Buscaino says city’s new antihomeless measures don’t go far enough p. 2 Proud Boys’ Pt. Fermin Love Fest ends with a whimper p. 4 SP Int’l Film Festival celebrates its 10th anniversary p. 11
By Melina Paris, Assistant Editor
[See Stories, p. 14]
Beta Operating is in line to get another $11 million to drill four new wells off the coast By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
SAN PEDRO BAY — Amplify Energy’s 3-1/2 hour delay in shutting down its pipeline after a low pressure alarm was just the first indication of systemic failures contributing to California’s most recent offshore oil spill. Signs of the spill were reported to the Coast Guard even earlier, as numerous residents either smelled the odor, or saw an oil slick as early as 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 1. But Amplify’s operational failure was enabled by governmental failure at every level, from local to national, as quickly became evident. On Oct. 6, Capital and Main reported that the City of Long Beach had signed a 20-year lease with Amplify on a pumping station in June 2020 “that could extend the pipeline’s life through 2040,” when it would be more than 60 years old — about double the initial expected lifetime, according to Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “A lot of platforms and pipelines when they were constructed in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, the oil companies said their expected lifespans is 30 years, and were already well past that for most of these new platforms and pipelines,” Monsell told Random Lengths News. “It’s high time to shut it all down, and start decommissioning it all.” In fact, the 1985 environmental impact report for the Plains All American Pipeline that ruptured in 2015 “determined that the risk of a spill more than doubles as the pipeline aged from 20 to 40 years,” Monsel wrote on Oct. 8, when CBD filed a notice of intent to sue the Joe Biden administration if it fails to “reexamine the offshore oil industry’s threat to California’s endangered species and their habitats,” in light of the oil spill as well as well new information not previously considered, as called for in the Endangered Species Act. This was but one of a series of actions CBD has been involved in trying to hold the Biden administration to his campaign promises of vigorous action to combat catastrophic climate change. The Biden [See Clean Up, p. 6] 1
Real People, Real News, Really Effective
Telling stories around a fire is one of the most ancient forms of entertainment. So says producer and director Melanie Jones, the host and resident witch of Scary Stories at Angels Gate Cultural Center. Jones describes eerie tales as a release valve for people’s genuine fears. For 19 years, actors have performed almost 200 individual stories, offering a unique program each October for one night only — the Saturday before Halloween. The performance takes place outside in the amphitheater at Angels Gate Cultural Center around the bonfire.
OC Oil Spill Opens Window On Systemic Failures
October 28 - November 10, 2021
Scary Stories founder Melanie Jones dressed as a witch welcomes people back to Angels Gate Cultural Center for a frightful night of theatrical story telling. Photo by Arturo Garcia-Ayala