[ECDC Announce] Media Advisory: Potrero Celebrates Withdrawal of Blackwater Mar 22 1pm

[Raymond Lutz]

Citizens' Oversight Projects
http://www.CitizensOversight.org <http://www.CitizensOversight.org/>
http://www.stopblackwater.net <http://www.stopblackwater.net/>

MEDIA ADVISORY:
Wednesday, March 19, 2008


_FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE_

CONTACT: Raymond Lutz, COPS Coordinator
raylutz at citizensoversight.org/ <mailto:raylutz at citizensoversight.org/> 
619-820-5321

*California Border Town Celebrates Withdrawal of Blackwater*

/Locals Reunite after a Divisive Recall Election and Battle over the 
Proposed Blackwater Private Military Training Base in Potrero

Congressman Bob Filner to Address Rally
/
WHAT: Locals reunite and celebrate the withdrawal of plans for 
Blackwater West, a private military training base planned by Blackwater 
Worldwide for the remote rural valley near the Mexico Border. Rally 
occurs just days after the five year anniversary of the start of the 
Iraqi war.

WHEN: Saturday, March 22 at 1:00 p.m.; Participants are encouraged to 
gather between noon and 1 p.m. Main event ends at 3 p.m. but 
participants may wish to enjoy discussion and music until 6 p.m.

WHERE: The rally will be held on private property located at 23975 Yerba 
Santa Road (corner of Round Potrero Rd. and Yerba Santa) in Potrero, CA 
(45 miles east of City of San Diego). Once in Potrero, from SR-94 go 
north on Potrero Valley Road, make a left onto Round Potrero Road and 
continue to Rally site. This is the same site where the rally of October 
7^th was held. (There will be no march to the site at this rally.) 
Limited parking is available on the property. For participants wishing 
to carpool, meet at the corner of SR-94 and Jamacha Rd. in the Edward's 
Theater parking lot at 11:15 a.m. to leave at 11:30 a.m. The drive is 
approximately 40 minutes from that location.

WHO: Speakers include, *Congressman Bob Filner *(CA-51) who recently 
introduced legislation that would require that mercenary training, 
including paramilitary-style training by federal contractors, be 
conducted only on property owned by the federal government. The valley 
where the training camp was to be built is located in Filner's district.

*Raymond Lutz,* coordinator for Citizens' Oversight Projects and 
candidate for the 77^th State Assembly District, which includes the 
Potrero area. Lutz apparently prompted the withdrawal of the project by 
threatening to block it at the state level, making it economically 
infeasible to continue.


Other speakers include:

    Jan Hedlun, member, Potrero Community Planning Group;
    Jeannette Hartman, Chair, Sierra Club Land Use; Committee;
    TBD, San Diego Veterans for Peace;
    Carol Jahnkow, Executive Director, Peace Resource Center of San Diego;
    William Crawley, member, Potrero Community Planning Group.
    Steve Kowit, Potrero resident and award-winning poet.

WHY: Blackwater Worldwide, known as one of the most powerful and 
secretive forces to emerge from the U.S. military-industrial complex and 
one of the greatest beneficiaries (over one billion dollars in contracts 
with US Government) of the "global war on terror," is increasingly 
underfire for acting above the law. The September 16th, 2007, killing of 
17 and wounding of other innocent Iraqi civilians underscores the 
dangers this company poses to the community.

Blackwater Worldwide had submitted a project to the San Diego County 
Department of Planning and Land Use for an 824-acre private military 
training base on a ranch in Potrero, a rural border town of about 850 in 
population, 45 miles east of city of San Diego.

According to company documents filed with San Diego County, the 
notorious Blackwater Worldwide would turn chicken coops into firing 
ranges, augmented with a tactical driving track, a ship simulator, a 
rescue safety training tower and a helipad.

Local critics had pointed to the potential enormous and long-lasting 
environmental impact, including loss of sensitive habitat, depletion of 
an already fragile and shrinking water table, groundwater pollution and 
more. In addition, people living in Potrero will be exposed to noise, 
traffic and disruption of their quiet way of life. The recent Harris 
wildfire ravaged this area and emphasized the danger of citing a firing 
range in a fire-prone region.

Five members of Potrero Planning Group who had voted last year in 
support of Blackwater's land-use proposal were recalled -- by up to 70% 
landslide -- in a December 11, 2007 unprecedented recall election. 
Recalled members of the advisory body were replaced with residents who 
expressed their opposition to the project. On March 7, 2008, Brian 
Bonfiglio, V.P. of Blackwater Worldwide, submitted a letter to the San 
Diego County Department of Planning and Land use stating that "After 
examining the capacity of our existing facilities and our business 
development goals, we have decided not to pursue plans for a training 
campus in Potrero."

Just days later, on March 13, 2008, Bonfiglio was to appear before the 
new planning group and make his case for the project. Instead, the 
planning group simply passed a ceremonial resolution to deny 
Blackwater's application for the project, to support the wishes of the 
community.

Now, the residents wish to celebrate the victory over Blackwater and to 
reconcile their differences, and is the underlying purpose for the 
celebratory affair.

SPONSORED BY: Citizens' Oversight Projects (COPS), Potrero Cause, Peace 
Resource Center of San Diego, San Diego Coalition for Peace & Justice, 
Activist San Diego, Puppet Insurgency and endorsed by the Democratic 
Party of San Diego County, and the East County Democratic Club.

####


-- 
---------------------------------------
Raymond Lutz, Coordinator
Citizens' Oversight Projects (COPs)
P.O. Box 252             
El Cajon (San Diego Cty), CA 92022 USA
Voice 619-820-5321
http//www.CitizensOversight.org

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://ecdcweb.org/pipermail/announce_ecdcweb.org/attachments/20080319/768746ee/attachment.html