Two years after Newsdesk.org first examined high levels of air pollution in West Oakland, progress towards helping this community breathe easier is moving slowly. Thorny projects, including cleanups at the port and a local Superfund site, are hard to k... Continue Reading →
Past Projects
Archive of special reports, series, and reporting projects from 2000 to the present.
Recent posts
Los Angeles neighborhood bears the brunt of air pollution
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As summer temperatures rise, so do fears of asthma and other illnesses caused by all the air pollution converging on the east Los Angeles community of Boyle Heights. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Culture & Economy, LA Toxic Tour: Boyle Heights, air pollution, asthma, boyle heights, Environment, freeways, Los Angeles
Missed EPA grant stalls West Oakland brownfields cleanups (Toxic Tour 2)
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After more than a decade of getting approved for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grants to remediate "brownfields" (contaminated properties), Oakland has been turned down. This is the first such rejection in a long time - and it will delay both... Continue Reading →
Filed under: Culture & Economy, Oakland Toxic Tour, Bay Area Toxic Tour, Ecology, Environment, Exclusives, funding, Oakland Local
Residential lead pollution cleanup in West Oakland will use new green technology (Toxic Tour 2)
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Soil polluted with lead has long plagued the South Prescott neighborhood of West Oakland. But cleanup is finally getting underway.This Saturday, June 25, the community is invited to learn more about the new green technology this project will use to cle... Continue Reading →
Filed under: Culture & Economy, Oakland Toxic Tour, Bay Area Toxic Tour, Ecology, Environment, Exclusives, Oakland Local, Public Press
‘Right Beneath Our Feet’: The Toxic Tour returns to Oakland
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Thinking about planting a garden this spring? Many West Oakland residents are doing the same — unaware that there is lead and cadmium in the soil and perhaps an old gasoline tank right under their driveway. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Newsdesk News, Oakland Toxic Tour, The Toxic Tour
Washington Elementary students need microphones to talk
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Students at Washington Elementary School have to take turns using wireless microphones to be heard over the continuous noise from airplanes from the nearby San Jose International Airport. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Culture & Economy, San Jose Toxic Tour, The Toxic Tour, Civic Life, Education, noise, pollution
Young people define a healthy future for Boyle Heights
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New community collaborations in Los Angeles are giving young people a leading role in improving their communities. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Culture & Economy, LA Toxic Tour: Boyle Heights, Civic Life, Nation, Public Health
In smoggy Los Angeles, one neighborhood pushes back
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News about Boyle Heights in Los Angeles tends to be about crime or gentrification. There's little coverage of air pollution, lack of safe and green spaces, lack of access to affordable and healthy food options — or the residents and organizations that are determined to change this. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Democracy & Civic Life, LA Toxic Tour: Boyle Heights, activism, boyle heights, California, Environment, Environment & Health, Health
Noisy neighborhood? One family lives with it: SJ Toxic Tour Blog
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By Donovan Farnham and Isaiah Guzman
Alison Soman, her husband John and their five-year-old son Ben live in perhaps the loudest area in San Jose. Their home in the Newhall-Sherwood neighborhood sits within steps of Highway 880, a train yard sits about 1,500 feet to the east and San Jose International Airport is just beyond that. Photo (c) by Donovan Farnham
Yet Alison said her family has gotten used to the planes, trains and, particularly, the whoosh of the automobiles. “The neighbors and I joke about it being the beach,” she said. The San Jose Toxic Tour is produced by the San Jose State University journalism students of Professor Michael Cheers, in collaboration with Newsdesk.org. Continue Reading →
Filed under: Culture & Economy, San Jose Toxic Tour, Environment, pollution, Public Health, San Jose Toxic Tour
Reading, writing, low-flying jets: San Jose Toxic Tour Blog
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Washington Elementary School is under the direct flight path of the San Jose International Airport. As many as 10 jets fly overhead per hour, producing constant noise, fumes and exhaust, that disrupt students’ education and possibly their health as well. Continue Reading →