"LA Harbor Commissioners OK Rail Yard Near Port"

"Over the objections of environmentalists, community groups and neighboring Long Beach officials, Los Angeles harbor commissioners on Thursday approved a $500-million rail yard that could dramatically boost business but also drive more noise and dirty air into schools, parks and low-income neighborhoods."

"The proposal to create a huge staging center for trains hauling freight from the Port of Los Angeles has raised questions about environmental justice, particularly for the adjacent poor and working-class neighborhoods of west Long Beach. There, residents already live in an area known as the 'diesel death zone' because of port-related air pollution.

The clash also has pitted Los Angeles and Long Beach against each other, even though the cities have collaborated for years on initiatives to reduce harmful emissions in their harbors, which make up the largest combined port complex in the nation."

Dan Weikel reports for the Los Angeles Times March 7, 2013.