Community Announcements:
Harbor Area California Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record
The State of California’s Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record or DCVR portal allows Californians to download their COVID-19 vaccination record. In order for you to obtain your record: COVID-19 vaccination information must have been submitted to the California Immunization Registry (CAIR2, SDIR, and RIDE) by your vaccination provider. All the information you enter into the DCVR Portal must match your record in the registry. Details: www./myvaccinerecord.cdph.ca.gov
Port Extends Public Comment Period On Draft EIR For SCIG Project
SAN PEDRO – The Port of Los Angeles July 15, extended the public comment period to Aug. 25 to provide opportunity for additional public comment on a revised draft environmental impact report (revised craft EIR) for the Southern California International Gateway (SCIG) Project. SCIG is a proposed BNSF intermodal rail yard facility that would be located on an existing industrial site within four miles of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, with direct access to the Alameda Rail Corridor. All environmental documents related to the SCIG Project, including the revised craft EIR, are available at www.portoflosangeles.org/environment/environmental-documents Written comments and questions may also be sent via email to ceqacomments@portla.org. Comments sent via email should include “SCIG Project” in the subject line and a valid mailing address in the email. Questions may also be directed to Lisa Ochsner with the Port of Los Angeles Environmental Management Division at 310-7323412.
Toberman Neighborhood Center: Annual School Supplies Drive Toberman Neighborhood Center is accepting donations through Aug. 6. Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with drive-thru drop off available 3 to 5 p.m. Venue: Drop off at Toberman Neighborhood Center, 131 N. Grand Ave., San Pedro
Harbor Communities Grant Opportunity
Virtual Webinar on Prop. 19 with Assessor Jeff Prang
The Los Angeles City Council recently voted to support a series of recommendations from Con[See Announcements, p. 5]
By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
A recent lawsuit filed by Vopak brings to light a startling reality: The Port of Los Angeles does not normally use competitive bidding to get market value from its long-term leases — its primary source of revenue — resulting in the loss of millions of dollars annually. Vopak operates a marine terminal and storage facility at Berths 186-190 of the Port of LA, where the company handles petroleum products, chemicals and biofuels with 82 tanks and a total capacity of almost 2.4 million barrels. Vopak also has a terminal at the Port of Long Beach, with 55 tanks and a capacity of almost 350,000 barrels. These are just two of 72 terminals it owns worldwide, either in whole or in partnerships. On May 24, Vopak filed suit against its former West Coast sales and marketing manager, Anthony Santich, alleging breach of his employee confidentiality agreement and his separation agreement, interference with a business relationship and a prospective relationship, misappropriation of trade secrets and conspiracy. All these allegations derive from claims that Santich provided information arguing that the Port of LA was significantly undervaluing the 30-year lease it was negotiating with Vopak—which would become apparent if the port opened up the lease to competitive bidding via a request for proposal (RFP). Santich also allegedly provided evidence of discriminatory practices to Joe Gatlin of the San Pedro/Wilmington NAACP. Three days later, Judge Michael P. Vicencia denied Vopak’s application for a temporary restraining order, and on July 13, Santich filed an “anti-SLAPP” motion to dismiss. That motion stated, in part: It is indisputable that the people of Los
Vopak terminal and storage facility in the Port of LA. File photo
Angeles have a “public interest” in the operation of the Port of Los Angeles. That includes, of course, whether operators at the Port have diverse hiring practices. That also includes whether the Port’s operators are conducting business in a manner that benefits the community, or in the alternative, are seeking to extract benefits at the expense of the community. The Port conducting a Request for Proposal (“RFP”) is an excellent way to get at the heart of both such issues, providing a transparent process to assure that these valuable leases on public land are awarded to the operators that serve not just themselves, but the community’s goals as well. Yet, plaintiff Vopak Terminal Los Angeles, Inc.’s (“Plaintiff”) complaint (“Complaint” ) seeks to silence a former employee
for speaking out about these very issues…. This is the essence of a strategic lawsuit to prevent public participation, and it is for such circumstances that California’s AntiSLAPP Statute exists.
However this lawsuit is ultimately settled, the underlying situation is profoundly troubling. The crux of the matter comes through clearly in a Jan. 13 email to Councilman Joe Buscaino’s chief of staff, Jacok Haik, from Daniel Xia, another former Vopak employee, whom the Vopak lawsuit accuses of being a go-between: “I think the main takeaway is that the POLA is likely leaving more than $100M plus on the table with the current Vopak negotiation.... An RFP open bid process of the terminal is the best way for POLA to get their terminal assets’ real value.”
POLA Secretively Shuts Down Air Pollution Monitoring at “Highest Exposure” Site on Pier 300 By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
The volume of cargo ships entering the Port of Los Angeles is at an all-time high, and the port hasn’t been shy about celebrating — a June 10 press release bragged about becoming “the first port in the Western Hemisphere to process 10 million container units in a 12-month period.” But the port didn’t make a peep one month earlier when it was time to measure pollutants, not profits. It’s not that the environmental figures were underpublicized or talked down. Without any explanation at all, the port simply stopped reporting emissions from the Source-Dominated Air Pollution Monitoring Site on Pier 300 — the spot where the port, in more talkative times, has repeatedly said “is expected to have the highest exposure to emissions from Port operations, as it is in direct proximity to terminal operators which use a large number of diesel engine sources.” Andrea Hricko, USC professor emerita of public health, was the lead author of a letter bringing this to the attention of the Harbor Commission, port staff and the two relevant
government oversight agencies, the California Air Resources Board and the South Coast Air Quality Management District. She was joined by representatives of San Pedro & Peninsula Homeowners Coalition, San Pedro Peninsula Homeowners United, Inc., West Long Beach Association, Coalition For A Safe Environment, Earthjustice, East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, Sierra Club, Community Dreams Wilmington, NAACP, San Pedro-Wilmington Branch, California Kids IAQ, Wilmington and EMeRGE, Wilmington. Hricko’s efforts to get an explanation from staff have been fruitless, even with a public records act request. “The volume of cargo ships entering the port is at an all-time high,” Hricko noted. “It is definitely of concern that the port has chosen to suspend the monitoring station that is at the ‘center of Port operations’ at exactly the same time when cargo volume and ship calls at the
Port of Los Angeles are at record highs. We note that the Port of Los Angeles has issued six press releases in 2021 alone touting its record cargo volumes.” She went on to note that “A fact sheet by the California Air Resources Board is attached documenting that up to 40 ships at a time have been seen anchoring in the San Pedro Bay Ports, raising concerns about increased pollution.” That fact sheet shows a 47% increase in TEU volume from March 2019 to March 2021. It estimated health disbenefits of 20 excess deaths a year in the South Coast Air Basin. The letter called for the immediate reinstatement of the Source-Dominated station, along with the continued monitoring of black carbon as a marker for diesel emissions at the Wilmington and San Pedro monitoring sites, as well as continued posting on the Clean Air Action Plan website.
July 22 - August 4, 2021
311 Call Center
Lack of competitive bidding likely costs POLA millions annually, new lawsuit reveals
Overwhelmed by recent news of Prop 19? This law brings tax savings to California residents when inheriting a home. Learn the detailed steps necessary to prepare a transfer of your primary home to your children or grandchildren. Take advantage of this one-on-one time with Assessor Prang. In addition to answering your questions, he will explain the parent-child exclusion, requirements for qualification, and the difference between a will and a trust; plus provide the formula to calculate the specifics. Time: 2 p.m. July 28 Details: RSVP 626-403-5445; ecsforseniors.org/ prop19
Short-Changed!
Real People, Real News, Really Effective
The Harbor Community Benefit Foundation, in collaboration with the TraPac Appellants, has announced the solicitation of applications for round two of the Healthy Harbor Communities Initiative Grant Program. Launched in 2020, the purpose of this grant program is to address and mitigate the impacts of Port of Los Angeles and port-related activity on the health and well-being of San Pedro and Wilmington residents. HCBF intends to distribute up to a total of $350,000 in grant awards. It anticipates awarding funds for three proposals, with $250,000 available for one large grant, and the remaining $100,000 available for two grants of $50,000 each. Details: www.harbor-communities-initiative-grantprogram
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