Concerned Inland Empire residents lost a fight to stop a garbage processing plant from opening in their neighborhood.
The Pomona City Council on Monday night approved a 10 and a half acre, $14 million dollar waste transfer station. A large crowd of opponents protested the vote, accusing supportive council members of selling the community out. Most hailed from the city's low-income third district where the proposed site is scheduled to be built.
Pomona officials say the garbage plant will generate 50 full-time jobs and generate over a million dollars in annual revenue for the cash-strapped city. Critics say it will lead to a more toxic environment in a neighborhood already reeling from serious health issues.
KPFK reporter Agnes Radomski was at the very contentious city council meeting. She files this report from the Inland Empire.