Gov. Asked to Balk at CEMEX Meeting

The effort to squash a proposed mine outside Santa Clarita has turned to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. A group of 8,000 Santa Clarita businesses, citizens and city officials have written a letter to Schwarzenegger to not meet with officials from CEMEX, the Mexican company that’s planning to build a 69-million ton mine near Santa Clarita, while he is on a trade mission to the country next month. The city contends the proposed mine does not meet air, water and other environmental standards and opposes the project’s size. “Once the Governor knows the facts about CEMEX’s shameful track record of environmental violations across America, it should be an easy decision for him to cancel his visit with the Mexican company, as their track record runs counter to the Governor’s words and actions,” said Santa Clarita Mayor Laurene Weste, in a statement released Tuesday. This summer, Santa Clarita erected 80-foot-wide signs along a local freeway denouncing the mine.