Happy Halloween.
How about a ghoulish San Diego story?
Tiny Potrero Battles County and Blackwater USA
Published on February 22, 2007
By Don Bauder
...Last July, Blackwater hired as a lobbyist Nikki Clay, a longtime cheerleader for corporate welfare (Chargers, Padres) and former president of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. Blackwater brought on the developer-friendly environmental firm of Mooney, Jones & Stokes, along with other companies to make up their project team. The team quickly snuggled up to the County, which was not playing hard to get...
( San Diego County is the largest urban county in the state without its own fire department.)
Massive security contractor faces growing protest in rural California town over 824-acre base
Miriam Raftery and Muriel Kane
Published: Tuesday April 3, 2007
Good neighbor?
Blackwater keeps its eye on a tiny East County enclave.
By Pat Sherman 10/09/2007
apparently the swamp things are ugly neighbors
11:53 a.m. October 21, 2007
Potrero fire causes evacuations around Julian
SIGNONSANDIEGO NEWS SERVICES
POTRERO – Santa Ana winds of 30 to 35 mph fueled a fast-moving brush fire that broke out Sunday in Potrero and resulted in evacuations of several rural communities, authorities said.
The fire started about 9:30 a.m. near Harris Ranch Road and Potrero Valley Road and was heading northwest as the noon hour approached, but no injuries were reported. The flames jumped Highway 94, according to Cal Fire officials.
Blackwater to California: Hire us to Put Out Your Fires
October 25, 2007 07:27 PM (EST)
Blackwater = Fire-Fighter?
By Noah Shachtman October 26, 2007 3:34:02 PM
Categories: Homeland Security, Mercs
...Local groups opposed to the complex said, before the latest conflagrations near San Diego, that Blackwater West's "regular detonation of firearms would be a risk both to the fire-prone landscape as well as to the wildlife that currently calls that area home, including the golden eagle and the California condor."
Au contraire, Blackwater execs answer. Brian Bonfiglio, vice president of Blackwater West, notes that the complex's proposal includes water tanks capable of holding 35,000 gallons. "I see a tactical operation center for East County fires," he says. "Can you imagine how much of a benefit it would be if we were operational now?"...
Injured California Firefighter Anticipated Dying
Updated: 10-29-2007 09:05:04 AM
TONY MANOLATOS, Staff Writer
The San Diego Union-Tribune
Rapue, 53, was in charge of Pikop and the two other firefighters, whose names have not been released. Both are in critical condition at UCSD.
...For Pikop, the day started like every other Sunday. The crew at the San Marcos station was mowing the lawn and trimming hedges.
Rapue, the captain, was normally based at Cal Fire's Rincon station, one of 18 in the county. He was covering the San Marcos station because the regular captain was off.
The four-member team heard about the fires on the radio, so they weren't surprised when they were dispatched to Potrero, 67 miles away.
The call came in shortly after 9:30 a.m., said Pikop, who started with Cal Fire less than five months ago....
Blackwater Provided Potrero with Relief Suplies During Fires
Oct 29, 2007
Amita Sharma
Blackwater's relief effort wins praise of project foe
By Anne Krueger
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
October 30, 2007
Fire facts
Why Aren't We Better Prepared for Inevitable Disasters?
...The GOP rivals parrot the same old, increasingly irrelevant and out of touch formula of cutting taxes and dismantling government....
Article Last Updated: 10/30/2007 11:00:26 PM PDT
Let's meet Naomi Klein
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism
Today's Fishwrap
No comments:
Post a Comment