FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 7, 1999 Contact: Leonard Kranser, CSHC Communications Director 949-499-5567 or Jim Davy, CSHC Petition Drive Chairman 949-498-0833 Flight Demo Gives Lift to Petition Drive Last weekend's flight demonstration at El Toro showed that even lightly loaded aircraft still make lots of noise. In Leisure World, meters recorded sound as loud as a circular saw. Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Charles V. Smith, observed that homes in the flight path might need sound proofing. The demonstration gave the Safe and Healthy Communities petition drive a big lift. The initiative is intended to give voters more control over county projects, like airports, toxic landfills and large jails which impact their communities. Jim Davy, Petition Drive Chairman said, "Can you imagine being forced to live inside a sound proofed home in Southern California? I guess we'll have to move the barbecue into the kitchen because it's too noisy outside. The noise demo doubled the number of people who signed petitions this weekend." Proponents must collect over 71,000 valid signatures by the end of August. They expect to exceed that goal. About a thousand volunteers are collecting signatures and manning tables at major retail outlets. The Safe and Healthy Communities Initiative gives Orange County voters the right to decide on major publicly-funded projects that affect their lives. It requires county planners to complete environmental impact reports, and hold public hearings, before asking voters to approve new or expanded airports, hazardous landfills, or major jails near residential neighborhoods. These projects then must receive a two-thirds voter approval as evidence of their wide acceptance and before anyone can be deprived of the safe enjoyment of their homes. The initiative committee has an Internet website at http://www.safe-and-healthy.org where viewers can read the text of the initiative, volunteer to help, and request petition blanks to circulate. Volunteers also can reach Jim Davy at 949-498-0833. ### |