Santa Monica to spend $100,000 to prevent pigeon poop
City Council voted unanimously to hire a Los Angeles business called Bird Busters to install plastic netting under Santa Monica pier. The idea is for the net to catch pigeon feces and other miscellaneous debris. Thus falling into the net, rather then polluting the water below. The pigeon waste is considered to be a cause of bacterial pollution in that area.
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Ex Mayor of Santa Monica becomes Chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission
President Barrak Obama has designated Commissioner Ruth Y. Goldway Chairman of the Postal Regulatory System, succeeding Dan G. Blair.
Chairman Goldway was the first nominated to the Commission in April 1998 by President Clinton and currently is serving her third term as Commissioner, which extends through November 22, 2014. She has represented the Commission on the State Department delegation to the Universal Postal Union. Her advocacy and leadership were instrumental in the Postal Serice’s adoption of the “Forever Stamp” in March 2007.
Goldway’s experience includes Mayor and Council Member of the city of Santa Monica, Director of Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles, and Assistant to the Director of California’s Department of Consumer Affairs.
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U.S. EPA awards Los Angeles Conservation Corps $700,000 for green job training
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency EPA today awarded the Los Angeles Conservation Corps $700,000 funded in part through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to provide job training for 160 students to learn the latest environmental technologies and prepare them for “green” jobs.
Attending the event was U.S. EPA Acting Regional Administrator Laura Yoshii; Mary Silverstein, President & CEO, LA Housing Partnership Inc.; Bruce Saito, Executive Director, LACC; Tim Elliot, LA Housing Department and representatives from LA DWP
“Through this Recovery Act funding, EPA and our community partners will provide training and environmental career opportunities to California residents,” said Laura Yoshii, EPA’s acting Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “These grants will help ensure that a trained work force is ready to clean up contaminated sites and revitalize them for productive reuse in our communities.”
The Los Angeles Conservation Corps’ training program will consist of approximately 400 training hours in hazardous waste health and safety, environmental technologies, lead and asbestos abatement, refinery safety, forklift training, and general industry standards. Four certifications will be offered.
LACC previously received over $400,000 from EPA and with those funds they trained 126 people and placed 86% in jobs with average salaries of $18/hour.
