Council to Air District: More Stringent Standards for Lehigh

The Cupertino City Council votes unanimously to request that Lehigh be subject to stricter air quality rules.

In a unanimous vote Tuesday night, the Cupertino City Council voted to encourage the Bay Area’s air district to impose stricter emissions rules on the Lehigh Southwest Cement Plant and Quarry.  Not only did the council vote in favor of Mayor Mark Santoro writing a letter to the Bay Area Air Quality District (BAAQMD) saying the council wants the district to apply tougher standards for cement plants, the council members used wording provided by a local Sierra Club activist in drafting the letter. The collaboration between the council and environmentalists was quite a contrast to past interactions, when the two sides appeared more at odds. After the Nov. 7, 2011 election the council now includes two members of Bay Area Clean Environment (BACE…

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Frank Geefay

12:21 pm on Saturday, February 11, 2012

The war has definitely not been won. But this local victory and strongly written letter that Gary Latshaw wrote and was the basis for City Councils final text to BAAQMD lends much stronger support for making the rules much tighter for this cements plant located so close to a major population area. We must still work hard to get the rules actually changed.   more ›

City Council Election November 2011

Election Analysis: Money and Endorsements Didn't Necessarily Pay Off

Gilbert Wong won a second term on council, but he couldn't convince voters to elect Marty Miller, who was beat by the grassroots organizing of Rod Sinks.

Cash may be king, but Tuesday night’s Cupertino Council election results proved that sometimes good old fashioned grassroots organizing trumps even a big campaign chest. The results have yet to be certified by the Registrar of Voters, but initial results indicate that newcomer Rod Sinks won his first bid for election over both long-time Fremont Union School Board Trustee Homer Tong and three-time council candidate Marty Miller, despite raising less money than Mayor Gilbert Wong and Miller, and garnering less big-time political endorsements. Even heavy campaigning by first place winner Wong wasn’t enough to bring Miller onto council. Initially Miller was right behind Sinks in the results, but on Wednesday updated results showed that Tong …

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Five Things To Know About Cupertino

The Cupertino November 8 Election

Patch is your go-to source for campaign information; here are five items to get you started.

Just 57 campaigning days until the November 8 election! Voters will choose between six candidates for two seats on the Cupertino City Council, and give an up or down vote on Measure C, a hotel tax initiative. As the local source for up-to-date campaign info, Patch gets you started with five things to know about the upcoming election. 1. The six council candidates in ballot order are: - Homer Tong, a member of the Fremont Union School District Board, elected five times to the post; - Rod Sinks, a political newcomer, he is active in Bay Area Clean Environment (BACE), the group currently challenging Lehigh Southwest Cement; - Donna Austin, a long-time resident active in the community who previously served on the Planning Commission; - Gilbert…

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Susan

12:22 pm on Sunday, October 23, 2011

What a mess, and these lavish developer contributions raise an immediate question: On Oct. 11, the Planning Commission denied Kimco Realty's request to extend the expiration date by three years for Cupertino Village's previously approved Use Permit and Architectural and Site application. Therefore, the decision is heading to the City Council. (BTW: Cupertino Village is next door to the proposed …   more ›

Sierra Club Threatens Suit Against Lehigh For Permanente Creek Pollution

Club alleges elevated levels of selenium and other toxins are threatening wildlife; will sue under Clean Water Act if discharges don't stop within 60 days.

Charging that Lehigh Southwest Cement is dumping elevated levels of selenium and other toxins into Permanente Creek and San Francisco Bay, the Sierra Club stepped into the legal fray against the company, saying it will sue under the Clean Water Act if discharges do not stop within 60 days. In one specific instance, the club said that Lehigh’s own documentation shows “that quarry pit wastewater that Lehigh discharges in the creek has been a staggering 16 times higher than Clean Water Act stream standards,” for certain toxins, according to a statement released Wednesday. The statement added that in popular Rancho San Antonio County Park, immediately downstream from the plant, pollution is “especially dangerous” where selenium concentrations …

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Of Two Camps: Chang's Name Conjures Both Scorn and Praise

Barry Chang lands front and center in controversy linked to Lehigh Cement Plant.

In Cupertino the name Barry Chang is nothing if not controversial. A recent spate of negative criticism of the council member is countered by those who defend him. So who is Barry Chang and why do some call him an embarrassment while others revere him? The following words—angry, passionate, aggressive, persistent, threatening, likeable, divisive, leader—were all used to describe Chang; it just depended on who was talking. “Barry Chang is an embarrassment to Cupertino,” long-time Cupertino political consultant Rich Robinson told Patch. Later he said, “He doesn’t belong in public office.” In contrast, fellow activist in Bay Area for Clean Environment and Cupertino resident Richard Adler said, “I think Barry is incredibly dedicated to …

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