See our firefighters in action and a short interview with Battalion Chief Mike Nagy in this KTLA report. Bravo CCFD!

You can come tour Fire Station 1, enjoy a pancake breakfast and thank our firefighters for their service during FIRE SERVICE DAY on May 11th, 8am-3pm.

by Kelly Hartog, published in the Culver City Patch

Following the Feb. 8 Culver City Affordable Housing Seminar at Culver City City Hall, Culver City Councilmember Meghan Sahli-Wells said she felt the three hour event was a “resounding success.”

Sahli-Wells was instrumental in bringing together the City of Culver City, Assemblymember Holly Mitchell and a diverse panel that included Mayor Andy Weissman and representatives from a variety of organizations including Habitat for Humanity, Bank of America, Union Bank and the Los Angeles Housing Partnership.

“[The seminar] came about after looking at this year’s budget and seeing that there was no money for affordable housing in Culver City because the Redevelopment Agency had been eliminated,” Sahli-Wells told Patch. “I sat down with our housing director Tevis Barnes and we thought of some ways to address this major problem. This meeting was the first step. Its intent was to gather good people into the same room to find some concrete solutions to keep affordable housing alive.”

read the rest of the article here

Thank you to Bike Talk‘s Nicholas Richert and Culver City Bicycle Coalition‘s (CCBC) Steve Herbert for a great discussion on bikes & bike activism in Culver City.

Listen to the 1/12/13 edition of Bike Talk with the CCBC crew and Culver City Public Works staff here.

Thank you to the Lawyer’s Guild‘s Jim Lafferty for bringing more attention to fracking in California.

Listen to the 1/24/13 Lawyer’s Guild show with guests Kassie Siegel, Climate Law Institute Director for the Center for Biological Diversity , Kristin Lynch, Pacific Region Director for Food and Water Watch , and Paul Ferazzi, Executive Director of Citizens Coalition for a Safe Community.

It’s been a while since the last post. Rather than sitting down for long missives, lately I’ve been Tweeting as many events have unfolded.

On this day after Thanksgiving, here’s a handful of things for which I’m thankful:

Culver City residents passed the half-cent sales tax with an overwhelming 76.5% of the vote. This local sales tax measure will help eliminate the city’s $8 million deficit without cutting essential services like fire, police, park and senior programs, street maintenance, to name just a few. Going forward, the Council will continue to examine ways to cut spending and make our city services more cost-effective while fostering economic transparency, with the help of the newly-formed Finance Advisory Committee. Applications for this committee will be accepted until January 17, 2012 (request application from city.clerk@culvercity.org ).

Thank you Culver City voters for valuing our services & moving our city forward.

I took my first trip to Washington D.C. from November 16-19 to attend the inaugural meeting of Local Progress: a National Municipal Policy Network. With Councilmembers and County Supervisors from 32 different municipalities around the country, our first official vote unanimously approved our founding statement:

We have gathered together to build a coalition of municipal elected officials dedicated to broadly-shared prosperity, equal justice under law, sustainable and livable cities, and good government that serves the public interest directly. To serve these ends, we hereby proclaim the founding of Local Progress: A national municipal policy network.
                                                                                         — November 18, 2012

As the press release states:

Local Progress will facilitate sharing and development of policy innovations, local legislation, organizing strategies, and communication tools. It will also help progressive advocacy organizations and elected officials collaborate on policy work in cities around the country and elevate issues into the national dialogue.

It was a genuine pleasure to meet Councilmembers and Supervisors from around the country and find so many resources to make our city better. Photo: at opening reception with Councilmembers from Madison, Wisconsin and  Hartford, Connecticut.

While in Washington, I participated in the massive demonstration, asking President Obama to reject the Keystone XL pipeline that would bring dirty tarsands oil across the US from Canada. Organized by 350.org, and following Bill McKibben’s Do the Math Tour (which I attended with a group of Culver City residents when it was in Los Angeles), demonstrators of all ages encircled the White House with a giant inflatable “pipeline” with signs saying “Hurricane Sandy is a Clean Energy Mandate,” “Forward to a Clean Energy Economy,” and President Obama’s quote “Let’s be the generation that finally frees America from the tyranny of oil.”

One of the actions cities, universities, and individuals are called on to do: divest from all investments in oil companies. Following the example of the movement that helped overturn Apartheid in South Africa, those who believe that climate change must be stopped should demand divestment from the companies that pollute egregiously, while raking in massive profits. Students from Harvard, Unity College in Maine, University of Vermont, Hampshire College in Massachusetts, the Claremont Colleges and 37 other colleges around the nation are all asking their schools to divest.

I’ll be looking into Culver City’s investment portfolio next.

If you are interested in participating, please let the Council know.

Learn more about the Culver City budget & city finances here.

By Neela Banerjee, Washington Bureau

July 26, 2012, 4:38 p.m.

WASHINGTON — A Pennsylvania court overturned key parts of the state’s new natural gas development law that would have stripped municipalities of zoning rights and handed state agencies sole authority to determine where the controversial practice of high-volume hydraulic fracturing should occur.

Critics of the law, Act 13, argued that it would have compelled municipalities to allow hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, almost anywhere a company requested, without taking into account surroundings such as nearby schools, homes and waterways.

Industry advocates, however, contended that the law provided a uniform statewide zoning system that would have further bolstered Pennsylvania’s fracking boom. The law carved out a niche for the oil and gas sector as the only industry in Pennsylvania exempt from local zoning ordinances.

In ruling for the plaintiffs, the four-judge majority on the state appellate court said that local zoning provided for “rational development” so “there is not a ‘pig in the parlor instead of the barnyard.’” The ruling can be appealed to the state Supreme Court.

Fracking involves the high-pressure injection of millions of gallons of water and sand laced with chemicals deep underground to fracture shale formations and unlock oil and gas deposits.

The issue of who has control over fracking — localities or the state — is playing out almost everywhere that the technique is being used to produce natural gas, and some experts expect this decision to resonate beyond Pennsylvania.

Ohio has a law with similar zoning provisions. Colorado authorities recently warned the city of Longmont that they planned to sue over its local fracking law. Several towns in New York are being sued by gas companies because they have banned fracking, with the companies arguing that only the state has jurisdiction over such matters.

Even in fossil-fuel-friendly Texas, Dallas homeowners have mounted a campaign for stricter zoning and regulation of fracking within city limits.

“States are failing to protect communities from fracking and its various impacts, so the only place people can turn is to is local government,” said John Rumpler, senior attorney for Environment America, an environmental advocacy group.

In Pennsylvania, the state was sued by seven municipalities, mostly in southwestern Pennsylvania, where fracking is widespread and growing. The towns were joined by an environmental group and a local doctor, and the complaint was made by Democrats and Republicans alike. John Smith, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said most of the towns already had fracking operations.

“We’re not against drilling; we just want it done responsibly,” said Andy Schrader, a supervisor for Cecil Township, one of the plaintiffs.

The state attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The state has 30 days to decide whether to appeal.

Industry advocates suggested that the ruling could slow a fracking rush in the state that has brought jobs and wealth to some communities — but also controversy over pollution. Marcellus Shale Coalition President Kathryn Z. Klaber said: “Lack of uniformity has long been an Achilles’ heel for Pennsylvania and must be resolved if the commonwealth is to remain a leader in responsible American natural gas development and reap the associated economic, environmental and national security benefits.”

neela.banerjee@latimes.com

The City of Culver City urges Governor Jerry Brown and the California State Department of Conservation, Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (DOGGR), to immediately place a moratorium ban on hydraulic fracturing and on the disposal of fracking wastewater by injection wells until DOGGR takes all necessary and appropriate actions to adopt, implement and enforce comprehensive regulations concerning the practice of fracking that will ensure that public health and safety and the environment will be adequately protected.

Words matter. The original resolution called for a moratorium… but after hearing from scores of residents over the last several months and reading many studies, reports, and articles, I made the motion to change the word moratorium in the resolution to ban.

image from “The Sky is Pink” by director Josh Fox – see film here

There is a lot more to be learned about hydraulic fracturing. There are countless facts to be found. The Council asks that the information be gathered, publicly vetted, peer-reviewed, science-based, that all the potential risks be examined thoroughly before moving forward with fracking in our State – and our City. If it can’t be proven safe, it can’t happen.

Hydraulic fracturing has significant potential to affect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the very ground we stand on. In regions across the U.S., the EPA, US Geological Survey, and countless peer-reviewed studies have shown that the fracking process has been the cause of water contamination, air pollution, and seismic activity.

To my knowledge, the largest urban oilfield in the U.S., the Inglewood Oil Field, has not yet been subject of comprehensive studies by the EPA or USGS that guarantee the safety of hydraulic fracturing. Yet the unique conditions on the ground should make our specific location subject to special study:

- The largest urban oilfield in the country, the large population means that the slightest accident will have maximum impact on human health & welfare – and economic impact on our many homes and businesses.

- Water supply: we live in a drought-prone area with a scarcity of local water sources. Already largely dependent on imported water, we pay much more for water than most communities. Fracking is water-intensive – using millions of gallons of water that are mixed with chemicals, then pumped into the ground. Some of the chemical-laced water is recycled, some stays in the ground, some will be deliberately injected back into the ground, and some will be shipped off to be treated. (Where is is shipped? How is it treated?) Every stage of this process carries a risk of leaks, spills and contamination. Plus, the large amount of water involved cannot be used for domestic needs. If we lose the little water we have through contamination or overuse, we will become even more dependent on expensive, energy-intensive imported water, which has an environmental and monetary cost we can little afford.

- Watershed: furthermore we are part of the sensitive Ballona Creek Watershed – which has taken years and millions of dollars to begin restoring. This waterway empties into the Santa Monica Bay, which has equally been a focus point for major on-going clean-up efforts. The Inglewood Oil Field is adjacent this watershed. In fact, just this year there was a leak of a poorly abandoned well from a previous oil company, necessitating the closure of the Culver City Dog Park, uphill from the Creek. Further, PXP has previously submitted plans that include horizontal drilling directly under La Ballona Creek. Ground water contamination from fracking as well as surface leakage in this extremely sensitive area must be studied thoroughly before fracking can take place.

- Earthquakes: the oil field is on an active 7.4 magnitude fault line. The US Geological Survey has already linked earthquakes to water-injection (part of the fracking process). Even if this weren’t the case, it still remains to be proven whether the well casings can withstand the naturally occurring earthquakes in this region. We need to see real data in order to make the determination whether this practice is suitable for this area.

- Climate Change & air quality: our city has taken considerable steps to improve our air and water quality, reduce greenhouse gases and introduce sustainable measures in its schools, public buildings and homes. How much C02, methane or other gasses are released during the entire fracking process (trucking materials to & from the site, heavy machinery onsite, chemical preparation & transport, frack job itself, ongoing oil extraction, frack fluid transport & disposal)? Are these in compliance with CA’s climate targets?

Finally, California’s regulatory agency DOGGR (Division of Oil Gas & Geothermal Resources), has publicly admitted existing regulations are inadequate, therefore they are currently adapting new rules, specific to the practice of fracking.

It is for these, and many other reasons that I support the Resolution to ask Governor Brown & DOGGR to place a ban of fracking until it can be proven safe with comprehensive, publicly-vetted, regulations and enforcement measures in place.
 

Buck Up

Last week, the Council unanimously passed the 2012-2013 budget [lots of documentation here]. It contains both bad and good: cuts in employees, $0 for new affordable housing projects, $0 for most arts programs (previously funded by Redevelopment), but on the brighter side, for the employee positions cut, most were offered positions in other departments, there was an additional $150,000 given to affordable housing services provided by Upward Bound House, and serious cuts in services were avoided… for this year. The 5-year forecast is bleak, and we’re all faced with a big choice: cut services or raise revenues. See a video presentation of “City Finance 101″ by CFO Jeff Muir here and accompanying PDF here.

Beginning last night, and until July 16th, there will be a series of community meetings to educate the public and to receive community input on the financial outlook of the city. You may download the presentation here: Community Dialogue On City Finances

Saturday, June 23, 2012 – 10:00 AM El Rincon Elementary School
Monday, June 25, 2012 – 7:00 PM Veterans Memorial Rotunda Room
Monday, July 9, 2012 – 7:00 PM Linwood Howe Elementary School

The community input last night was both thoughtful and helpful. Please join us to give your insight.

Frack This

Ohhhh…. where does one start? How about a video by EarthJustice – Fracking: Things Find a Way.

How about a couple of not-so-fun facts: the Inglewood Oil Field is 1100 acres, 100 of which are in Culver City. It is the largest urban oil field in the nation. Fracking is not regulated in the state of California. Fracking has already taken place in the Inglewood Oil Field, and there are plans to do more in the future.

On June 6, the CA Department of Conservation organized a workshop in Culver City on Hydraulic Fracturing. See video of the workshop here. Culver City residents and people from around the County spoke out about their concerns regarding this controversial extraction technique. Overwhelmingly, the public called for a ban on fracking. Some of the community groups present included: Citizens Coalition for a Safe Community, Food and Water Watch, Grassroots Coalition, Baldwin Hills Oil Watch, Natural Resources Defense Council, Heal the Bay, Sierra Club, and many more.

Finally, Some Good News

Culver City’s lightrail station is opening tomorrow! After years of waiting…

Culver City bus lines 1 and 7 will be free, as will rides on the Expo line starting at Culver City & Farmdale stations (both opening tomorrow). The opening coincides with the Downtown Neighborhood Association’s Block Party. Learn more on Culver City’s website.