Time well spent

Let's be real here: We've all got a lot on our plates.

As if the everyday demands of life didn't already take up enough waking hours, the current instability of the economy and questions over the rising price of gas have given our worried minds even more fodder to chew on.

The fact is clear: There just aren't enough hours in the day. But listen up- it's time to stop using that as an excuse.

This week the front page of the Acorn features a pair of articles about two very important matters- expansion of the Simi Valley Landfill and the cleanup of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory's contaminated Area IV- and they share a similar request.

A request for public input. Yes, the public- that's you.

In the case of the landfill, the county is holding a meeting Monday, June 2 at city hall to allow the residents of Simi Valley to weigh in on the environmental impact report tregarding the landfill expansion. Put simply, the EIR is the document that will ultimately be used by our elected officials to determine whether tripling the size of the landfill is good or bad for Ventura County.

So it's vital that residents take this opportunity to let the county and its independent researcher know exactly what Simi Valley's concerns are for the landfill. Not Ventura's, not Oxnard's, not Thousand Oaks', not Moorpark's, but Simi's.

You can do that only by showing up.

This is another opportunity to let the county know that Simi Valley takes this expansion very seriously- and that we expect every step of the process to be done publicly and with us in mind.

A packed house on June 2 would send an important message. At the very least, it would remind the county we're watching.

The same goes for the two meetings that will be held related to the Department of Energy's role in the cleanup of Area IV, a former nuclear energy testing site thought to be the most contaminated section of Rocketdyne's Santa Susana Field Lab.

Don't feel like you have to be a rocket scientist to show up. If you live in Simi Valley, you're a shareholder. And getting this site cleaned to the fullest extent is something we all should be concerned about. The two meetings will be held at the Grand Vista Hotel, the first on Tuesday, July 22, from 2 to 4 p.m.

A wise man once said you get what you give. Well, Simi, it's time to start giving. If we don't, we might we met get something we don't like.