No on Prop 23 Press Conference at Palo Alto Medical Center

Senior citizens, parents, retired nurses and "Raging Grannies" spoke out against the passage of Proposition 23 today at a press conference in front of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation adjacent to the Stanford University campus.

Speakers applauded the strong stance against Proposition 23 taken by the California chapter of the American Lung Association, the California Nurses Association, Kaiser Permanente, and many California hospitals and public health advocates. Jane Warner, President and CEO of the American Lung Association in California said recently that the impacts of air pollution affect everyone in the state, and that 19,000 people in California die prematurely every year because of air pollution. "Prop 23 will do nothing but cause more air pollution, cause more children to have asthma, send more seniors to the emergency room, and take more lives of Californians," she said.

Today's action in Palo Alto began with a rally at the major intersection of El Camino Real and Embarcadero at noon. Senior citizen activists dramatized their anger at Texas oil companies with a skit "Raging Grannies v. Oil Billionaires for Pollution"; the grannies lashed out at oil company representatives in top hats for their heartless support of Proposition 23.

Ruth Robertson, the parent of an asthmatic son said, "Big oil companies Valero and Tesoro are trying to weaken the rules California has for energy and air quality standards by donating millions of dollars to get Proposition 23 passed. Their executives don't live in California and breathe California air, and it's a sure bet they aren't raising small children here." Gail Sredanovic, a lung patient, also gave personal testimony.

Retired nurses Barbara Goodwin and Ellyn O'Toole spoke into a microphone to the gathered crowd. They agreed that it is critical to the health of all Californians that Proposition 23 be defeated.