite helps collect 15 years of Southern California air pollution data

[Source: Melanie Turner/ California Air Resources Board, Office of Communications] A new scientific study using satellite technology provides clear evidence that California’s tough clean air programs are working to reduce emissions of fine particle pollution throughout the state. Scientists from Emory University, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Air Resources Board worked together to Read More…