Wilmington celebrates renovation of Harbor Sports Complex field

Pop warner football players and cheerleaders celebrated the long needed renovation of the Harbor Sports Complex at Los Angeles Harbor College this Saturday.

Last year Councilman Joe Buscaino announced the $2.2 million makeover for the Harbor Park in Wilmington which is the home field for hundreds of youth athletes in the nearby communities.

"I made a promise to Wilmington Youth Football during my campaign last year. It took ten months, but we figured out how to fund the upgrade,” said Buscaino in a press release. “We owe it to these kids to keep them motivated and focused."
 

Here's a video of the ribbon cutting ceremony provided by the Councilman's office:

Throwback roller skates is the latest trend in the Harbor Area

(Photo provided by Beach Cities Roller Derby, Credit: Jay Mungia)

Soccer, baseball and even racket ball are all familiar sports commonly played in Wilmington, but roller derby?

Shayna Meikle, coach and founder of Beach Cities Roller Derby, is on a mission to change that by introducing the unconventional sport to inner cities. Originally from Harbor City and alumni of Narbonne High School 27-year-old Meikle discovered roller derby during her college years at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC), but she never imagined it would become her full-time gig.

After receiving her bachelors from UCSC in 2010 she returned to Los Angeles where she taught 7^th grade science, but on the side continued her derby hobby. Practice really did lead to perfection for Meikle, who goes by the derby nickname "Pigeon." After mastering the sport in a blink of an eye she was traveling the world to compete against the best derby athletes.

The sport is no longer her hobby it is her life, last year launching her own league, Beach Cities Roller Derby, which has four teams and about 100 skaters.

Now she’s hoping to introduce and recruit derby athletes from Wilmington.

1. When did you get your first pair of roller skates?

 My first pair of roller skates was just after I tried out for the Santa Cruz Roller Derby team in October 2007. I had used rental skates for the tryouts and fell in love instantly so I bought myself $300 skates as an early Christmas present...and 6 years later those top of the line skates are still working great!

2. Is roller derby your full-time job?

I was a 7th grade Science teacher in South East LA. I do not teach anymore.  I would still be teaching if my side gig (roller derby) didn’t have so many great opportunities for me and for my community. I loved my students and 11-14 year olds are fun and interesting, but I saw that my influence can be much greater than the four walls of the classroom. I saw that through roller derby I can influence the lives of so many adults as well as kids (we have a junior derby program as well). It seems that influencing adults is something that drives me, partly because I am an adult myself, but also because there are very little opportunities for adults to be inspired, be active, have fun, compared to our younger counterparts. 

3. What made you decide to take this new adventure of roller derby?

I don’t really feel like it was a decision, I feel like it was just the natural path for me. I knew that if anyone could run an effective, sustainable and influential league it was me. 

4. Roller derby seems pretty aggressive, can you talk about the technicalities of the sport for people who don't know what roller derby is?

Roller derby has two types of players, Blockers and Jammers. One Jammer on the track for each team and she is the only skater for her team who can score points. There are 4 blockers on the track who are trying to stop the other teams Jammer because every time Jammer passes a player from the opposing team she scores one point. Blockers can attempt to deter or stop the Jammers by using legal blocks. Legal blocks consist of booty bumps, hip checks and multiple player wall formations. There is no grabbing, hitting, pushing, it’s all with the booty!

There are two minute rounds called jams where each jam has a different line up from each team. After two 30 minute halves the team with the highest points wins!

(Photo provided by Beach Cities Roller Derby)

5. What makes roller derby so unique than other sport?

Well first, it is the only female dominated sport in the world. Yay!

You also play on roller skates and have skate names. Roller derby is a very mental game and strategies are a big thing, but the cool thing about roller derby is that it’s in the only sport in the world where you can play offense and defense at the same time.   

6. Where did the nickname "Pigeon" come from?

 I chose Pigeon for a few reasons. It’s a cute word (cute is more my style) and also Pigeons are very intelligent and underestimated. They used to be one of the main sources of communication before modern technology (Carrier Pigeons). Also Pigeons are actually Doves (Rock Doves to be precise) which means so much in itself. Pigeons are special and beautiful but people think they are nasty because they live in cities. People think pigeons live in cities because they are scavengers like rats and raccoons, but the honest truth is that pigeons are in cities because the houses and buildings humans erect mimic their natural habitat, almost perfectly.

On top of all that, you see pigeons all the time. It might be one of the few things that you see every single day of your life. I think that is pretty cool. 

7. This is definitely not a sport seen in inner cities like Wilmington, why do you want to recruit from the Harbor Area?

The Harbor Area is my home. I was raised in Harbor City, what more can I say!?

Like I mentioned earlier, roller derby influences the lives of adults. It brings the community together and forms another community all in its own. One of my main goals here with Beach Cities Roller Derby is to bring the South Bay together as a whole community rather than a large area with small communities scattered about that don’t really interact with each other.  The Harbor City/Wilmington/Carson area are largely underrepresented in our league as of now (besides myself and our Carson native skater, SweetPea Felony) so I decided to branch out first by finding a location in the area to hold one of our practices and then by reaching out to the community itself to get more Harbor Area folks involved. I am lucky to be living with two Wilmington natives to make this task much more accessible and hopefully successful.

8. What's you're ultimate goal in the roller derby world? 

You will hear often that "roller derby saved my life" or "I don’t know what dark place I would be in if I hadn’t found roller derby," and to be honest it is quite true. Not of me but many people have a huge need for something in their lives, to fill in the void or to give them something that is just for them.

 A place where they can be creative, where they can push themselves to be better, mentally and physically, and where they can have fun. Roller Derby does just that. We have a large community of all types of people, all ages, all genders, all ethnicity, and all economic backgrounds. It is very unique and I can’t help but want to share it with all of the South Bay and make it one big bad ass group of folks who continue to positively influence each others life for the better.

If you’re interested in learning more about Beach Cities Roller Derby and possibly join their league contact them at beachcitiesrollerderby@gmail.com

“Like” them on Facebook and follow on Twitter @BCRDsouthbay to receive the latest updates.

Taxpayers might be responsible of funding refinery repairs

 

(Photo by Kat Madrigal)

Last month a bill that would define oil refinery maintenance as public works passed the California state Assembly.

This means California taxpayer money could potentially be used for needed repairs at oil refineries if it passes the state senate.

“Refineries don’t need anymore subsidies from the public coffers,” said Alicia Rivera, organizer for Communities for a Better Environment. “If we do not kill this bill in the senate, the biggest emitters of greenhouse gases will get rewarded with public funds.” 

The purpose of the bill is to reduce greenhouse emissions but environmentalists fear that oil refineries will get waived from paying their own repairs in addition to the high revenues they profit from annually.

AB26 can also possibly jeopardize jobs from permanent refinery workers and give them to temporary contract workers, said Rivera.

Assemblywoman Susan A. Bonilla sponsored AB26, which will be introduced to the Environmental Quality Committee this Wednesday. Various Senators sit on this committee including Senator Ron Calderon from Montebello.

Environmentalists are asking California residents to contact legislators to oppose AB26 by faxing this letter to committee members. 

Senate Majority Leader Ellen M. Corbett --916-327-2433

Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg -- 916-323-2263

Environment Committee Chair Senator Jerry Hill --  916-324-0283

Environment Committee member Senator Fran Pavley-- 916-324-4823

Toxic hotspot law requires Wilmington refinery to notify residents of potential cancer risk

Poster boards of facility risk assessment were displayed for public to read.
(Photo by Anabell Romero)

Air pollution agency South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) hosted a public meeting Thursday night along with Phillips 66 refinery to inform residents of a state air pollution regulation law that was violated by the Wilmington refinery.

The meeting room at Banning’s Landing was filled with community residents, environmentalist, AQMD officials and refinery workers.

The purpose of the meeting was to provide details on the possible health risk, which state law known as Assembly Bill 2588 (AB2588), requires that facilities notify nearby residents of potential effects caused by toxic air pollutants released in the air. The goal of the toxic hot spot law is to collect facility’s emissions data, identify localized impacts to determine health risks and to inform the public of such findings.

Based on the facility’s emissions and calculated risk, people living in the area would have their chances of getting cancer increased by a maximum of 23.2 chances in a million.  People who work in the area of impact would have their chances of getting cancer increased by a maximum of 6.6 chances in a million over a 46-year lifetime, according to the summary health risk noted on the public notice. 

The AB2588 law demands that notification to the public is made when facilities that emit air pollution cause a cancer risk or other health threats above certain levels, which Phillips 66 exceeded. In this case refinery officials said they mailed out two notices in English and Spanish informing residents of the public meeting.

“This is taken extremely seriously,” said refinery manager Chris Chandler. “We work very hard to get zero penalties.”

This is a facility risk map determining what parts of the neighborhood are
mostly impacted by air pollutants released by Phillips 66. 

Both AQMD and refinery officials gave a presentation on a risk assessment explaining the dangers of being exposed to emissions such as higher cancer risk, which they presented being a result of these three main compounds; diesel particulate, 1,3-butadiene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

Environmental activist expressed discontent with the assessment and demanded that a better evaluation be made to determine how many cases of cancer and other related illnesses already exist amongst Wilmington and nearby neighborhoods.

“We the public had to get assemblyman and other senators to vote and approve AB2588, every refinery was against 2588, not one supported it when it went before assembly committees,” said long-time environmental activist, Jesse Marquez.

Despite public comments scheduled to the end of the meeting, many concerned residents could not help but interrupt the presenter to ask pressing questions of their findings.

“I think it’s up to us, the community, to make sure that there is a fair study and that there is no bias,” said 39-year-old Wilmington resident Arturo Gonzalez. “I think their needs to be a neutral party.”

A map was shown to illustrate the homes mostly impacted by the refinery, which includes a large part of Wilmington.

Refinery officials also took the time to briefly comment on the September 15 incident where black smoke hovered above local neighborhoods as a result of burn-off caused by a power outage, which required the refinery to shut down for a few hours.

Until this day many residents remain unclear of the incident and are oblivious on whether it had any direct health impacts on the community.

Although attendees were appreciative of officials hosting the public meeting many residents continue to be concerned of how properly the refineries are being ran and whether AQMD is doing enough to ensure that not only Phillips 66 is being monitored but also other industry in Wilmington.

Resident Angela Ingalls shared her thoughts on the meeting, watch here:

Air Quality Agency Presented a Rule to Discover What Chemicals are Used in Oil Production

Oil being pumped out on L Street and
Avalon Boulevard near homes, businesses and a
school across the street. (Photo by Anabell Romero)

Long awaited measures to control the types of chemicals used in an oil drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing were presented yesterday by the government agency, South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD).

Concerned Wilmington residents ranging from environmental activist, seniors, high school students and overall frustrated community members expressed discontent with the agency's delay in evaluating environmental and health impacts these practices have had on the neighborhood.

“This rule goes further than what any other agency is doing,” said Susan Nakamura, planning and rules manager at AQMD.

The proposed rule 1148.2 would require prior notification and reporting of chemicals used when hydraulic fracturing is conducted.  This would help determine if existing AQMD regulations adequately cover oil and gas production activities when conducting hydraulic fracturing, also commonly referred to as fracking. 

Officials of the air quality agency said when their governing board adopts this rule, reporting of these potentially dangerous chemicals used in fracking will begin 90 days after date of approval. The members of their governing board consist of supervisors and council members of Los Angeles County, Riverside County, Orange County, South Pasadena, Rolling Hill Estates and other regions.

The time frame AQMD proposed was of two years to determine what and if any chemicals in oil related production are polluting the air and affecting the health of thousands of residents.

Alicia Rivera, environmental activist and 
community organizer, addressing her concerns 
to the AQMD panel. 
(Photo by Anabell Romero)

“A two-year period is too long, it should be shorter,” said Alicia Rivera, environmental activist and community organizer from Communities for a Better Environment. “An environmental impact report should be conducted before, if not this allows expansion and drilling operations…damage has already been done for years.”

The agency responded by stating that this first step is required to move forward and that perhaps it takes less than two years.

A report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) on risk of fracking in cities like New York found that it, “generates massive amounts of polluted wastewater that threaten the health of our drinking water supplies, rivers, streams, and groundwater.”

The report also states that, “the rapid expansion of natural gas drilling across the nation endangers human health and the environment.”

Wilmington resident and neighborhood council member, Sylvia Arredondo, asked the agency if when this process was completed how they were going to hold these companies accountable for possibly endangering the health of thousands in the community.

She suggested fining them and proposed that these companies take care of cost associated with medication for illnesses caused or aggravated by air pollution like asthma and cancer.

“We can’t negotiate way more than my agency will allow me to say,” said Nakamura.

Since the PowerPoint presentation addressed by AQMD took less than 30 minutes attendees at the meeting were given more than an hour to speak their concerns and share personal experiences of how unregulated practices by industry in Wilmington has directly impacted their lives.

“People continue dying daily,” said Maria Ramos, an elderly resident who spoke Spanish with her soft and emotional tone. “If we were rich and comfortable we wouldn’t be living here, but this is a poor community.”

Throughout the meeting residents continuously thanked AQMD for coming to Wilmington and for their efforts in adopting new rules to better control polluters in the neighborhood.

“This room should be filled,” said 39-year-old resident Arturo Gonzalez. “Rise up people!”

The agency said they were committed to creating better outreach strategies to ensure that more residents are informed of these public meetings.

Residents proposed AQMD return in six months to provide an update of this rule. Nakamura said she would address everyone’s concerns to her governing board and maybe host another meeting in six to nine months.

Click here to see an interactive graphic that simplifies what fracking is. To report complaints of air polluters in Wilmington call 1-800-CUT-SMOG (1-800-288-7664) 

(A Wilmington youth speaks out during a public meeting hosted by South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) and shares her experience of how pollution in her neighborhood has dramatically impacted her.)