Green Path North Project Canceled

The City of Los Angeles got the message;not in our backyard. A project to get electricity to LA-through power lines cutting through Desert Hot Springs, Pioneertown and Oak Glen is off the table.In Yucca Valley Wednesday,the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power announced it was scraping its plans on theGreen Path North Project.The idea was to carry electricity from geothermal plants near Salton Sea all the way to Los Angeles. But the path didn’t sit well with people living in the high desert and our local mountains. Those areas would have been littered with 200 foot tall power poles. It was a 3 year fight with LADWP, but for those concerned about the desert landscape, it was well worth it. April Sall headed up the California Desert Coalition.”I think it was really democracy at work and we had a small community that stood against the mayor of Los Angeles and the department of water and power.” Desert Hot Springs Councilman Russell Betts was also more than pleased with the outcome.”If anybody’s been involved in any type of grass roots movement like this to keep it going for almost 3 years is incredible and to actually win like they have here today, its phenomenal.”The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power also announced its supporting SenatorDiane Feinstein’sDesert Protection Act of 2010.