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In 1999, Pomona resident Joe Hinojos knocked on doors in southeastern Pomona, organizing neighbors against a wood products facility that dirtied the air and left sawdust in backyards.
For years, residents of the Southern California city’s industrial zone pushed back against the growing number of waste facilities near residences in a mostly Latino neighborhood. These efforts came to a head with the city council’s 2012 approval of a controversial waste transfer station.
The decision launched a wave of activism in Pomona. Two environmental justice groups, Clean and Green Pomona and United Voices of Pomona for Environmental Justice (co-founded by Hinojos’ daughter Linda), launched in 2012. Two years later, the groups successfully advocated for a ban on new waste and recycling facilities.
But t... Read more
