RMC Digest

     The RMC Digest is a subset of stories from the Current and Previous digests. It includes stories which mention the RMC or refer to projects in which the RMC is involved.
     Click on a story title below and you will be linked to the original story at the newspaper's web site. Note: Occasionally a story becomes unavailable online after the original publication date.

1. Grant to fund river makeover at Encanto Park
   Sunday, May 11, 2008, Pasadena Star News, By Melissa Pamer, Staff Writer
   DUARTE - By this time next year, Encanto Park could be edged with native plants and flowing water - part of a broader regional effort to provide access to the San Gabriel River. With a $508,000 state grant, Duarte will build a 1,000-foot-long "bioswale," or natural water filtration area, along the western perimeter of the park, which features views of the nearby San Gabriel Mountains and the river canyon. The bioswale - essentially a small wetlands in a narrow ditch - will filter runoff and help to solve a long-standing drainage problem at 12-acre Encanto Park.
         The grant is from the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, which in 2006 provided $150,000 for planning the project. An outdoor classroom and interpretative signs will also be part of the project, funded with a $100,000 grant from county Supervisor Michael Antonovich.
         The project goes along with the city's pledge in 2005 to support the Emerald Necklace park network. The "necklace" - would provide increased open space and access to parks along , the San Gabriel and the Rio Hondo rivers, from Duarte to Whittier. "One of the most beautiful places along the San Gabriel River is in Azusa andDuarte," said Belinda Faustinos, the conservancy's executive officer. Duarte officials are working with the Corps of Engineers to link Encanto Park to a nature trail along the river, to be called Encanto Nature Walk.

2. Long Beach cuts the ribbon on a wetlands wonder
   May 9, 2008, Long Beach Press Telegram, By Pamela Hale-Burns, Staff Writer
   LONG BEACH – With an array of beautiful flowers and wildlife in the background, Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster and Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe cut the ribbon at the opening of the $7million, 50-acre Dominguez Gap Wetlands project in Long Beach on Thursday. The wetlands project, along the east and west sides of the Los Angeles River between Del Amo Boulevard and the San Diego (405) Freeway, still offers flood protection along the river's urban lower reaches. But it also helps improve groundwater quality, restores some native habitat and offers trails for walkers and horseback riders.
         Water flows into the wetlands from the river and Long Beach-area storm drains. Some 1.3 million gallons per day is then treated by the wetlands' plant life, which removes traces of heavy metals, organic carbons, oil and greases from urban runoff. Some of the wildlife native to the area, including the red-shouldered hawk, the great blue heron, and the tri-colored blackbird, are returning to the region, according to county officials. Plants like purple sage, buckwheat, monkeyflower and willow trees are also part of the habitat.   The 24-hour facility is open to the public except on storm days, when it is closed for security reasons.
         Construction was funded with a $2.35 million Proposition 13 CALFED grant, $200,000 from Proposition 40 funds administered through the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, $400,000 from the California Coastal Conservancy Wetland Recovery Project, and $4 million from the Los Angeles County Flood Control District.

3. With Hope as Strong as Certainty
   Wednesday March 26, 2008, The (Long Beach) District Weekly, by Dave Wielenga
         All I could see of the Los Cerritos Wetlands was the view from the south side of Second Street, outside an open chain-link gate with a No Trespassing sign. The land is graded flat, shaved to stubble, crisscrossed by pipes and incongruously dotted with desert palms and repugnant pools of shopping-center runoff. This is part of what passes for wilderness in Long Beach, some of the 66 acres the Los Cerritos Wetlands Trust purchased in 2006. Only 500 acres of open space remain from an ecosystem that not long ago covered 2,400 acres.
         On March 31, the city of Long Beach will conclude its public-opinion survey before rewriting the master plan—known as SEADIP (Southeast Area Development and Improvement Plan)—that will govern the development of this waterfront area for decades to come. “The area is in rough shape,” acknowledged 26-year-old Eric Zahn as he arrived to take me on a walk through the Los Cerritos Wetlands. He lectures on urban wetlands ecology at Long Beach State. “But surprisingly, the land is functioning at a wetlands level.” The problem is that almost nobody who will be answering the survey questions has ever really seen the Los Cerritos Wetlands. Most of it is off-limits to the public.
         But as Zahn traipsed across the pillaged landscape, his attitude was upbeat. “That grass right there—it's salt grass, It's actually the only plant where a threatened species of butterfly—the wandering skipper—lays its eggs. If you have this grass on your property,” Zahn said, smiling persistently, “it makes the land very hard to develop. The California Coastal Commission won't allow it.” Zahn continued to show me the land's softer sides, those wide expanses of mud that we kept avoiding and the soaring snowy egrets, great blue herons, red-tailed hawks and northern shoveler ducks that inexplicably like it here.
         Zahn suggested a walk across the wetlands on the north side of Second Street. Zahn. Long Beach's greatest natural wonder is the still-thriving 50-acre core of the Los Cerritos Wetlands. We encountered a sweeping and mushy valley that swirled with constant movement, the birds and animals and plants reacting to each day's tides. “That's why you see all the sandpipers dotting the mud flats. That's why you see the flocks of waterfowl that migrate from the polar tundras. That why almost every single salt-marsh plant you can imagine is down there. That's what we want to do with all the remaining wetlands.” “Oh! A coyote!” he yelped suddenly.” “Look at him working the salt marsh, just hunting the birds in the marsh right now. That's so natural. It's beautiful to see that.”
         Note:This article was only recently suggested for inclusion in the digest.
   
   
4. New life pumped into old oil rigs
   Saturday, March 22, 2008, Los Angeles Daily News, By Gillian Flaccus, The Associated Press
   SIGNAL HILL - A drilling crew scrambles to repair and expand one of the dozens of aging oil wells that dot the landscape of this small, hillside city about 30 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. With oil prices at $110 a barrel, producers nationwide are suddenly taking a second look at decades-old wells that were considered tapped out and unprofitable when oil sold for one-fifth the price or less. In this instance, Terra Exploration & Production Co. believes that up to 2 billion barrels of oil remain hidden beneath Signal Hill.
         But the move to boost production on these aging oil fields has also inspired bitter protests from some homeowners, some of whom live just a few dozen feet from active wells. Environmentalists and homeowners argue that because many of the companies are expanding pre-existing wells - many that were idled or in disrepair - the danger for accidents and leaks is higher. They also worry that new techniques, such as drilling horizontally instead of vertically, drilling far deeper and using carbon dioxide to force oil to the surface, could damage the environment or create instability in the ground. The story is the same across the nation. Around the Valley
   
   
5. Nature center opens today
   Saturday, March 8, 2008, Whittier Daily News
   WEST COVINA - The Galster Park Nature Center opens today with festivities and an open house at the 42-acre park at 1620 Aroma Drive. San Gabriel Mountains Regional Conservancy will take over the center, train volunteer docents and provide programming for seniors, students and families. The nature center is also seeking a grant, which the community can support by going to www.MyHometownHelper.com.
   
   
6. A few vandals can't dim trail
   Tuesday, March 4, 2008, Pasadena Star News
   OPINIONS – Tuesday, strolling the Greenway Trail in Whittier, it was hard to miss the fact that vandals had smashed nearly every single lamp installed along the new 4.5-mile biking and walking trail. In some cases, the criminals had torn out the electrical installations and stolen the copper wiring. But Whittier people are saying they were not surprised. They knew it would be a matter of time before gang members or tagging crews swept through the $13 million rails-to-trails project leaving destruction in their wake.
         Which makes us wonder why the city left itself so vulnerable to this kind of destruction. Graffiti defiantly announces the gangs' presence about every 100 feet - in bright orange paint on the pavement, in black on the light bollards, on the homes adjacent to the trail in northwest Whittier. We have some advice: Don't give up. The city should draw a line in the sand against criminals. The city should keep the beautification project alive, including the possibility of extending it over the San Gabriel (605) Freeway into Pico Rivera and connecting to the San Gabriel River bikeway. Such a regional bike route - with today's sky-high gasoline prices - is more valuable than ever.
         We would prefer to see the city light the trail, but find a more vandal-resistant way of doing so. And police patrols should be implemented. As a last resort, the city could also install surveillance camera.
   
   
7. Judge Tells Home Depot To Restart
   February 28-March 5, 2008, Long Beach Gazette Newspapers, By Harry Saltzgaver, Executive Editor
         A judge has told developers of a proposed Home Depot Design Center on Studebaker Road to go back to square one, and has suggested that the land might even qualify as potential wetlands. Judge John A. Torribio issued the ruling last week, saying that an Environmental Impact Report was inadequate on a number of grounds, and voided all permits received by Studebaker LB, LLC, saying the EIR needed to be redone. The proposal would have created a center with a 105,000-square-foot Home Depot, along with a 6,000-square-foot restaurant and 22,000 square feet of retail space. Environmentalists had fought the project from the beginning, saying it would impact wildlife in the wetlands.
         Inadequate studies were made, Torribio said, on the impact to the burrowing owl on the tank farm site as well as sensitive plants on the site. Night lighting and noise impact on the nearby wetlands was not adequately analyzed, either, the judge's ruling said. Most controversial in the ruling was the judge's opinion that wetlands delineation had been ignored, and even degraded areas were protected if there was potential for returning to a wetlands state. The EIR also inadequately studied alternatives, the judge said, including a different location for the development. Faults also were listed in the way air quality studies were done and how documents were made available for public review.
         At the state level, the Coastal Commission staff had recommended denial of the project. The first roadblock there is a ruling that the property had been improperly subdivided without the Coastal Commission's approval.
         Last October, Dean and Studebaker LB, LLC purchased the 189 acre Bixby Ranch Co.'s share of the Los Cerritos Wetlands and also are owners or partners in the “Pumpkin Patch” property on Pacific Coast Highway east of the Marketplace shopping center. Third District Councilman Gary DeLong has begun meetings with Dean to explore purchase of the wetlands and interim cleanup of the property. DeLong is conducting those talks in his capacity as chair of the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority
   
   
8. Path of destruction
   Wednesday, February 27, 2008, Whittier Daily News, By Mike Sprague, Staff Writer
   WHITTIER - Even before it's been completed, the Greenway Trail - particularly in the Palm Park area - has been hit by vandals to the tune of about $40,000 in damage. About 70 lights were broken last week in the west Whittier area, but other areas have been damaged during the last several months of construction, said Del Benson, director of construction services for Del Terra Construction Group that has the $7.5 million contract for the 4.5-mile trail. Vandals also have stolen copper wire from conduits, removed electrical wires along the ground and lids from irrigation control boxes and destroyed bollards, the short posts on the trail. Graffiti artists also have sprayed their work on the trail as well as some of the wood. City officials said they, too, are dismayed by all of the damage.
         City officials are preparing for when the trail is completed and have responsibility for security. Whittier Mayor Owen Newcomer said officials also are looking at different kinds of light fixtures that would be less vulnerable to vandals.
   
   
9. Report to address Montebello Hills
   Thursday, February 21, 2008, Whittier Daily News, By Amanda Baumfeld, Staff Writer
   MONTEBELLO - The city will begin preparing a draft environmental report for a proposed project in the Montebello Hills. The Montebello Hills Specific Plan project is on an estimated 487 acres of open space - one of the largest open spaces remaining in the San Gabriel Valley - and proposes to build 1,200 residential homes, a series of trails and a public park. An application was submitted to the city in December by Cook Hill Properties LLC, a development consultant for Plains Exploration & Production Co., which currently owns the property.
         The property is currently used as an active oil and gas production facility. The land is also home to the gnatcatcher - an endangered bird species - that has prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to get involved in the negotiations. Michael Huntley, director of community development for Montebello, says two-thirds of the land has to be devoted to a habitat for the bird.
         The city has not yet started the EIR and a public meeting has not yet been scheduled. But community members can submit comments by Feb. 27. That's not enough for some Sierra Club members who are on mission to "Save the Montebello Hills."
   
   
10. Home Depot site EIR weighed
    Wednesday, February 20, 2008, Long Beach Press Telegram, By Joe Segura, Staff Writer
    LONG BEACH - Could the site for a proposed Home Depot design center on the Eastside be part of Los Cerritos Wetlands ecosystem? And if a Los Angeles Superior Court judge on Thursday upholds his Dec. 11 decision that the EIR is inadequate, in part because it failed to study the wetlands issue, the developer could be required to undertake the wetlands review.   The state Coastal Act restricts most development on wetlands.
          Superior Court Judge John A. Torribio, in his Dec. 11 ruling, sided with critics who charged that the project would trigger negative impacts on Los Cerritos Wetlands and on nearby traffic - points disputed by the city and developer. Environmentalist attorneys argue that, "Because the site has significant amounts of dirt remaining in its original, unvegetated state from when the site was salt marsh wetlands, the city's failure to conduct a proper wetlands delineation (study) was erroneous." The attorneys added that the Home Depot proponents' own biologists found a "wide variety of wildlife on the project site including: butterflies; mammals, including rabbits, squirrels and raccoons; amphibians, including the Pacific tree frog; reptiles; and birds, including numerous birds associated with wetlands such as osprey, the snowy egret and great-blue and black-crowned herons and gulls."
    
    
11. Around the Valley
    County approves park funding
    Wednesday, February 20, 2008, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, From staff reports
          The county Board of Supervisors set aside $1.6 million Tuesday for 12 park and trail projects in El Monte, La Puente, Pico Rivera, Montebello and other cities. The grants will fund proposed parks projects along the San Gabriel and Los Angeles rivers and in a park area known as the Emerald Necklace. The projects, subject to final approval, include:
    • $150,000 to install five "Fitness Zones" with outdoor gym equipment
    • $150,000 to build a "staging area" to access trails in Whittier Narrows
    • $150,000 to develop a "pocket park" in El Monte
    • $150,000 for a 1.2-acre nature center in La Puente at Puente Creek
    • $150,000 to improve the Rio Hondo riverside in Montebello
    
    
    
12. Train depot getting a new life
    Wednesday, February 20, 2008, Long Beach Press Telegram, By Karen Robes, Staff Writer
    BELLFLOWER - Until recently, the depot that once served as a spot for folks waiting to ride the Red Car Trolley to downtown Los Angeles degraded into a blighted haven for pigeons. Now   city officials will unveil Thursday the newly restored Pacific Electric train depot. Officials spent some of the $773,000 in federal and state, redevelopment funds to recreate the depot's 1920s look. The depot area includes an open train platform, authentic Western Union and railway transit office signs, an apple orchard, a small picnic area and a faux freight house that houses restrooms and a public works field house.
    
    
13. Greenway Trail bridge put in place
    Thursday, February 7, 2008, Whittier Daily News, By Mike Sprague, Staff Writer
    WHITTIER - After about eight months of waiting, the Greenway Trail Pickering Avenue bridge was put into place Thursday - well, almost. Anchoring the bridge in two more locations is expected to occur today. The new bridge - along with those over Whittier Boulevard - will link up two sections of the Greenway Trail that already are paved.
          The installation of the bridge has been delayed a couple of times. Even once the bridge is perfectly tied down, it won't be until spring before the 4.5-mile trail is ready for those bikers and walkers to use, said Javier Rodriguez, senior vice president of the Whittier-based ACS Group.
    
    
14. Cities' plan considered for public funding
    Monday, February 4, 2008 San Gabriel Valley Tribune, By Melissa Pamer and Dan Abendschein, Staff Writers
          An application from San Dimas and Glendora to a state conservancy was one of 15 projects - out of about 230 applicants - that will now be considered for public funding. The cities' proposal, submitted to the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy in November, would preserve foothill land that has been slated for luxury homes.
          However, the land comes with a $25 million price tag. The conservancy has   about $60 million for the next four years, officials said. Because Glendora and San Dimas are seeking such a large chunk of that money, it's unlikely that the project will be funded in its entirety, said conservancy Executive Officer Belinda Faustinos. The cities might be able to work with ddeveloper NJD to purchase the land in phases,   said Ann Croissant, president of the nonprofit Glendora Community Conservancy
    
    
15. Three objectives for regional progress
    Monday, January 28 2008 Whittier Daily News, By Dave Spence, Mayor of La Canada Flintridge and President of the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments.
    OPINIONS – In 1995, when our cities created the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, we built a strong foundation to solve problems in a collective manner. Over our more than ten years, we have enjoyed many successes for our Valley in the areas of transportation, open space and trauma care. Recently, the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments expanded its work plan to take on new initiatives related to housing, economic growth and the environment.
    • ENVIRONMENT: We will continue to serve as a strong advocate and supporter of the Lower Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers and Mountains Conservancy.
    • HOUSING: We will work hard to secure state housing bond funds from the recently passed Proposition 1C Housing Bond. We are undertaking planning efforts that will assess the feasibility of housing development oriented along the major transportation corridors that span the San Gabriel Valley.
    • ECONOMIC GROWTH: To encourage strong economic growth, we will continue to work with the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership to identify opportunities for employers and new industries.
    
    
    
16. Fate of abandoned rail bridge still up in the air
    Sunday, January 6, 2008 Pasadena Star News, By Airan Scruby, Staff Writer
    PICO RIVERA - A longtime eyesore may soon change hands, but city officials say its cleanup or removal is not imminent. "The consensus amongst the groups is that the best thing for the future is probably the removal of the abandoned, graffiti-covered former railroad bridge," Pico Rivera spokesman Bob Spencer said. The bridge would likely be sold as part of a 20-acre property that is split over both sides of the San Gabriel River (605) Freeway . The bridge has been assumed to be part of the parcel, although conflicting records exist about the property. That land is owned by Arnold "Whitey" Carlson, head of the real-estate investment company Carlson Industries.
          Spencer said the city, Carlson, representatives of Supervisor Don Knabe and Caltrans workers have been meeting about the future of the property. But for months, no one has wanted to claim the bridge because of the heavy costs associated with maintaining or demolishing it. David Sommers, spokesman for Knabe's office, said the city of Pico Rivera is helping to dictate what will be done with the bridge if the land is sold.
          The city of Whittier has expressed interest in leaving the bridge intact because it could become a link to the San Gabriel River Trail from the Greenway Trail, making it easier to hike or bike the route without using heavily trafficked streets. "If a developer donated it, we would reconsider using the bridge," Assistant City Manager Nancy Mendez said.