Politics & Government
Air Pollution Discussed During Last City Council Meeting of the Year
An update from the AQMD is given during Tuesday night's Diamond Bar City Council meeting.
The last Diamond Bar City Council meeting of the year was a fairly short one.
Lasting less than an hour, the meeting included an update on air quality and the introduction of the city’s new finance director.
Early in the evening, AQMD Governing Board Member Michael Cacciotti showed a snippet of a 22-minute video the AQMD has created to show the health impact of pollution.
Find out what's happening in Diamond Bar-Walnutwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and portions of Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
“The good news is air quality is improving,” he said. “The bad news is particulate matter is still the worst in the nation and carcinogenic.”
Find out what's happening in Diamond Bar-Walnutwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Cacciotti shared that air pollution can lead to premature mortality, asthma, and cancer risks. He also gave information on several programs AQMD offers, including lawnmower and leaf blower exchanges and Healthy Hearths, which helps with replacing fireplaces. He concluded his presentation by giving out two phone numbers: 800-CUT-SMOG, which can be used to report pollution, and a Small Business Hotline at 909-396-3529.
In honor of his 41 years of service and retirement, Mayor Ling-Ling Chang, Mayor Pro Tem Jack Tanaka, and Council member Steve Tye gave a city tile to Chief Deputy Fred Hungerford of the Los Angeles County Public Library.
“We really want to congratulate you on your 41 years of service and your retirement,” Chang said. “You were instrumental in getting our library project up and running.”
The new Diamond Bar library is the 13th library building project Hungerford has worked on, and he will remain on the project until it is completed.
“I really appreciate this opportunity to have served the residents of Diamond Bar,” he said. “It’s been a tremendous opportunity working with the city’s excellent management team. This is an excellent example of what can happen when a city and county work together.”
The city’s new finance director, Dianna Honeywell, was also introduced. Honeywell has 18 years of experience in municipal finance, and spent the last five-and-a-half years as fiscal services manager for the city of Fullerton.
The next meeting of the Diamond Bar City Council is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 17, 2012.
