America Unites » Press Release

SANTA MONICA-MALIBU UNIFIED SPENDING TO AVOID PCB REMOVAL BREAKS $10 MILLION MARK; PARENTS TO DEMAND INVESTIGATION INTO MISMANAGEMENT OF FUNDS AND SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT’S CONNECTION

MalibuUnites.com — Sat, 30 Apr 2016 08:44:20 +0000

Pillsbury Legal Bills Reach $3.38 Million after another $500K Approved at March 3rd, 2016 Board

March 17th Agenda shows $500k more which Superintendent claims may be a mistake but has not removed it from the agenda.

MALIBU — Local parents and taxpayers are outraged that the school district has now spent more than $10 million to avoid removing hazardous waste, known as PCBs, from its schools; this includes a whopping $3.38 million spent on the law firm Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw and Pittman in only 2 years. The estimated cost of removing the PCBs ...

PARENTS VINDICATED FROM DISTRICT’S FALSE CLAIMS OF VANDALISM:

MalibuUnites.com — Fri, 18 Dec 2015 22:21:25 +0000

For Immediate Release:

Contact America Unites for Kids: 310-436-6000

Thursday, December 17, 2015

PARENTS VINDICATED FROM DISTRICT’S FALSE CLAIMS:

District Attorney Determines No Crime in Sampling Toxic Caulk

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s latest attempt to intimidate their critics and suppress evidence of widespread PCB contamination at Malibu schools failed when the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office rejected SMMUSD’s criminal complaint against parents who allegedly took small samples of building materials to test for toxic chemicals to protect their children.

A November 25, 2015 letter from L.A. County District Attorney ...

SMMUSD’s Calamity of Errors Validates Plaintiff’s PCB Lawsuit

MalibuUnites.com — Fri, 25 Sep 2015 07:14:03 +0000

Defendant’s Calamity of Errors Validates Plaintiff’s PCB Lawsuit

SMMUSD remediates wrong classroom but finds 100 times higher than legal limit

New evidence indicates that the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District failed to remediate the Malibu High School PE office that tested positive for high levels of PCB contamination in 2014 and mistakenly tested and remediated a completely different office on the opposite side of the building, which incidentally also contained high levels of PCBs.

The PE office that has still not been remediated is located on the South ...

Recently Released EPA Document shows SMMUSD is Defying PCB Policy and Federal Law

MalibuUnites.com — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 07:48:57 +0000

According to EPA’s most recent document on PCB policy, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) is not following the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) guidance or law regarding PCBs at Malibu High School and Juan Cabrillo Elementary School, contrary to its August 17th, 2015 press release, where SMMUSD claims it is in compliance with the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and following EPA guidance by only testing the air and dust but refusing to test any more caulk. However, an EPA document released on Aug ...

Malibu Real Estate Warns Buyers of PCB Contamination in Schools

MalibuUnites.com — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 07:53:28 +0000

PCB contamination at Malibu schools is now part of the Malibu Association of Realtors newest disclosure requirements.The latest version of the Malibu-Topanga Disclosure Addendum, which went into effect on Sept. 2, 2015, is intended to let prospective buyers know about local issues. This disclosure reads:

“Some Malibu Schools (Juan Cabrillo Elementary, Malibu Middle School, and Malibu High School) have been determined to contain Polychlorinated biphenyl (“PCB”), a known carcinogen, in caulking and other building materials. Environmental assessments are ongoing. Buyer is encouraged to investigate and determine ...

Press Release January 14, 2015

MalibuUnites.com — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 04:59:49 +0000

For Immediate Release: Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Contact: Leola Webb [PEER] (202) 265-7337; Jennifer deNicola [America Unites for Kids] (310) 436-6000

Malibu Schools Spending Millions to Avoid Toxic Cleanup

Payments to Lawyers and Consultants Exceed What a Full Cleanup Would Cost

Washington, DC — Malibu public schools officials have spent millions of dollars on lawyers and consultants to avoid following Federal law and fully testing and remediating contaminated facilities, according to figures posted today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) and America Unites for Kids (formerly Malibu Unites). ...

Press Release 10-16-14

MalibuUnites.com — Fri, 17 Oct 2014 18:25:05 +0000

Dear District Attorney Jackie Lacy, Sharon Matsumoto, Mr. Joesph Esposito and Mr. Scott Goodwin:

Currently, your office has two sets of independent results for Malibu High that show levels of PCBs over 300,000ppm. As you know, federal law regulates removal of PCBs at 50ppm. Today I am sending you more details regarding these results.

The first set of tests was done by EPA method 8082, which only measures the Aroclor totals. Method 1668c tells us about the 209 individual PCB congeners and is the one scientists ...

Press Release 9-22-14

MalibuUnites.com — Wed, 24 Sep 2014 22:02:40 +0000

DISTRICT ATTORNEY CALLED ON NEW PCB FINDINGS IN MALIBU SCHOOLS School District Threatens Fearful Children with Truancy, Teachers with Termination

For Immediate Release: Monday, September 22, 2014 Contact: Kirsten Stade [PEER] (202) 265-7337; Jennifer deNicola [Malibu Unites] 310-436-6000

New independent PCB test results revealing even more classrooms with toxic contamination thousands of times greater than permitted under federal law were turned over to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office today. The District Attorney’s Office has the jurisdiction to seek enforcement of the law, particularly violations of several California ...

Press Release 3-14-14

MalibuUnites.com — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 05:16:55 +0000

For Immediate Release

DTSC AGREES TO PERFORM COMPREHENSIVE SOIL TESTING

AT MHS AND JUAN CABRILLO

Major Victory for Malibu Community

Malibu, March 14, 2014 – A recent email from the California Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC) to Malibu Unites President, Jennifer deNicola, states that the DTSC will perform comprehensive soil testing on the three Malibu school campuses under investigation for toxic and hazardous substances. In 2011, over 1000 tons of contaminated soil was removed from the Malibu High campus. Since October 2013, parent advocates and teachers ...