Alameda Corridor gets a new finance deal, but what do residents get? pg. 6 Choosing Us—Evolve creates change through the power of theater pg. 11 Ports O’ Call Restaurant embraces the coming change pg. 12
Sen. Bernie Sanders at Safeco field in Seattle, Washington on March 25. Photo by Alex Garland Photography.
By Terelle Jerricks, Managing Editor
T
After 20-Plus Years, EPA Finally Says ‘Enough’ By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
On March 16, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency informed the South Coast Air Quality Management District that its 2012 pollution reduction plan for meeting Clean Air Act standards did not pass muster. The EPA rejected key elements of the plan, stating that the central cap-and-trade program “has not been effective,” approving others and setting some aside. It was the sharpest of several recent signs that the AQMD, under increasing industry influence, is significantly out of step with the science, the law and the regulatory community. The EPA had been on track to approve the plan before a group of public health and environmental organizations raised objections this last
November. The group was represented by Earthjustice. The specific concern was nitrogen oxide, NOx, for its role as a contributor to fine particulate matter, PM 2.5. Particulate matter also contributes to ground-level ozone (smog). AQMD’s NOx cap-and-trade program, NOx RECLAIM, has repeatedly failed to perform as well as direct regulation of refineries and other facilities. This is required by state and federal law, dating back to its inception in 1994. But oversight has been lax and slow-moving. So, the EPA’s action was attentiongrabbing, especially in light of recent AQMD actions weakening its regulatory commitment—most notably by ignoring its own staff and adopting an oil industry [See AQMD, page 7]
March 31 - April 13, 2016
[See Endorsement, page 3]
AQMD Pollution Plan Violates Clean Air Act
he leadership followed the lead of its rank and file on March 24, when the executive board of the International ILWU endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders. With an online ILWU rank and file for Bernie Sanders movement, Sanders’ primary wins in Washington, Hawaii and Alaska by wide margins seems to reflect that fact. He won at least 71 percent of the vote in each state, including 82 percent in Alaska. “Bernie Sanders is the best candidate for America’s working families,” said ILWU International President Robert McEllrath. “Bernie is best on the issues that matter most to American workers: better trade agreements, support for unions, fair wages, tuition for students and public colleges, Medicare for all, fighting a corrupt campaign finance system and confronting the power of Wall Street that’s making life harder for most Americans.” “The reason we are doing well is because we are talking about the real issues facing America and we’re telling the truth,” said Sanders in a victory speech in Wisconsin. The union represents roughly 50,000 workers in California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii.
The Local Publication You Actually Read
Bernie Gets ILWU Endorsement and Landslide Wins in Three States
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