‘Making things right’ after Refugio oil spill more than lip service
Plains All American Pipeline, the Houston-based company responsible for the oil spill near Refugio Beach on May 19, should stop the bullshit. Plains’ aversion to providing honest answers about the spill was on full display June 26 at a joint oversight hearing by the Assembly Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Select Committee on the Read More →
Central Coast economy depends on politicians, Plains making it right
When it comes to oil and politics, the conventional wisdom has been that Central Coast politicians can’t overplay their hands in expressing outrage over environmental issues. That conventional wisdom is about to get a major test. Already a parade of elected officials has toured the damage wrought by the May 19 oil spill that made Read More →
Politicians, officials should take measured approach after oil spill
While the cleanup of the Refugio oil spill is progressing, albeit slowly, the politics of petroleum extraction have overtaken events on the ground. Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson and Assemblymember Das Williams have called for new rules for oil pipeline safety. In Ventura County, Supervisors Steve Bennett and Linda Parks have questioned the future of oil production Read More →
Bigger fines needed to hold oil pipe owners accountable
It’s a case of business as usual for Plains All American Pipeline, which owns the pipe that ruptured near Goleta on May 19 and spilled an estimated 101,000 gallons of oil. About 21,000 gallons of oil flowed through a storm culvert under Highway 101 into the ocean, blackening area beaches and creating a 10-square-mile oil Read More →
UCSB alone can’t fix Isla Vista safety woes
Just about a year ago, Elliott Rodger went on a violent rampage, killing six people and himself in Isla Vista. Memories of that tragic Memorial Day weekend flooded back into the headlines on May 12 as reports surfaced of another shooting, this time two suspects shot and severely injured two students in another grisly incident Read More →
