Thanks to Everyone Who Attended Our April Meeting
Special thanks to Nina Babiarz and Charles Langley from Public Watchdogs, and Chris Peregrin from the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve. Join us at Earth Fair at Balboa Park this Sunday, April 23. Our next club meeting is Wednesday, May 17.
Thanks to Deborah Gostin for the portrait photos. Additional photos by Tommy Hough and Richard Ram.

Three Million Pounds of Nuclear Waste

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Last seen donning hazmat gear for last week's Nuclear Surfer events, Nina Babiarz and Charles Langley from Public Watchdogs will speak in conjunction with San Clemente Green at the San Diego County Democrats for Environmental Action April meeting this Wednesday, April 19, from 6 to 9 p.m. at Elijah's Deli and Restaurant at 7061 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.

The topic for Wednesday's meeting is the legacy of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS), and specifically, the 3.6 million pounds of nuclear waste from the plant that remains at San Onofre – yards away from the Pacific Ocean, alongside one of the busiest freeways in the U.S., next to the home of the 1st Marine Division, and in an area of the coast vulnerable to earthquakes and tsunamis from the offshore Rose Canyon Fault. What could go wrong?

April Club Meeting
Wed., April 19 at 6 p.m.
Elijah's Restaurant and Deli
7061 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
(in the McGrath Court shopping center)
San Diego, CA 92111

Read more about the current state of San Oonfre Nuclear Generating Station at club president Tommy Hough's most recent blog, Three Million Pounds of Nuclear Waste.

Trump Budget Would End Funding for NOAA Estuary Reserves

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We'll also hear from California State Parks ranger Chris Peregrin, who will step out of uniform and remove his state employee's hat to talk about the effects Trump administration budget cuts will have on National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-managed estuary facilities, including National Estuarine Research Reserves like the Tijuana River Valley, where the club recently hiked.

And the cuts in the proposed Trump budget aren't a percentage of the overall operating cost, but the entire budget – i.e., the end of funding. That will affect every agency in the region, including the U.S. Navy, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and California State Parks. Read more in Tommy's blog with photos from our Tijuana River Valley hike.

Banner photo and Tijuana Estuary sign photo by Tommy Hough
San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station photo courtesy of Recommission San Onofre