LAEDC Launches “Not In My Backyard” Education Campaign

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) is preparing to educate Southern California residents on how NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) thinking can directly impact the issues that affect their quality of life. Hosted by the LAEDC, the OUR Backyard campaign will air several times a day on Southern California radio and be available via streaming live audio on the Internet.

Additional program information, research papers, resources and MP3 audio versions of the segments will be posted at www.backyardweb.org. In the spirit of talk-radio – modernized for the 21st century – web site visitors can also literally make their voice heard by recording their thoughts and opinions on key NIMBY issues to a voicemail 800 number which can be played back via the site’s “Talk Blog.”

“There are roughly 50,000 more people being added to the Golden State each month. About half of them are coming to live in Southern California,” said Bill Allen, LAEDC president and CEO. “Though many Californians understand the benefits of such growth, many do not want it to occur near them. The resulting debate becomes dominated by NIMBY attitudes and short-term decisions. We hope our new campaign can help inform a more constructive dialogue as our communities debate options to deal with California’s growth.”

Key topics of OUR Backyard explore what polls have shown Californians are most concerned about, including transportation and traffic congestion, air quality, water quality, water/energy supply, the environment and business growth in Southern California. The Building Industry Association’s Los Angeles/Ventura Chapter – an early sponsor of the campaign – is spearheading segments on housing and what can be done to combat the issues of affordability and availability.

LAEDC Senior Vice President of Public Policy and Consulting, Wally Baker, is the “voice” of the campaign.

“The LAEDC has consistently been the premier regional resource for fact-based information about the issues facing our region and their economic impact,” said Baker. “We understand the need for long-term thinking in order for our region to thrive. It is critical to educate the public and help people understand the consequences of the decisions that are being made. We hope OUR Backyard can help demystify certain issues and concepts.”

The educational program begins airing twice daily, Thursday, June 1st on TalkRadio 790 KABC-AM and streaming live audio on KABC.COM.

[Editors: For interviews call: George McQuade @ 818.340.5300 or 818.618.9229. Samples of the audio clips are posted at www.kabc.com, click on the “OUR Backyard” logo or visit www.laedc.org.