U.S. EPA: Danny Heffernan: heffernan.daniel@epa.gov, 303-312-7074
Salt Lake County: Blake H. Thomas, BlThomas@slco.org, 385-468-4887
EPA awards $600K to support the cleanup and redevelopment of properties in Salt Lake County, Salt Lake City and Murray City
Brownfields coalition grant to catalyze economic revitalization at Camp Kearns and other targeted areas
DENVER (June 5, 2019) —The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is awarding $600,000 in Brownfields grant funding to a coalition of local governments led by Salt Lake County to advance the cleanup and revitalization of properties in the county and in the communities of Salt Lake City and Murray City, Utah. Salt Lake County is among 149 communities have been selected to receive grant awards totaling $64,623,553 million in EPA Brownfields funding through our Multipurpose, Assessment, and Cleanup (MAC) grant programs.
Salt Lake County is receiving a $600,000 Brownfields Assessment Coalition grant which will be used to conduct environmental site assessments at nearly 50 locations. The County, along with coalition partners in Salt Lake City and Murray City, will use the EPA funds to target properties in three priority areas: Camp Kearns in Salt Lake County, the Murray City Central Business District, and the Jordan River/Glendale Neighborhood in Salt Lake City. The Brownfields project is the latest in a series of successful property assessment, cleanup and redevelopment efforts in Utah communities supported by EPA in coordination with our partners at the Utah Department of Environmental Quality.
“These grants fulfill several of President Trump’s top priorities simultaneously: helping communities in need transform contaminated sites into community assets that not only create jobs and jumpstart economic development but also improve public health and the environment,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler. “We are targeting these funds to areas that need them the most. Approximately 40 percent of the selected recipients are receiving Brownfields grants for the first time, which means we are reaching areas that may previously been neglected, and 108 of the selected communities have identified sites or targeted areas for redevelopment that fall within Opportunity Zones.”
“EPA continues to support Utah’s communities as they assess and clean up properties and create new economic opportunities for their residents,” said EPA Regional Administrator Gregory Sopkin. “We look forward to seeing the areas targeted by these grants revitalized as places where people live, work and play.”
Thank you so much to the EPA,” said Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson. “This grant will go a long way toward returning spaces back to the community for future economic development, making them safer, cleaner and more environmentally friendly for our businesses and families.”
"These EPA Brownfields grants reflect the power of partnership and will help accomplish our overriding goals of healthier people, healthier communities, and a healthier economy," said Utah Department of Environmental Quality Executive Director Alan Matheson.
Camp Kearns includes more than 100 acres that have been neglected for decades, with former uses as Army training, light industrial, automotive, and mechanical repair facilities. Potential contaminants of concern include petroleum compounds, heavy metals, asbestos, and other hazardous materials. The area has been designated as a federal Opportunity Zone which the coalition intends to capitalize on as part of the redevelopment efforts. The redevelopment of Camp Kearns has the potential to bring a large number of jobs back to the community through the development of light industrial and manufacturing businesses, improving the community’s overall economic vitality and health, as well as the quality of life for its residents.
Salt Lake City will also use EPA grant funds to assess environmental contamination at properties in the Jordan River/Glendale neighborhood, including a gas station and auto repair shop located along the east banks of the Jordan River. Murray City will assess properties in the Central Business District including a critical property that is home to an auto repair shop and former gas station.
Background
A brownfield is a property for which the expansion, redevelopment or reuse may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant. There are estimated to be more than 450,000 brownfields in the U.S. As of May 2019, under the EPA Brownfields Program 30,153 properties have been assessed, and 86,131 acres of idle land have been made ready for productive use. In addition, communities have been able to use Brownfields grants to leverage 150,120 jobs and more than $28 billion of public and private funding.
Grants awarded by EPA’s Brownfield Program provide communities across the country with an opportunity to transform contaminated sites into community assets that attract jobs and achieve broader economic development outcomes while taking advantage of existing infrastructure. For example, Brownfields grants have been shown to:
One hundred and eight communities selected for grants this year have identified sites or targeted areas in census tracts designated as federal Opportunity Zones. An Opportunity Zone is an economically-distressed community where new investment, under certain conditions, may be eligible for preferential tax treatment
List of applicants selected for funding: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/applicants-selected-fy19-brownfields-multipurpose-assessment-and-cleanup-grants
EPA booklet “Brownfields: Properties with New Purpose, Improving Local Economies in Communities with Brownfield Sites”: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-06/documents/bf_booklet.pdf
For more on the Brownfields Grants: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/types-brownfields-grant-funding
For more on EPA’s Brownfields Program: https://www.epa.gov/brownfields
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New Miniseries
Insomnia
Releases First Episode Today
via YouTube + insomniatheshow.com
Watch Now, HERE
New York, NY - June 5, 2019 - Vishaal Reddy, queer, South Asian, actor, writer, and producer, has released the first episode of his debut miniseries Insomnia today, Wednesday, June 5. The series, consisting of six episodes, will be released weekly on Wednesdays at 12PM EST and available to watch via YouTube and insomniatheshow.com. Watch the first episode now here.
Insomnia is a darkly comedic, single-camera, limited series about Nikhil Sharma (Vishaal Reddy) - a struggling bi-sexual Indian-American writer who can't seem to get his life together. Nikhil secretly starts moonlighting as a male escort in New York City, and through his darkly absurd, late-night adventures, he finds himself dealing with racism, sexuality, loneliness, and a lack of sleep. Taking cues from shows such as Master of None, Louie, Fleabag, and High Maintenance, this is Nikhil's journey to find love, happiness, and his true identity. This is a story about growing up. And failing. A lot.
After spending years being frustrated by both the lack and misrepresentation of roles for someone of his race and sexuality, Reddy decided to take matters into his own hands and create a role of his own. The concept for the show spawned from real-life experience out in NYC where he was approached by a stranger, who had asked him to consider taking a job as a male escort. The series was directed by award-winning director, Michelle Cutolo, and also stars Nikki Renee Daniels (Hamilton, The Book of Mormon), Aneesh Sheth (High Maintenance, Difficult People, New Amsterdam), Cheech Manahar (Mean Girls The Musical), Alison Barton (Master of None), Kuhoo Verma (The Big Sick), and more.
Reddy was able to get Insomnia off of the ground with the help of a Kickstarter with over 190 backers, and the series has already been heralded by Wussy Mag, The Teal Mango, India West, and more.
Vishaal Reddy is an NYC transplant, originally from Tennessee. He received his undergraduate degree at Boston University, studying Business Administration and Theater. Upon moving to NYC, he was a part of numerous off-Broadway plays and musicals, while also diving into the television//film world (recent credits include The Punisher, Bull, and Big Dogs). Feeling frustrated with the industry's portrayal of Indian characters, he started writing and producing his own screenplays and sketches. Most recently, Reddy completed the Tribeca Film Creators Market, where he was selected as one of the N.O.W. creators, and has been a special guest at Buzzfeed HQ, where he had a chance to chat all things Insomnia during a panel. His ultimate goal is to use Insomnia as a platform to launch a production company, focusing on the stories of Asian Americans and members of the LGBTQ+ community, as Asian characters make up less than 3% of on-screen characters, and only 4.8% of television characters identify as LGBTQ+.
The first episode of Insomnia is available to watch now. For more information, please visit https://www.insomniatheshow.com/.
To keep up with Insomnia, please visit:
https://www.facebook.com/insomniatheshow
https://www.instagram.com/insomniatheshow/
https://twitter.com/insomniatheshow
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Eagleton Expecting Great Racing as Trans Am GT Returns to Sonoma
No. 98 Five Star Property Management / Energy Real Estate Ford Mustang
Sonoma, CA - June 5, 2019 - GT Racing returns to wine country, and specifically the beautiful hills north of San Francisco the weekend of June 14-16 when Round 4 of the 2019 Trans Am West Coast Championship presented by Pirelli gets underway. On what is effectively a home track, California native Roger Eagleton will be looking to continue his fine start of the season in the GT class, where he has already tasted success this year, winning the opening round of the season at Thunderhill before a podium second place at Laguna Seca in the beginning of May.
Thunderhill is a particularly happy hunting ground for Roger, who has twice won the “world’s longest race” - the 25 Hours of Thunderhill. The 2017 SCCA Spec Mustang Champion, Roger is also very familiar with the demands of Sonoma - and indeed with the unique qualities of the current crop of Ford Mustangs - having competed there as recently as October of 2018 during the SCCA Runoffs.
Testing for the weekend’s action begins next Friday morning, June 14 with a solid 55-minute session, followed by an hour practice in the afternoon. The smaller fields that assemble for the West Coast Championship should mean Roger and his crew are able to get plenty of clear road to ensure the car is set up to be competitive. A forty-minute practice session on Saturday, June 15, is followed in the afternoon by the all-important qualifying session, with the race going green for the Trans Am feature race at 12:45 p.m. on Sunday, June 16.
Roger’s race car for the SCCA accredited 2019 Trans Am West Coast Championship presented by Pirelli is the No. 98 Five Star Property Management / Energy Real Estate Ford Mustang. A successful entrepreneur, Roger promotes partnerships within his businesses and network. Five Star Property Management is the Bay Area’s premier boutique property management company, while Energy Real Estate is based in Roger’s hometown of Burlingame and is primarily concerned with Residential Sales.
Speaking ahead of next weekend’s action, Roger was clearly looking forward to racing again when he told us, "The entire team at DIG Motorsports is excited to head to the race weekend at Sonoma Raceway with Trans Am. This is our third ever Trans Am event weekend as a team and we are very focused on the West Coast Series at the moment. The competition in the GT class is really heating up and it will be challenging for us to continue to do well."
The GT class cars that Roger competes in are heavier, less powerful cars than the TA and TA2 cars that he will share the track with, something he acknowledged when he added, “We are in a much heavier and lower horsepower car compared to rest of field, but we know Sonoma really well, it is a great track for us, and we hope we can make up for some of the power differences with the great braking and handling performance that is a signature of these Spec Mustangs. No matter what, we know that this upcoming Trans Am weekend should make for some great racing for the fans and there should be some really good battles going on!"
Sonoma Raceway, formerly Sears Point Raceway and Infineon Raceway, is a 2.52-mile road course and drag strip located on the landform known as Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains in Sonoma, California, USA. The road course features 12 turns on a hilly course with 160 ft of total elevation change.
Keep up with all the latest news about Roger via his website at rogereagletonracing.com, Facebook and Instagram.
Five Star Property Management l gofivestarpm.com
DIG Motorsports l digmotorsports.net
Energy Real Estate l energyrealestatesf.com
