Toxic Sites, Brownfields and Downey Studio

Dec 3, 2009
Written by Dina J. Padilla

MAJOR 1st amendment and very human VICTORY occurred on 11-13-09, The kaiserpapers.org website, the website owner, Vickie Travis and myself, Dina J. Padilla won the Slapp suit because the judge dismissed it WITH prejudice, MEANING that Stuart Lichter can never bring the same lawsuit against us on the same material that was on the website. This Slapp suit was filed in 8-08 by Stuart Lichter and his Attorney David S.White. An article in the L.A. Times referred to this lawsuit n 8-2-09 with Downey Studio workers getting sick. Leonard Martin had also won the suit earlier on but Stuart Lichter and his attorney fought it and it went to the Calfornia Applellate Court. The outcome is hopeful for Leonard Martin since we won.

What was on the website was about the Downey Studio that Stuart Lichter owns and where a Kaiser medical complex is built on what is a toxic Superfund-Brownfield site.

There are many Brownfield sites and we have at least four here in Sacramento. Aerojet, Mather, McClellan, Army Depot, but railroad yards and gas stations are also considered brownfields. The local news are starting to report some news about these sites but clearly not enough to alert all the people to the many dangers we all face.

Brownfields are loaded with poisons like radiation,depleted unranium, pesticides, diesel, arsenic, chromium hexolate, anthrax, agent orange and about another 250 deadly(carcinogens) contaminates that were claimed to be cleaned up-remediated like and by an ex- employee for GSA-General Services Agency, and for over 30 years, Stuart Lichter, who also claimed to clean up the Downey site as well as the site on McClellan Park here in North Highlands, Ca.. He had not payed insurance on this property and the DOI has allowed this. His office of IRG is in Littleton, Co. With many IRG's across the nation.

Stuart Lichter stalled in answering our interrogatories FOR MANY months even though HE WAS THE ONE WHO brought the Slapp suit aginst us for malice and CLAIMING losses of millions of dollars. He wanted the whole website down which mostly includes information about Kaiser-Kaiser Permanente. Stuart Lichter claimed that Kaiser Permanente was not in the law suit but it is interesting to note that he wanted the whole site down and also wanted any'all info pertaining to Kaiser.

The Downey Studios has had many movies made on that property and that it has so many deadly contaminates on it (and Stuart had every opportunity to say differently in a deposition BUT DID NOT) that all workers, actors, extras, including children have been exposed to what the federal government with NASA and Boeing left.. The Other factor is that Kaiser got to build on that site with a hospital and a clinic, right on a toxic brownfield site where patients, workers and visitors are every day and night being exposed to many deadly contaminates just as those who work building production sites for movie makers.

Many workers at the studio have gotten very sick and their claims have all been denied for any illness. They struggle along with their families to survive and go without the medical care they need. If no insurance claims are paid out (liability) then the property where the studios and kaiser are at will be able to build PERMANENT housing, exposing many families with children to the same deadly toxins.

This already has occurred at the Railroad yards and McClellan Park here in Roseville/Citrus Heights and Sacramento. Build a park or an arena and then such things as permanent housing is allowed. Habitat for Humnaity will be built at McClellan park for the indigenous to live on and get gravely ill.

Irreversible diseases are in our air,soil and water tables that will and are surely causing cancers, kidney diseases, diabetes, thyroid and other medical problems such as asthma and other respiratory problems. If you think about all of this, then you have to realize that far too many people are sick and dying at unprecedented rates of diseases that were very rare when most of us were kids. (I'm in my 60's).

Stuart Lichter has built on many toxic properties in Ohio as in California with local, state and federal assistance by the legislators but also by public officials in the DOD & DOE and public officials who have gone into the privatizing of these sites..FOR PROFIT FOR A FEW!

That assistance also includes billions of federal dollars and the current one in Downey is a new car manufacturing plant-TESLA from the Bay area (non union) building cars that are worth $115,000 claiming to use ELECTRIC energy with more more MPG's. This particular site is claiming almost 500,000 million dollars of federal money.

Now workers who are going to work in a car plant will be exposed to the same deadly contaminates as the studio workers, including children and kaiser workers and patients. The Downey site is also on a major earthquake fault.

Our own government through IRAD has allowed the privatization of these toxic Superfund-Brownfield sites to make money by letting people like Stuart Lichter develop on these toxic sites without cleaning them up, even though he has claimed to have cleaned them up. Let us please see this proof. Some of these sites can never be cleaned, such as Downey, McClellan or the Sacramento Rail Road yards.

Many public officials who are in both state and federal EPA are SAYING that these sites have been cleaned up. If that is the case, then Stuart Lichter could have proven he remediated the Downey site by answering the interrogatories, BUT HE DID NOT.

Across the U.S., there is gentrification that is going on. Older neighborhoods are being remodeled but many of the neighborhoods had toxic lands next to them exposing millions to deadly contaminates. My old neighborhood in Chicago is one of them.

Who does this effect the most?

It affects all of us, the U.S. workers. Who are the workers? They are people like our soldiers who are and have been exposed to the same contaminates, people like you, me, your children, college students, minorities, women, people of all creeds, the 99% that pay taxes, obey laws, those of you work every day to make things better for you & your family. The people who work for a living in a country that espouses "The American Dream".

Now mind you, I learned about Downey at the about the same time I learned about mold, which was at Kaiser Bellflower facility, not far from the Downey site and also about the bio tech industry and then the chem trails. This is far more information for me to wrap my head around in a year and now going on over 2 years. Just as it will be for all of you to try and comprehend and fathom as you are reading this. I still have some days that I have a hard time understanding that our own government is allowing to happen to the majority of the American people, BUT IT IS. And that this is happening in other countries like New Zealand and the Ukraine.

I have to thank Matt Gonzales-Leigh from San Francisco Ca. who ran for THE Peace & Freedom Party Vice President & running with Ralph Nader as President for the Peace& Freedom Party for President of the U.S. and his assistant attorneys who stayed the course and fought the fight against developers like Stuart Lichter who have used SLAPP SUITS against people who dare blow the whistle on MONUMENTAL government malfeasance ON THE PEOPLE OF THIS NATION.

NO ONE POLITICIAN or state or fedral agency that all of this has been brought to, IS CONCERNING THEMSELVES ON THE THESE ISSUES BROUGHT BEFORE THEM!!!!

Ralph Nader &Matt Gonzales cared enough to show up at a Downey conference and also a Peace& Freedom Convention where these were issues brought up. I, in my heart of hearts, know that Ralph Nader is perhaps the most caring individual for workers and consumers unlike no other politician.

Ralph Nader since the 60's was responsible in bringing the most protection safety nets for us but that since, subsequent politicians, have destroyed our safety nets that he created and what we paid for.

Now when you drink your water and the fish that comes out of that water, eat your (organic and otherwise) veggies and fruit, eat protein like beef chicken & pork, go outside to smell the roses, or even take your meds, please remember there are people like Stuart Lichter who are profiting on properties that are being developed to maim, poison and kill people.

And those that will benefit will be the high end investors who are on Wall St. who are also invested in these toxic Superfund brownfield properties, bio tech companies, insurance companies, HMO's chemical and pharmaceutical companies that will surely do the rest of us in.

Sincerely,
Dina J.Padilla
Future P&FP Candidate Dept.of Insurance Commissioner