News Articles

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• Dear Friends of Liberty,
  We would like to invite you to click on the following link to listen to the KPCC radio interview conducted on July 19th with guest speakers, Matt Rahn of SDSU and Gary Johnson of Granite Construction. Please click on the following link, once inside the webpage click on the download button to listen to the interview.
  http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/2011/07/19/controversial-quarry/

  
  

• QUARRY MEDDLING

  THE PRESS ENTERPRISE
  August 28, 2011
  State meddling is the wrong way to resolve the contentious dispute over a proposed quarry near Temecula. Legislators should not just stall a bill to intervene in the battle, but kill the measure entirely. A decision on the quarry should remain under local control, free from the distorting influence of legislative interference.
  
  The Senate Natural Resources Committee last week approved, then shelved, a bill that would stop the quarry. But legislators noted they could revive the bill at any time — a tactic meant to pressure the opposing factions into reaching an agreement. Putting this specialinterest legislation in limbo is a better decision than advancing it, certainly. But the implied threat of further Sacramento intrusion in a local decision is neither helpful nor wise.

  (Click here to read the full story)
  
  

• LEGISLATORS MUST REJECT ASSEMBLY BILL 742 AS A BLATANT END RUN AROUND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

  Written by Terry Henderson
  August 22, 2011
  California local governments face unprecedented challenges, including budget shortfalls that threaten substantial reductions in vital public services. Management problems like this are hard enough to handle without additional meddling in the form of misguided special interest legislation like Assembly Bill 742.

  This last minute "gut and amend" bill by Assembly Member Bonnie Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) strips local agencies of their land use authority and bypasses the local permitting and environmental review process - all to kill a planned Riverside County aggregate mining project on behalf of the well-heeled and politically powerful Pechanga tribe.

  The Liberty Quarry project in Temecula, already in the permitting process for six years, awaits final approval of the County Board of Supervisors later this year. If the Pechangas and their lobbyists have their way and AB 742 is enacted, that decision will never come and local government will have lost control of the process. The project will die, along with hundred of new jobs, $350 million in lost local and state tax revenue that is badly needed and more bruises to a state and local business climate that already is on life support.

  (Click here to read the full letter)
  
  

• Supporters, opponents of proposed Temecula quarry to square off at 1 more public hearing

  7:10 a.m. | Steven Cuevas | KPCC
  Granite Construction operations manager Gary Johnson at Rosemary Quarry near Temecula Supporters and opponents of Liberty Quarry project have jammed recent planning commission hearings.
  
  The battle over a proposed open-pit quarry in southwest Riverside County heats up again this week. A county planning commission is winding up public hearings over the contentious project. Supporters say Liberty Quarry will bring in good jobs and millions of dollars in tax revenue. Opponents say the cost for that will come in hazards to public health and the environment.

  (Click here to read the full letter)
  
  

• Smaller Quarry Plan Wins Recommendation
  
  The mining company developed two plans for the open pit quarry: one 135 acres, the other 155 acres.
  
  By Peter Surowski April 17, 2011
  
  http://temecula.patch.com/articles/smaller-quarry-plan-wins-recommendation
  
  A downsized plan for a proposed quarry near Temecula won the approval of county planners.
  
  Granite Construction, the company applying for mining permits, made two plans. One included a 155-acre quarry, and an alternative plan included a 135-acre one County planners will recommend the smaller version during two upcoming planning commission meetings, according to county documents.
  
  The meetings will be held at 4 p.m. at Rancho Community Church, 31300 Rancho Community Way in Temecula on April 26 and May 3.
  
  (Click here to read the full story)
  
  
• County report recommends approval of Liberty Quarry
  
  12:27 AM PDT on Saturday, April 16, 2011 By JEFF HORSEMAN The Press-Enterprise
  
  PDF: Read a portion of the Riverside County staff report on the proposed Liberty Quarry
  
  Riverside County planners are recommending approval of an open-pit mine that critics say will ruin the Temecula Valley and surrounding areas.
  
  Liberty Quarry "would bring many benefits to the county, the region, and the community surrounding the site," stated a report released Friday that was written for the county Planning Commission. The panel will review plans for the project at two upcoming public hearings.
  
  "The Planning Department has determined that the possible impacts that may result from the project are outweighed by the benefits the project will bring to the county; as such, Staff is recommending approval of the project," the report read.
  
  Karie Reuther, a spokeswoman for quarry developer Granite Construction, praised the report, saying it offers further proof of the quarry's benefits.
  
  (Click here to read the full story)
  
  
• FORUM: The quarry won't hurt us as opponents claim
  
  By Rick Kellogg | Posted: Monday, January 24, 2011 5:10 pm
  
  I jumped into the debate over Liberty Quarry a few years ago because I had firsthand experience in the aggregate business, and I knew that some opponents of the quarry were using misinformation to support their position.
  
  Reasonable people can disagree on any issue, and there are always good people on both sides. However, I have learned from talking to people who oppose the quarry that most of their objections are based on distortions coming from the group called Save Our Southwest Hills. I find it interesting that many of the most egregious errors made by opponents are from those who ask readers to go to the SOS-Hills website for information.
  
  (Click here to read the full story)
  
  
• Liberty Quarry hearings moved to Temecula
  
  10:00 PM PST on Monday, January 24, 2011 By JEFF HORSEMAN The Press-Enterprise
  
  Opponents of the proposed Liberty Quarry are praising the decision to move the Riverside County Planning Commission hearings on the project from Riverside to Temecula, saying the new location is more convenient for the public.
  
  The public hearings are now scheduled for 4 p.m. April 27 and May 4 at Rancho Community Church, 31300 Rancho Community Way off Temecula Parkway. The church is one of Temecula's largest and holds about 1,400 people.
  
  (Click here to read the full story)
  
  
• MURRIETA: California Oaks interchange contract awarded
  
  By NELSY RODRIGUEZ - nrodriguez@californian.com | Posted: Thursday, January 20, 2011 3:21 pm
  
  Granite Construction has been awarded an $11 million contract to rebuild the interchange at Interstate 15 and California Oaks Road in Murrieta.
  
  Council members awarded the contract Tuesday.
  
  Murrieta Public Works Director Pat Thomas said construction work is expected to begin in February, and take 18 months.
  
  (Click here to read the full story)
  

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