Spin Campaign Floods The Community

Have you received a mailer touting why Petaluma needs an asphalt plant? How about a phone survey asking what your stance is on the issue? Perhaps you’ve stumbled upon a slick website making claims about environmental benefits of asphalt production. Environmental benefits of asphalt production??

As silly as it may seem to some, this is exactly what is being flooded into the community right now. Take Dutra’s own blog, for instance. It seems that the Save Shollenberger Park slogan has become such a powerful message that they would like to claim it for their own:



Nice try but the people cannot be fooled that easily. The concerns of the Petaluma community have begun to resonate throughout the entire County and Dutra knows it.

We just learned today that the Sonoma County League of Women Voters have announced their extreme opposition to this proposal stating:

“…concerning the League response to the location of the Dutra Asphalt Plant in Petaluma. We have mailed to each Supervisor our reasons for extreme opposition to this project. We are basing our opposition on our established Land Use policies.”


In an attempt to cut through some of the spin, we have compiled 15 reasons why this is the Wrong Plant in the Wrong Place. We’ve supported our responses with quotes from experts and community leaders as well as verbiage pulled directly from Dutra’s own Environmental Impact Report.

Click here for 15 reasons why this asphalt plant is bad for Petaluma.


Want to help us combat this well funded spin campaign? Donate here. Each and every dollar donated will go toward raising community awareness and funding the legal battle. Your donation is tax deductible.

Comments

  1. sampleMarch 23, 2009 at 9:03 PM

    Great alternate mailer! My students have been engaging in a critical inquiry about the Dutra proposal--and we took a critical look at the mailer sent to all Petaluma residents. They created some amazing creative responses to Dutra's spin campaign. I'm posting a couple of my students' responses to the mailer on my blog ("Live and Learn") tonight. Check it out if you're interested: http://pacothetiger.blogspot.com

    By the way, I'd just like to take a moment to celebrate being a part of such an intelligent, active community. It's wonderful to live, teach, and raise my child amongst such caring and dedicated people.
    -Carrie

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Regional Water Quality Control Board Ruling

Dear Friends, GOOD NEWS! The Regional Water Quality Control Board rejected Dutra's analysis of Alternative Sites and told Dutra to demonstrate the necessity for an asphalt factory in Petaluma. The State agency declared Dutra Haystack Asphalt Plant's Alternative Site Analysis "Invalid". (See Letter below) Thanks to all who have supported the community's efforts to preserve and protect Shollenberger Park and especially to those who wrote supporting letters this time around. This fight is not over - stay tuned for upcoming community fundraising events and gatherings to Save Shollenberger Park. Joan Cooper & David Keller PRESS RELEASE - For immediate release. November 16, 2016 Contact: David Keller, Director, Petaluma River Council - (707) 763-9336 Joan Cooper, Founder, Friends of Shollenberger Park - (415) 516-3673 Dutra told to justify the need for asphalt plant in Petaluma: State agency declares Dutra Haystack Asphalt Plant's Alter...
Read more

Community Health Forum Announced

The Petaluma Health Care District has announced a community forum on March 17th to discuss the health impacts of the proposed Dutra asphalt plant. The forum will consist of presentations on health-related issues, followed by a question-answer period. All of the members of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will be invited, along with several other people, including representatives of Dutra and the people who prepared the final environmental impact report. The forum will take place from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Petaluma Community Center in Lucchesi Park, at 320 N. McDowell Blvd. Help spread the word by printing and distributing this flyer
Read more

Dutra's Track Record - History in Miami, Florida

Image
In 1994 Dutra Construction Co. began contracted work with the Port of Miami, dredging a section of the shipping channel in Biscayne Bay, a “shallow subtropical lagoon with diverse habitat including mangroves, seagrass beds, and coral reefs. Manatees, crocodiles, sea turtles, and many important fish species also share the immediate marine environment with the port.”1 This “rich marine habitat”1 was severely damaged by Dutra’s illegal dredging and destruction of “3.5 acres of seagrass outside of the permitted dredging area.”2 “in violation of county, state, and federal laws.”3 “This is the largest unauthorized sea-grass-destruction case ever investigated by DERM [Miami-Dade Department of Environmental Resources Management],” declared biologist Craig Grossenbacher, chief of DERM's coastal resources section. “At the very least there was gross negligence.”3 Grossenbacher also stated that “We now know this illegal dredging occurred between 1995 and 1997.”3 “To make matters worse, the exc...
Read more