Combined Ormond Report - California

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Ethnic Media Services Mixtec Community Tour of Ormond Beach Contents Media Coverage Press Clippings

Transcript of Combined Ormond Report - California

Page 1: Combined Ormond Report - California

    

Ethnic Media Services  

Mixtec Community Tour of Ormond Beach 

  

  

Contents  

Media Coverage Press Clippings 

        

 

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Media Coverage of Mixtec Community Tour of Ormond Beach, April 6, 2019  

Outlet  Name  Contact  Link 

Ethnic Media Services  Mark Hedin  [email protected]   Link 

Hispanos Press  Yurina Melara  [email protected]   Link 

Impulso  Mireya Olivera  [email protected]   Link 

La Opinion  Pilar Marrero  [email protected]   Link 

VCReporter  Chris O’Neal  [email protected]   Link 

Vida Newspaper  Tim Pompey  805 479-3485  PDF 

Asian Journal  Christina Oriel  [email protected]   TBA 

Radio Indigena  Jesus Noyola  [email protected]   TBA 

La Prensa  Jorge Macias  [email protected]   Will run 

KJBU-FM 99.1  Gary Harbour  805-824-1474  Link 

Tri-County Sentry  Chris Frost  [email protected]   TBA 

Ethnic Media Services  Juan Avila Lopez  [email protected]   Link 

 

                  

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Mixtec families stake claim to Oxnard coast by Mark Hedin | Apr 17, 2019 

 

 Arcenio Lopez (front, right) of the Mixtec Indigenous Community Organization Project and Lucas Zucker (front, left) of the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy lead Mixtec families to Ormond Beach on a tour of the area, where activists are working to reclaim and restore the shoreline. (photo: Mark Hedin) 

 

OXNARD, Ventura County – Obsolete power plants, a paper mill and a busy trucking route serving nearby ports have 

long separated Oxnard’s Ormond Beach from the people who live nearby. 

 

On a beautiful Saturday morning, a busload of Mixtec families visited Ormond Beach, many for the first time. Immigrants 

from southern Mexico, who speak Mixteco, were joined by representatives from environmental organizations and 

Oxnard City Council members working to restore the shoreline. 

 

Chris Kroll, project manager for the state Coastal Conservancy agency, said the April 6 tour was part of the agency’s 

“current effort to develop a final restoration and public access plan” for the 630 acres of coastline it oversees with the 

Nature Conservancy and city of Oxnard. 

 

“The purpose was to reach out to the Mixtec community in the immediately adjacent community of South Oxnard and 

get their input,” he said. 

 

Cynthia Hartley, of the Ventura County Audubon Society, recalled when the beach was a popular spot for off-road 

vehicles, the sand dunes and tall grasses were blown away, and with them, the nesting sites for migratory birds and 

other wildlife that had visited the region for centuries. 

 

But off-road vehicles have been banned from the beach since 2003, she said, crediting the Coastal Conservancy and 

pointing out where the dunes and wildlife have started making a comeback. 

 

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Hartley and the beach’s unofficial steward Walter Fuller welcomed passengers from the 40-foot school bus chartered 

by the Coastal Conservancy, which had dropped everybody off after winding past the acres of fenced-off fields of 

strawberries, cauliflower and turf grass under cultivation where some of the passengers work. 

 

“It’s a critical place for special wildlife,” Hartley said, describing the California least terns, birds that winter in Brazil and 

fly 8,000 miles annually. The terns and snowy plovers, both endangered species, have visited the Ventura County 

shoreline for thousands of years. 

 

With the formalities behind them, the group walked the last couple of hundred yards to the Pacific. The kids 

immediately began exploring and playing amid the driftwood, seaweed, shells and other typical beach detritus, or 

dipping their toes in the water as the waves ebbed and flowed and their parents looked on. Not far off, two red and 

white smokestacks jutted skyward above a now-shuttered power plant. 

 

Next on the tour was a quick look at the north end of the beach, where 

the most distinguishing feature was the stink of the still-operating paper plant a block or two’s distance from the road’s 

end. 

 

Lucas Zucker, of the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), spoke briefly about the 

competing interests in the community, such as the trucking industry’s hopes to use some undeveloped land for parking, 

where other people envision a park. 

 

The brief stop was followed by a lunch at the Southwinds Community Center where local elected officials and 

environmentalists discussed the shoreline and their hopes for its future. 

 

Oxnard Mayor Pro-Tem Carmen Ramirez described how, growing up in Los Angeles, “it was my everyday dream to go to 

the beach 20 minutes away. I think we went twice.” As an elected official she is hoping kids in her community will have 

more opportunities than she did to enjoy the natural beauty of the region. 

 

“Our parents should have the right to walk with their children in an environment that is healthy,” said Arcenio Lopez, 

executive director of the Mixtec Indigenous Community Organization Project (MICOP), who came up with the idea for 

the tour. He called it “an opportunity for us to introduce our families to these two places – one known, but very 

contaminated, the other we didn’t know.” 

 

“What’s surprising,” he said, is that the city of Oxnard is looking to restore the beach and have the community’s input on 

what they would like to see for the beach. For MICOP, it’s an opportunity to bridge the gaps, including language barriers, 

between the community, the city, the state Coastal Commission and other environmental agencies. 

 

MICOP has developed strong communication with the city council on other projects and initiatives such as its “Safe 

City” initiative. 

 

“We’re looking forward to doing that on Ormond Beach,” he said. 

 

None of Ormond Beach is at risk of being mistaken any time soon for the protected beauty of wealthier communities 

such as Malibu to the south or Santa Barbara to the north, as Maricela Morales of CAUSE said at the community center. 

 

“We are about environmental justice,” she said. “Ninety-eight percent of our environment across the state is less 

polluted than this area, so we’ve got a lot of work to do.” 

 

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The only difference between the local community and those of the cleaner beaches up and down the coast, she said, is 

that “they’re poor and they’re brown. We’re here today because of the families. This wall of pollution makes it virtually 

inaccessible to these kids. For many it was their first time.” 

 

While the remaining power plants are slated for shutdown next year, Morales said, “right now we don’t have a path 

forward.” 

 

The power plants are being decommissioned as part of the statewide phasing out of their cooling systems that rely on 

drawing water – and unlucky creatures – from the sea. But in the short term, the expectation is that the most likely next 

users of the site of the decommissioned plants will be the homeless. 

 

Kroll said the Coastal Conservancy is hoping to have a draft plan ready within a few weeks and to present it at public 

meetings in June or July. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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(link) 

Por Mireya Olivera 

 

Los Ángeles, Cal.- Niños, niñas, adolescentes y adultos, todos juntos, disfrutaron de las maravillas de la naturaleza: La 

Playa Ormond, un lugar que esta siendo restaurado para beneficio, no solo ecológico del habitad en Oxnard, sino 

también, de la población que vive en ella, la mayoría latina e indígena de Sur de México. 

 

Irene Gómez, madre mixteca oaxaqueña con cuatro hijos, no tenía idea de que existiera un lugar como Ormond en su 

vecindario en Oxnard a pesar de vivir 20 años a escasos diez minutos de la playa. 

 

“No sabía de este lugar”, dijo la mujer quien con un grupo de 50 oaxaqueños mixtecos residentes de Oxnard viajaron el 

pasado sábado seis de abril por primera vez a la Playa localizada al sur de su ciudad invitados por la Organización 

Proyecto Comunitario Indígena Mixteco (MICOP) que preside Arcenio López. 

 

Según López, en Oxnard la comunidad mexicana es del 75 por ciento y de ellos habría 40 mil indígenas, en su mayoría 

mixecos de Oaxaca que se dedican como principal actividad al campo, es decir, son los que ponen en la mesa de miles de 

estadounidenses las frutas y verduras que producen. 

 

Santiago Asunción y Jorge Toledano, líderes y voluntarios de la comunidad dijeron verse sorprendidos por la cantidad de 

aves que habitan en la playa, sobre todo de aquellas que emigran tal como lo hacen los campesinos indígenas 

oaxaqueños. 

 

“Me sorprendió que hay muchos tipos de animales que emigran como nosotros que buscamos mejores lugares para 

sobrevivir”, dijo Asunción quien añadió que no hay suficiente información sobre las áreas y playas donde la comunidad 

pueda visitar como la Playa Ormond lugar donde viven y anidan diferentes especies de aves migratorias y animales 

silvestres , y con humedales que actúan como filtros para sacar la contaminación de la tierra, agua y aire. 

 

Toledano por su parte explicó que la comunidad indígena no tiene el acceso por la discriminación que existe de no darles 

información, y a parte, por ser una ciudad de inmigrantes no le dan el interés por limpiar las playas. 

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“Tenemos 3 plantas de luz. Yo veo que esta muy mal que estén las eléctricas en todo este terreno cerca de las playas hay 

mucha contaminación en el agua, no se puede ni pisar por eso esta cercado”, dijo con tristeza Toledano al ver que un 

vertedero de aguas residuales atravesaba cerca de la playa Ormond. 

 

“Algunos campesinos cuenta que peces que están cerca de la eléctrica son enormes y que por la alta contaminación no 

pueden ser consumidos. Mire la contaminación que hay… dijo Toledano al observar el pequeño vertedero con basura a 

los lados y donde algunos patos y aves se apostaban.” 

 

Querían poner una cuarta planta aquí en Oxnard pero la paramos” dijo con su cara de satisfacción el líder mixteco y 

conductor de radio indígena. 

 

Para Inés Salas de Miahuatlán, Oaxaca, “las playas de Oxnard deben ser espacios para la comunidad, pero algunas las 

tienen cerradas. Protegen más a las plantas eléctricas que a la naturaleza”, lamentó la mujer quien dijo que ella 

desconocía de la playa Ormond, pero después de conocerla iba a seguir visitándola con sus 3 hijos a quienes les atrae 

mucho las actividades al aire libre. 

 

“No quiero que me detecten la diabetes y ser obesa”, dijo Salas al pedir a la comunidad que cuiden de la naturaleza no 

tirando basura en ella o botellas “porque todo eso va a parar a los animales”.  

 

La lucha ambiental 

 

En la lucha ambiental para restaurar el impresionante litoral de Oxnard degradado durante mucho tiempo por las 

centrales eléctricas abandonadas, escombros y campos petroleros se han unido organizaciones ambientalistas, gobierno 

local y comunidad. 

 

Maricela Morales, de la Organización de la Costa Central Alianza Unida por una Economía Sustentable (CAUSA por sus 

siglas en inglés) dijo que las eléctricas es un legado de décadas de cuando la gente no se preocupaba tanto por el medio 

ambiente, pero que ahora aparte de estar tratando de limpiar ese legado, también están tratando de hacer nuevas 

propuestas para seguir aumentando la industrialización de esa área. 

 

Morales se quejó que la compañía de la planta eléctrica está tratando de abandonarla y no limpiar su contaminación. 

 

“La compañía tuvo que cerrar porque estaba usando agua del mar para limpiar y el Estado los paro. Y aunque van cerrar 

sus operaciones, el Estado por ley no les puede imponerles que lo limpien, entonces pueden dejarla así. 

 

“La ley no los obliga a limpiarlo, pero si usted o yo tenemos en nuestra yarda en frente un montón de basura, 

inmediatamente de la ciudad nos dicen que tenemos que limpiar”. 

 

“Sin embargo, las compañías industriales tienen mucho poder y no quieren limpiar su propia basura que ellos crearon”, 

dice Morales quien comentó que la unión de la comunidad y las organizaciones, en el tema ambiental, les ha traído 

algunas victorias. 

 

“Una victoria histórica de las organizaciones fue que iba haber una compañía que quería importar gas natural por medio 

de la Costa y se quería plantar en esta Costa. Es una de las compañías más grandes del mundo. 

 

Con la comunidad y colaboración de organizaciones de Conservación Natural como Sierra Club, y de lideres como 

Carmen Ramírez, se organizaron a más de 2 mil personas para la junta donde se iba hacer el voto. Como ahora, había 

chiquillos mixtecos, campesinos. Nuestra gente salió, y votaron a favor del ambiente y de la gente. 

 

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Sí, hemos tenido victorias, pero desgraciadamente esas solo han sido para mantener que no se aumente la 

contaminación”, comentó la activista, al detallar que aunque han tenido la asistencia de lideres del gobierno estatal y 

federal, la batalla que enfrentan es constante porque las corporaciones, como pasa en todo el mundo, tienen mucho 

poder y protección. 

 

Morales dice que hay varias áreas contaminadas en la región, pero la más urgente que quieren que se limpie es la donde 

se ubica Hueneme Rd, donde seguramente dice tardarán décadas para limpiarla. 

 

Po lo pronto, hay una inversión de 10 millones de dólares para transformar cientos de acres de esos terrenos bajo 

Hueneme Rd -donde se ubica la playa Ormond- para mejorar el medio ambiente y para que las familias tengan lugares 

para caminar, pescar y días de campo, así como para atraer oportunidades de trabajo local. 

 

Las autoridades locales y las organizaciones quieren que la comunidad sea participe en la restauración de la Playa 

Ormond y de los proyectos de conservación, así lo manifestaron en la reunión con la comunidad mixteca en el 

Southwinds Community Center en donde estuvo la mayor de la ciudad, Carmen Ramírez, y las concejales, Vianey López 

y Gabby Basua, así como representantes de entidades ambientalistas y Ethic Media Services (EMS). 

 

Oxnard, es considerada la ciudad más grande de la Costa de Los Ángeles a San José.  

               

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Mixtecos tienen acceso por primera vez a una playa virgen en Oxnard Los residentes que trabajan en la agricultura local fueron invitados a conocer el proyecto de rescate ambiental más importante de California: Ormond Beach. Por: Pilar Marrero, Periodista Independiente | 11 Abril 2019 

 

 La familia Tello no sabía que la playa Ormond estaba cerca. 

 

Un viaje a la playa suele ser una ocasión feliz para cualquier familia, pero esta vez fue además una sorpresa para 

residentes mixtecos de la zona de Oxnard que por primera ocasión visitaron una de las pocas costas salvajes que quedan 

en California: Ormond Beach. 

 

Esta no es una playa cualquiera. 

 

Es aislada. Sólo se llega a ella por accesos que no anuncian su existencia y en vez de hermosas mansiones o centros 

comerciales típicos de Santa Bárbara o Malibu -que quedan al norte y al sur- está rodeada por una base naval, una recién 

abandonada planta eléctrica y una montaña de tóxicos que dejó una ya clausurada recicladora de metales. 

 

“No parece una playa”, dice el pequeño William Tello, quien camina de la mano de su mamá Verónica por el camino que 

comienza al final de una carretera sin marca, prosigue al lado de un pantano y termina a la orilla del mar y una playa 

virgen con hermosas dunas. 

 

Ormond Beach es también la sede de uno de los proyectos más importantes de recuperación de humedales y medio 

ambiente costero en la historia reciente del sur de California y un lugar clave para la supervivencia de varias especies de 

pájaros y otros animales. 

 

“La razón por la que esta playa es tan especial es que no hay otra parte de la costa de California que haya permanecido 

en un estado salvaje, sin casas o desarrollo”, explica Cynthia Hartley, bióloga de la organización Audubon, que se 

especializa en la protección de pájaros y sus hábitats. “Hay dos tipos de pájaro muy específicos que hacen sus nidos en 

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las dunas de este tipo de playas, y este hábitat casi desapareció en décadas anteriores, hasta que comenzamos a prestar 

atención”. 

 

Ajena a la catástrofe de especies en vías de extinción, la familia Tello Hernández simplemente se alegra de saber que 

este lugar existe, cosa que hasta ahora ignoraban. “Nos sorprende mucho esta playa, nunca la habíamos conocido y es 

una tristeza que esté olvidada cuando muchos niños o personas podrían usarla para el disfrute de sus familias”, dijo la 

joven madre indígena, que trabaja en el cultivo del cilantro. 

 

Verónica y su esposo Baltasar se dedican, como tantos inmigrantes mexicanos – en su mayoría indígenas de estados del 

sur de ese país- al trabajo de la agricultura en la zona de Oxnard, una de las zonas más importantes de la producción de 

fresa, apio, frambuesa y vegetales de hoja verde en California. 

 

En este sábado soleado de primavera unas 60 familias migrantes, en su mayoría indígenas mixtecos, han sido invitados 

por la ciudad de Oxnard y grupos medio ambientales como Coastal Conservancy y Nature Conservancy, a conocer el 

lugar donde, desde hace años, estos grupos luchan por rescatar una costa hasta hace poco a merced de tóxicos 

industriales. 

 

“Estas son las comunidades que están más cerca de este lugar, que pueden beneficiarse de este plan de restauración en 

el que varios socios están involucrados”, dijo Miguel Ramos de la ONG Nature Conservancy, quien agregó que el 

proyecto además incluye acceso a trabajos. 

 

Pero no se trata solo de ofrecer empleo sino de dar a la comunidad residente en la zona – cuya voz no es 

tradicionalmente tomada en cuenta- la oportunidad de involucrarse en el proceso que incluye proteger la playa, las 

especies que allí habitan o se reproducen y hacerla accesible a un público informado de lo que está en juego allí. 

 

Oxnard y los grupos ambientales, han convocado a organizaciones comunitarias como MICOP (Proyecto Comunitario 

de Organización Mixteca Indígena) y CAUSE (Alianza de la Costa Central por una Economía Sustentable) para que sirvan 

de puente con los residentes, en su mayoría trabajadores inmigrantes del campo. 

 

“Un 60% de la fuerza laboral del condado de Ventura es indígena”, dijo Arcenio López, director ejecutivo de MICOP. 

“Somos unas 24,000 personas indígenas Mixtecos, Zapotecos, Otomí, Nahuatl, Purépecha, Amuzgos, entre otros”. 

 

A diferencia de otras zonas de California, cuyos residentes casi siempre pertenecen a las clases medias y pudientes -ya 

que se desarrollaron alrededor de ricos enclaves residenciales- Oxnard nunca fue una comunidad playera sino más bien 

un pueblo agricultor que fue creciendo hacia el océano. 

 

Quizá por eso, su historia reciente incluye décadas de industrialización y proyectos que dejaron un legado de 

contaminación y basura impensables en zonas costeras con más influencia política. 

 

“La consciencia ambiental que tenemos hoy no existía antes”, dijo Maricela Morales, de CAUSE. “Aquí hubo una planta 

recicladora de metales que ahora es un sitio tóxico controlado por el gobierno federal y en los últimos 12 años hemos 

continuado peleando contra más proyectos tóxicos e industriales”. 

 

Los residentes del área más cercanos a esa playa y zona industrial son en su inmensa mayoría inmigrantes, 80% hablan 

en su casa una lengua que no es el inglés y la tercera parte son menores de 18 años. “En otras palabras, son jóvenes, 

pobres y morenos”, agrega Morales. 

 

Tras la visita a la playa, el grupo de residentes se reúne en un centro comunitario de Oxnard para un almuerzo de pollo 

con mole. Carmen Ramírez, la alcaldesa interina de la ciudad, explica que cuando era niña en Los Ángeles, siempre 

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soñaba con ir a la playa. Pero nunca pudo ser, porque vivía a 20 millas de la misma y sus padres eran pobres y trabajaban 

sin parar. 

 

“Yo quiero que las personas que viven y trabajan en esta comunidad tengan la oportunidad de usar este tesoro que 

tenemos aquí”, dijo. 

 

Hace algunos años, la ciudad de Oxnard impuso restricciones a vehículos, perros y fogatas en Ormond Beach, para 

impedir la destrucción de las dunas y de los pájaros que hacen sus nidos en ellas. La Nature Conservancy y la Coastal 

Conservancy compraron terrenos circundantes para protegerlos. Ahora trabajan para limpiar y restaurar el área. 

 

“Queremos un futuro en el que Ormond Beach sea accesible al público, que la playa y los humedales sean protegidos y 

que podamos asegurar la supervivencia de la diversidad de plantas y animales en el lugar”, dijo Peter Dixon, de Nature 

Conservancy. “También tenemos como objetivo proteger la zona de la contaminación industrial que ha sido su legado”. 

 

Sentados entre el público, los Tello Hernández y las otras familias escuchan atentamente. Algunos tienen un audífono 

que les traduce del inglés al mixteco todo lo que allí se dice. 

 

Verónica, mucho más habladora que su esposo Baltasar, coincide en que a menudo los seres humanos “no sabemos 

valorar lo que tenemos, y estamos matando la naturaleza”. 

 

López, de la organización Mixteca, apunta que los indígenas viven “muy conectados con la madre naturaleza y que esta 

es una costumbre que se va perdiendo con la migración y el trabajo del campo, que es de sol a sol”. 

 

“Este fue un recordatorio hacia nuestra comunidad, un momento de reconexión con el agua”, dijo el activista indígena. 

“Aunque los mixtecos generalmente no vivimos en las playas, tocar el agua, la arena, tener un espacio abierto, apreciar 

los animalitos que viven allí, es estar en contacto con la naturaleza y también saber que tenemos que preservarla”. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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PLANET OXNARD | Mixtec community tour Ormond Beach Apr 10, 2019 | Chris O'Neal 

 

 

 

Members of the Mixtec community toured Ormond Beach in Oxnard on Saturday, April 6, many of whom visiting the 

coastline for the first time. The event featured speakers from MICOP, the Coastal Conservancy, CAUSE, The Nature 

Conservancy and The Ventura Audubon Society who spoke on the coast’s history as wetlands and industrial activity, 

and Oxnard Mayor Pro-Tem Carmen Ramirez, as well as councilmembers Vlaney Lopez and Gabby Basua, were also in 

attendance. The briefing was designed to introduce what beach access could mean to the Mixtec community as well as 

to discuss ways in which to engage the community in restoration efforts. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Mixtec Bus Tour of Ormond Beach April 6, 2019 March 29, 2019 

 

 

 

By Gary L. Harbour: April 6, 2019, a coalition of media and community stakeholders sponsored a Mixtec community bus 

tour of Ormond Beach in Oxnard California. The event was made possible by the Coastal Conservancy in partnership 

with the Mixtec Indigenous Community Organizing Project (MICOP), the Central Coast Alliance United for a 

Sustainable Economy (CAUSE) and the Nature Conservancy representative Sandy Close of Ethnic Media Services.org, a 

San Francisco Study Center Project. 

 

The tour began with a school bus filled with Mixtec community members, sponsors and stakeholders being transported 

to Ormond Beach in Oxnard. Various media representatives FM 99One FM, KJBU-LP, rhythmofthecoast.com, and 

others followed. Once there, community stakeholder briefing began sharing their purpose with those assembled. 

 

Walter Fuller, the conservator for Ormond Beach began greeting guests and discussing the precious wildlife in the area. 

He cautioned that there are rattle snakes in the area as well. Walter explained that Ormond Beach is a very special bird 

sanctuary. There are about two-hundred different species in the area. The next guest was Cynthia Hartley, a biologist of 

Ventura Audubon Society, who discussed some of the special birds in the area. She searches for protected birds, their 

nests, and the progress they are making in the area. Cynthia labeled Ormond as a “wild beach” that used to be an “off 

roading beach”, with sport drivers causing severe damage to the land. 

 

Arcenio Lopez (MICOP) discussed the Mixtec involvement in today’s event as being important to the indigenous 

population. They are being encouraged to come to the beach and reconnect with the land. The Mixtec people are very 

close to nature as part of their Mexican culture. There is wildlife at Ormond Beach and the Mixtec people can and should 

be more involved and allowed to contribute input of how the area should be developed as access is broadened. To this 

effort, they are being made more aware of this beautiful beach in their community. 

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Mark Hedin, an associate of Sandy Close with Ethnic Media Services felt that the need for expanding usage of the 

Ormond Beach area is vital to the ethnic community members in the area. The Mixtec people according to Mr. Hedin 

compose about 70% of the local Oxnard community, yet they rarely are made aware of the wonderful resources that are 

right in their own local beach. Their opportunity for involvement should be shared with the larger community. Taylor 

Samuelson with the Coastal Conservancy, State of California, focused on restoring and preserving the California coast 

and improving public access to it. The Conservancy has been involved in the restoration of Ormond beach for years and 

is devoted to the public access plan. Today’s event is designed to bring attention to how the community has been cut off 

from access to the beach, and how to develop community friendly access to restrooms and other facilities. 

 

Miguel Ramos, with Nature Conservancy are here as partners in the Ormond Beach Restoration and access plan. It 

involves the City of Oxnard, State Conservancy, Coastal Conservancy and some of the others who are trying to develop 

access for the community. Also, according to Miguel “super fund sites” have ruined much of the land, which has 

disallowed access. Today’s focus is on healing the remnants of oil and polluted water that has damaged what is arguably 

the most diverse bird sanctuary in Southern California. 

 

Vincent Kinch of Ventura Audubon is here taking pictures and getting ideas on what Ormond Beach is all about and how 

special this place is. He’s been coming here for fifteen years, doing biological research on various bird species. Coming 

here helps you find your inner voice and relaxation. Javier Garcia is an interpreter for the Mixtec community. They want 

to become involved in renovating the beach, wetlands and surrounding areas by getting involved and by waking up the 

people that want more access to the area, preserving the land and using it wisely. 

 

Sandy Close has had the opportunity of meeting Don Montgomery and his wife and is very excited about the radio 

station 99One FM. “Today is very historic, bringing members of the Mixtec community in Oxnard who represent 70% of 

the Hispanic population in this city, for the first time, to see the ocean, the coastline, the wetlands, where the birds are 

nesting… to see the last wild pure beach on the coast of California. It is in danger of being polluted, but could be such a 

beautiful public access beach for the entire community. So, the environmental organization called the State Coastal 

Conservancy wanted very much for the ethnic media to come and report the story of the Mixtec Bus Tour. It was very 

important that each of the outlets serving the communities of color of the city be here today, and I’m very appreciative 

of having this radio station participate. What will it mean, what’s the future, to have the City Council here from the 

leaders of the Mixtec community that they have a stake in restoring the coast, and that they want a voice at the table 

and that they want to be engaged because they see the great value it will have for them in the future. That’s the point of 

today”.   

 

Carmen Ramirez, Mayor ProTem, “The City of Oxnard is here because we want people to get to know that the beach is 

there, it’s a rare beautiful treasure. There are many opportunities here for healthier living, recreation, science, we’re so 

lucky. Many of the low-income folk, Spanish speaking folk don’t know about it. So, the kids and the adults that we took 

there today were just awe struck… and that’s just what we want. We want awe”. Stakes for the Mixtec people, Ormond 

restoration vision and environment were discussed, followed by a delicious lunch for all in attendance. 

 

Captions.1.attendees 2.Cynthia Hartley, Walter fuller, Audubon member 3-6 attendees 7. Sandy Close 8. MICOP 

stakeholder 9-10 attendees 11-12 (same as 1.) 13. Signs 14. Power plant 15 (same as 1) 16-18 sign 19. Wetlands 

20.Miguel Ramos & Taylor Samuelson 21. Ducks 22. Sign w/ birds 23. Mixtec Community on bus 24-27 polluted land 

28.(LR)Marciela Morales, Cynthia Huntly, Peter Dixon, Arcineo Lopez, Chris Kroll, Carmen Ramírez (Mayor Pro tem), 

Vianay Lopez, Gabby Basua 

 

 

 

 

 

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April 6, 2019 Mixtec Community Tour of Ormond Beach Juan Avila Lopez 

 

 (link) 

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SPECIAL SERIES: Mixtec families and their children discover that there is sea in Oxnard! Most of the 24,000 residents of Mixtec origin have never before stepped on the sand of Ormond Beach

Juvenal Solano holds her little one-year-old Litzia with whom she walks in Oxnard's Ormond Beach, in addition to her little girl Xiadani (4). They want to live in a clean and pollution-free community. (Photo Jorge Luis Macias) By JORGE LUIS MACÍAS | [email protected] | PUBLISHED: May 8, 2019 at 3:08 pm| UPDATED:May 12, 2019 at 12:14 pm

FIRST DELIVERY OF A SPECIAL SERIES "It's a lot of water!" Said seven-year-old Jocelyn Rivera with innocence and surprise, accompanied by her four brothers: Erika (16), Maritza (12), Patricia (9) and little Kevin Santiago of 2 months old and carried in a stroller by his mother Faustina, they met the waves of the sea for the first time in their lives.

They are part of the majority of 24,000 residents of Mixtec origin who, living in apartment complexes in Oxnard, have never before stepped on the sand of Ormond Beach, which is only 5.7 miles away or 16 minutes by car.

Neither Faustina nor many Oaxacans did not know the easy way of Saviers in the direction of Hueneme and Edison Dr. The route is surrounded by agricultural fields.

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Both Faustina and her family and others like Jorge Toledano and Juvenal Solano are the key objective of the municipal authorities, activists, environmental defenders, who seek to educate them and empower them to be part of the solution in the fight for environmental justice.

The battle of decades continues due to the serious consequences for health and pollution that have left over the years the power plants, factories and industrial plants that throw clouds of smoke with foul odors, in a city of 200,000 inhabitants that extends along the Pacific coastal area between Malibu and Santa Barbara.

The southern part of the city where most of the inhabitants of Mixtec origin live in the Mexican states of Guerrero and Oaxaca, as well as Zapotecos and Guaves; purépechas de Michoacán; Otomíes de Hidalgo and the Nahuatl community of Tlaxcala are the ones who often develop in brown gray smoke.

An encouraging awakening "The community is beginning to motivate itself to raise its voice and demand environmental justice," said Arcenio Lopez, executive director of Oxnard's Mixtec / Indigenous Community Organization Project (MICOP).

"They have begun to dream of having a clean community, with parks where they can take their children, and have learned to ask themselves what are we going to do to achieve it? Who do we have to talk to in the city? Who are the key people? Which agencies are responsible for designing or investing funds and how can we get involved? "

Participation is vital. For a long time, Oxnard has been one of the most environmentally-negative communities in the state, and for generations predominantly Latino residents suffered the ravages of silent pollution, while industrialization continued to pollute their community.

"Our struggle has been quite difficult because industrialization on our coast has developed over many decades," Maricela Morales, Executive Director of the United Central Coast Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), told Excelsior. in English). "However, in our communities we always have new risks."

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Children of Mixtec indigenous people living in Oxnard had the opportunity to get to know the sea, for the first time in their lives and visited Ormond Beach, to which their parents did not know they had access. (Photo Jorge Luis Macias)

In the last 12 years, there have been four proposals to install more industries in the southern area of Oxnard. This has not allowed the clean-up of what has previously been contaminated, and, in fact, the community has been defending itself against "attacks" by large companies: one of them in 2006, BHP Billiton Petroleum Inc. that is dedicated to development, exploration and production of hydrocarbons. The company is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

"Why did not they ask to settle in Malibu or Santa Barbara?" Morales asked. "There are others like Mandalay Power that is called Ormond Beach Power Plant, or the new proposals from NRG Energy, which is one of the largest gas and oil generators in the nation."

Thus, the dynamics of the community have been to be defensive against those big corporations of capital and incalculable influence in the government.

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"That's why our effort is so difficult," Morales said. "It's the dynamics of power; We have already finished some defensive battles, but we still have not won the war. "

Oblivious to all controversy and in the splendor of her innocence, Jocelyn Rivera and her brothers were engaged in playing and running on the beach.

Beside him, like a good father, Juvenal Solano held his little one-year-old Litzia to feel the wet sand on her feet and take care of the waves to Xiadani (4).

"It's the first time we've come to the beach," said Juvenal, breathing the pure air of the sea breeze. "I did not know there was access here [to Ormond Beach]."

SPECIAL SERIES: Contaminated soil, subsoil, air and left Oxnard Messages in English and Spanish warn of the danger of crossing over to the Halaco Engineering Co. plant

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From 1965 to 2004, Halaco Engineering Company operated a metal smelter, recovering aluminum, magnesium and zinc from slag, cans, auto parts and other metal scrap. (Photo Jorge Luis Macias) By JORGE LUIS MACÍAS | [email protected] | PUBLISHED: May 9, 2019 at 11:14 pm| UPDATED:May 12, 2019 at 12:12 pm

SECOND DELIVERY OF A SPECIAL SERIES Behind a mountain of rubble, tons of cement blocks, a cyclonic mesh placed in July 2018 and two messages in English and Spanish warn of the danger of crossing to where the Halaco Engineering Co. plant was, due to the presence of chemicals and radiological substances.

At 6200 Perkins Street, in Oxnard, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) declared since 2007 as "Superfund" the scrap recycling facilities as a priority for attention and intervention regarding hazardous waste.

From 1965 to 2004, Halaco Engineering Company operated a metal smelter, recovering aluminum, magnesium and zinc from slag, cans, auto parts and other metal scrap.

However, the operators of this plant, very close to the natural resources of the coastal zone, including the wetlands, the beach, the ocean, caused a serious impact on the contamination of groundwater, the quality of the soil and the air ... but They're already gone.

"Our children receive the impact of high levels of toxins in the air from that" Superfund, "Carmen Ramírez, deputy mayor of Oxnard, told Excelsior.

"They left and left us a toxic place that contaminates the environment, animals and humans; Oxnard is not a rich city, although we are close to the beach, and sometimes they say that South Oxnard is a place of sacrifice [for industrialization]; We have successfully won some battles with the big corporations, but we have not won the war yet. "

"The federal government has not done anything to clean up the contaminated site left by the Halaco company in Oxnard," said Marisela Morales, executive director of CAUSE. (Photo Jorge Luis Macías) According to the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the toxic waste pile emitted ammonia and radioactive elements such as thorium and uranium-238. Unlined ponds filtered contaminated wastewater into the wetland, ocean and groundwater.

In addition, the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District found significant cancer and chronic health risks from Halaco emissions, which violated the Clean Air Act.

The District received hundreds of complaints from community members who suffered headaches, sore throats and other ailments from the gases emitted by Halaco.

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The cleaning has not been done Activists from the Alliance of the Central Coast United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), from the Mixtec Indigenous Community Organizing Project (MICOP), the environmental groups Audubon Ventura, The Nature Conservancy and the Coastal Conservancy also focus on the cleanup of the site "Superfund" .

"The federal government has done nothing to clean up the site," said Marisela Morales, executive director of CAUSE, "and with the administration we have now [with Donald Trump] the battle is more difficult and quite strong."

Halaco Engineering Co. melted millions of pounds of magnesium and aluminum into ingots for use in manufacturing and die casting, and discharged more than one million gallons of contaminated wastewater from its smelting operations to sedimentation ponds discovered all months

The toxicity legacy left by Halaco Engineering Company in the wetlands near Ormond Beach is evident. (Photo Jorge Luis Macías) The wastewater was contaminated with copper, lead and other heavy metals, ammonia and several radioactive isotopes. The solids that came out of the sewage were piled in a mound of slag that grew to cover 26 acres and rose 40 feet above the wetland where the birds continue to swim and the birds drink water.

"He was one of the most serious polluters in the country," said Chris Kroll, project manager for California State Coastal Conservation, to Excelsior. "They left and left a mountain of pollution and the EPA has to figure out how to clean it up."

In 2008, nine federal, state, local and public interest agencies such as CAUSE, the Center for Environmental Defense (EDC), the City of Oxnard, and the District Attorney of Ventura County, among others, initiated administrative, civil and penalties against Halaco Engineering Co. Eleven years after the lawsuit, decontamination has not been completed.

Also in 2001 Channelkeeper filed a state and federal lawsuit against Halaco in an effort to force the company to clean up its disaster.

Halaco's death sentence came in 2004 when tests of air emissions revealed that he exceeded the limits of his air pollution permit. The company was bankrupt and could not take the necessary measures to comply with its operating permit and was forced to stop operating permanently in September 2004.

In 2008, nine federal, state, local and public interest organizations such as CAUSE, the Environmental Defense Center, the City of Oxnard, and the Ventura County District Attorney, among others, initiated administrative, civil and criminal actions against Halaco. Engineering Co.

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The legacy of toxicity can still be seen on a mountain 12 meters high and 26 acres (105 meters) of toxic slag that Halaco accumulated over nearly four decades.

SPECIAL SERIES: Controversial Energy Bridge Project was scrapped in Oxnard If it had gone ahead, it would have had severe consequences for the natural habitat of flora and fauna in the coastal area of Oxnard.

Chris Kroll (left) manager for the restoration / public access project at Ormond Beach, Coastal Conservancy says the beach represents one of the greatest opportunities for the restoration of coastal habitat in Southern California (Photo Jorge Luis Macías) By JORGE LUIS MACÍAS | [email protected] | PUBLISHED: May 11, 2019 at 2:17 pm| UPDATED:May 12, 2019 at 12:07 pm

THIRD DELIVERY OF A SPECIAL SERIES In December 2018, state energy commissioner Janea Scott ordered the termination of the controversial Puente Power Project project which, had it gone ahead, would have had severe consequences for the natural habitat of flora and fauna in the coastal area of Oxnard. and the health of the Latino population.

"Although our work is not finished in any way, this represented a victory for all of us who have fought hard for a long time to stop the Puente de Oxnard power plant due to

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important concerns of justice and environmental justice," said state Senator Hannah. -Beth Jackson (District 19). "We must do a better job to meet our energy needs and at the same time achieve our important goals regarding climate change."

The proposal, which lacked the support of state regulators, was scrapped and the California Energy Commission canceled the application submitted in 2015 by NRG Energy Inc. to build the Puente Power Project.

State energy commissioner Janea Scott ordered the project terminated after NRG withdrew its claim alleging the absence of a viable path to move forward.

The project would mean that, to generate energy, natural gas will be burned in a gas turbine burner that drives a generator to produce electricity.

Scheduled to be built at the current Mandalay Generation Station (393 Harbor Boulevard), which ceased production in early 2018, the 262-megawatt plant appeared as the "most advantageous" project for approval.

In fact, the Public Utilities Commission of California (CPUC) gave the green light to the project and the staff of the energy commission considered that the proposal had no significant impacts that could not be mitigated.

But, already organized, the Latino community was ready to defend itself along with its allies.

"They wanted to put us another light plant, but with CAUSE and MICOP we were able to stop it in 2018," said Jorge Toledano, a Oaxacan from the Mixteca region, who immigrated to the United States when he was 17 years old. "We have always fought against the contamination of waters and rivers, also against companies and celery; there are many companies that use pesticides and we get sick with asthma or depression; When I get sick, I go to the doctor and he gives me pills. "

Also, the California Coastal Commission had voted in favor of an alternate site for the installation of the power plant, citing fears of its likely negative impact on access to beaches and the adverse effects on wetland habitat.

In fact, the city council unanimously opposed the Puente project.

Councilwoman and Deputy Mayor Carmen Ramírez explained that NRG could have at least found an area less sensitive to the environment for its failed power plant, or, better yet, "have built a renewable energy facility instead of a natural gas plant" .

Neither option, including the sites proposed by the city, were viable, said Alexandra Angelina, NRG spokesperson.

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"Both projects required extensive construction of new high-voltage power lines or placed the plant closer to the residential centers," he said. "None of them is desirable for any of the interested parties."

Restoration of Ormond Beach A survey by the Alliance of the Central United Coast for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE) among 322 individuals from southern Oxnard - particularly among the Mixtec community - found that almost 50% of them did not even know it existed. or that they could have access to Ormond Beach.

A total of 163 people who responded to the survey indicated they had not visited the beach at any time, despite their proximity; 93 were there between one and five times; 16, between 6 and 10 times, and 45, more than 10 times.

The most common reasons cited in the CAUSE survey by residents of public housing Squire, the mobile home neighborhoods of Cypress Gardens, Cypress, Pleasant Valley, Southwinds and housing for agricultural workers César Chávez were: garbage and a dangerous atmosphere and the difficulty of access to the area.

163 of them had never visited Ormond Beach; 93 others had been there between one and five times; 16

"Most people did not know they had a beach nearby," said Lucas Zucker, spokesman for the United Central Coast for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE). "The problem is that it is located in an area of industrialized agricultural land."

The survey carried out between June 29 and July 21, 2018 was conducted in marginalized localities and represents a population with limited resources and that are less likely to be involved in public forums due to their immigration status and language and education barriers. but they live in the vicinity of the affected restoration area of Ormond Beach.

Zuckler announced that, in effect, Ormond Beach is being transformed to bring more natural resources south of Oxnard and a healthier environment for the children of immigrants.

"This could mean having places to go for a walk, fish, go on a field day, and attract more jobs and economic opportunities to the neighborhood with an investment of 10 million dollars.

In fact, the wetlands at Playa Ormond are important for the community because the south of the city of Oxnard does not have enough parks or natural spaces open for families.

These wetlands act as a filter to eliminate pollution from the land, water and air and, in addition, act as a barrier to protect people from sea level rise with climate change, in

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times when California lost more than 90% of wetland habitat, rare species of birds and others that are in danger of extinction.

"Ormond Beach is a wonderful place with a lot of potential; represents one of the greatest opportunities for the restoration of coastal habitat in southern California, "said Pete Dixon, project manager of the Santa Clara River, Coastal Restoration and Natural Conservation.

Dixon indicated that the shared vision with the immigrant community is to provide safe access for the public to the beach and the coastal wetlands, to help the survival of the wild life and plants of the place.

"We also imagine a repaired place, based on the legacy of industrial use and pollution on our coast, a place designed to resist the impacts of climate change and sea level rise, reduce or moderate the impact of floods on communities and agricultural land, "said the expert.

In the coming months, the community will have the opportunity to express their vision for Ormond Beach.

SPECIAL SERIES: Beautiful beach birds in danger of extinction due to pollution in Oxnard Around 200 species of birds cohabitate in the area, such as the white plover or frigatebird; the peak pando jaspeado, the avoceta, the great blue heron, the real duck, seagulls, pelicans, among others

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The minimum maritime swallow or small tern is one of species of birds that are in danger of extinction in the coastal area of Oxnard. (Photo Jorge Luis Macías / Excelsior) By JORGE LUIS MACÍAS | [email protected] | PUBLISHED: May 12, 2019 at 11:59 a.m.| UPDATED:May 12, 2019 at 12:10 p.m.

FOURTH AND LAST PART OF A SPECIAL SERIES "Look at the birds!" Commented Ana Castillo, 10 years old to her brother Leonardo, 12, during the trip they had to Ormond Beach in Oxnard, on April 6. Both Ana and Leonardo were able to learn about the nesting sites of different birds in the sand dunes that are part of the Wetland Restoration Project in Ormond Beach, along two miles from Port Hueneme to the boundary of the Point Mugu naval station .

Around 200 species of birds cohabitate in the area, such as the white plover or frigatebird; the Pando Marbled beak, the Avocet, the Great Blue Heron, the Mallard Duck, Seagulls, Pelicans, the Yellow-billed Tern, the White-throated Sandpiper or Tigüi and the Long-billed Curlew

"For hundreds of years these birds have built their nests in Ormond Beach where they raise their chicks," said biologist Cynthia Hartley of Audubon Ventura. "Ormond Beach is a critical stop for feeding and replenishing" fuel "for 200 species of birds that migrate from the southern hemisphere to their nesting areas in North America."

Despite the beauty of nature, in Ormond Beach there are two species of shorebirds in danger of extinction and that are iconic of this habitat: the beach bird runner -also called Western snow plover- and the American tern or tern that They build their nests in the sand dunes.

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The expert told Excelsior that, in particular, the dwarf tern - or sea swallow - each winter leaves the coasts of Brazil and flies 4,000 miles to the beaches of Oxnard because these birds require virgin dune habitat to reproduce.

"It is the same clean habitat that humans require to feed their souls," said the biologist. "This habitat will also serve as a buffer for our communities and infrastructure as the seas begin to rise. But today, these two birds and many of the species with which they share the dune habitat run the risk of disappearing as their habitat is disappearing. "

Hartley said that Ormond Beach was a garbage dump, an industrial zone and an unregulated playground for motorcycles and off-road vehicles. Due to these activities, the plants on the beach were destroyed, the dunes disappeared and the animals that lived there began to die.

"The snowy plover and the tern, and many other species, have been almost on the verge of extinction due to human activities in their home," he said, adding that the community must understand and respect these animals and your needs. The next step would be to act on the basis of knowledge so that they do not become extinct.

In collaboration with the California Coastal Conservation through the "Explore the Coast" grant, Ventura Audubon has developed a program to recruit naturalist volunteers to provide free training as volunteers in the community.

In view of the need for bilingual volunteers from the Mixtec community or who speak Spanish, the first training took place on Sunday April 14 at the San Buenaventura state beach.

"If the birds do not have a home they will be extinct forever," Hartley said. "Fortunately these two species of birds are reclining and determined; In spite of what we have done to their environment they continue to return each year to nest and raise their chicks. "

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Cynthia Hartley, biologist at Audubon Ventura (center) says that in Ormond Beach the runer beach bird - also called the Western snow plover - and the American tern or swallow that build their nests in the sand dunes are in danger of extinction. (Photo Jorge Luis Macías) In fact, spring is the perfect time for the western snow plover to breed in Ormond Beach.

The protection of Ormond Beach began 20 years ago with the restoration of dunes and plants. That has caused the return of the animals, including rattlesnakes.

Since 2000, state authorities and the environmental group "Conservation of Nature" (The Nature Conservancy) have acquired land in Ormond Beach to protect it from industrialization and thus create a long-term restoration plan.

"We have recently made a deal with the city of Oxnard to make Ormond Beach a critical place for wildlife," said the biologist. "We have already protected the dunes and we have restricted the human activities that damage the sensitive wildlife, but the work is not done at all and we have to continue."

Carmen Ramírez, Deputy Mayor of Oxnard added that the city will collaborate with the balance of restoring the natural ecosystem for birds, plants and wild animals in Ormond Beach, and at the same time promote among the Latino community the study of specialized careers in science and related jobs with the environment that are taught at Cal State Channel Island, 10 miles away in the city of Camarillo.

"The indigenous Mixtec community and other groups in our city are known for taking good care of nature," he said. "That's already an advantage."