It’s been great to see young activists in Huntington Beach’s Oak View barrio (and to the beach burghers aghast that I’d refer to the neighborhood as a barrio: the locos I kick it with there refer to it as such, so why can’t you?) continue to raise DESMADRE against the monstrous garbage dump across the street from their homes. As I wrote last year, a group called Oak View ComUNIDAD has led the fight to keep Rainbow Environmental Services accountable after decades of getting free passes from Surf City politicians, nonprofits—basically anyone and everyone in the city who doesn’t live in one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Orange County.
ComUNIDAD is keeping up the pressure tomorrow by hosting an air monitoring workshop for their neighbors. With the help of folks with the UC Irvine Environmental Law Clinic, they’ll train interested folks on the ins-and-outs of environmental monitoring equipment, including air monitoring buckets (to see that the stenches Oak View must suffer hourly aren’t TOO toxic), soil sampling and strips that capture the particulates in the air. Leading the training is one Denny Larson, a former executive director with Global Community Monitor who came out on 60 Minutes last year in their devastating exposé of Lumber Liquidators.
The end game for Oak View is to have Rainbow be a good neighbor—about as good a neighbor as a multi-acre dump next to houses and apartments may be. Event starts at 6 p.m., and here’s the Facebook page with more info. See you there!
