By Marcia Hanscom
Founder of (Ballona) Wetlands Action Network
Presdent Obama’s memorandum on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) seems like it is far reaching beyond what any President has supported.
I still have tears in my eyes from reading it!
The public has been kept from secret meetings the Army Corps of Engineers and other federal agencies have participated in related to plans for the Ballona Wetlands due to some “speculative or abstract fears” that this order below zeroes in on as so pervasive in some government places these days.
Maybe now the public will be informed as to why huge bulldozing plans to “re-contour” the wetlands, erase the habitat that literally hundreds of species depend on and favor water quality/move the levee plans are being promoted over the habitat preservation that stakeholders all voted was to be the primary goal of any restoration on the site.
When was this decision made, and who made it? Since we’ve attended every public meeting that has been called, we can only speculate that these decisions were made during the Managers Meetings or behind closed doors. Now the doors are being opened by our new President.
We have repeatedly asked to be allowed to attend the Managers Meetings, where government agencies have been making plans for the land we all love so mcuh.
Now we have the tools to attempt to force the issue.
Thank you, Barack Obama!
While the President moves the Nation forward into the light the Mayor of the District of Columbia is moving the District into the dark. Look at my blog I used yours to make a point. Thanks for writing it.
i’m sure that the mid-term elections NORMALLY look at the opposite party. the item happened to Clinton. that happened to Bush. America is fickle that way. The question is should it be a total Republican Fest and also Democratic Blow out? Or will things swing towards Republicans by not nearly as huge a border as previously expected? i do think it won’t be “epic proportions”. without a doubt, it will swing towards the right, as was envisioned, but not epic. I think it’s good the president is making himself available to news outlets other as compared with Meet the Press and such to be able to contact a broader target market. He was on the Daily Show a week ago.