DEAL WOULD WEAN CITY OFF DUMP ACTIVISTS SEEKING TO HOLD POLITICIANS TO THEIR PROMISES ABOUT SUNSHINE.Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer With the City Council expected to sign on this week for five more years of dumping at Sunshine Canyon Landfill, Granada Hills activists have proposed conditions to the deal, to hold politicians to their word and ensure that Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. gets out of the dump in 2011. A binding agreement - one that would slowly divert city trash from the landfill - would soothe some of the anger and disappointment longtime dump opponents felt after Mayor James Hahn For the Iowa politician, see . James Kenneth "Jim" Hahn (born July 3, 1950) is an American politician from the Democratic Party. He was the Deputy City Attorney (1975-1979), City Controller (1981-1985), City Attorney (1985-2001) and Mayor of Los Angeles, California failed to deliver on his promise to get out of Sunshine Canyon Landfill in 2006. Mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. likewise pledged to veto the city's contract with Sunshine Canyon, as well as work to minimize the impact of the dump. But his office hasn't said how Villaraigosa would vote this week. The City Council has a June 30 deadline to vote on the Sunshine Canyon contract renewal. North Valley Coalition President Wadye Hunter said this time his community isn't content with political promises. ``I want the city to demonstrate that they are committed to taking care of their problem,'' Hunter said. ``If they're going to do this for five years, then, by God, you better sign on to this commitment.'' In a letter to the City Council, Hunter wrote that the council should adopt an ordinance ordering that 1,000 tons of trash per day be diverted from the Granada Hills dump every year, beginning in 2007. That could wean wean (wen) to discontinue breast feeding and substitute other feeding habits. wean v. 1. To deprive permanently of breast milk and begin to nourish with other food. 2. L.A. completely off the dump by 2011, when the contract renewal comes up again, forcing the Department of Sanitation to fast-track new recycling programs and alternative technologies, such as waste-to-energy facilities. But Department of Sanitation Assistant Director Enrique Zaldivar said the city needs at least five years to get a first trash-conversion plant up. As for the coalition's proposal? ``It would be very difficult,'' Zaldivar said. Nonsense, said Mitchell Englander, chief of staff for Councilman Greig Smith Greig Smith is a Los Angeles City Councilman, representing the 12th District, which includes Granada Hills, Northridge and other parts of the Western San Fernando Valley. Smith is also a reserve officer for the Los Angeles Police Department. . ``If you have vision you can do it,'' Englander said. Smith is set this week to unveil a 20-year action plan with deadlines and proposed law changes to get the city out of landfills. L.A. currently sends 3,800 tons per day of trash collected from single- family homes and small apartment complexes to Sunshine Canyon Landfill, which is located in north end of the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. . For three years, Hahn pushed Sanitation officials to find an alternative to Sunshine Canyon Landfill. They narrowed the field to one competitor, Waste Management Inc., which proposed trucking trash to the Antelope Valley and Riverside County. Last month, Waste Management pulled its bid after several delays and questioned whether the city leadership was serious about getting out of Sunshine Canyon. Without an alternative, Sanitation officials have proposed renewing the contract with Sunshine owner Browning Ferris Industries. Granada Hills residents have tried unsuccessfully to shut down the dump for more than a decade, complaining about diesel truck traffic and concerns that the dump operations could taint taint an unpleasant odor and flavor in a human foodstuff of animal origin. Caused by the ingestion of the substance, commonly a plant such as Hexham scent, or while in storage, e.g. milk stored with pineapples, or as a result of animal metabolism, e.g. boar taint. the nearby drinking water drinking water supply of water available to animals for drinking supplied via nipples, in troughs, dams, ponds and larger natural water sources; an insufficient supply leads to dehydration; it can be the source of infection, e.g. leptospirosis, salmonellosis, or of poisoning, e.g. reservoir. BFI BFI - brute force and ignorance has said the dump is safe and has safeguards to prevent contamination. Last year BFI won final approval to expand the landfill and double the amount of trash it can take. The landfill is permitted to operate for 25 years and will continue to take trash from other cities, even if the city of Los Angeles
Kerry Cavanaugh, (818) 713-3746 kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com |
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