Community programs and municipal policies garner good grades from air quality experts.

The City of Santa Clarita
came home with two awards from the 2008 Clean Air Awards ceremonies sponsored
by the South Coast Air Quality Management District after a luncheon held at the
Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles.

Santa Clarita was honored for its programs such as Bike To
Work Day and Community Energy Partnership as well as maintaining a Tree
City USA
designation for 18 years. The city was one of seven entities recognized during
the ceremonies and the only entity to take home more than one award.

The 2008 Clean Air Award winners were:

The City of Santa Clarita
– Model Community Achievement.

Santa Clarita has integrated air quality policy and programs
 through a large scope of efforts that
include an annual Bike to Work Day,  transit-oriented
redevelopment of its Newhall neighborhood, participation in  the Community Energy Partnership and
installation of the first public-access  compressed
natural gas fueling station in the Santa Clarita Valley.  Santa Clarita also maintains an environmentally
preferable purchasing policy, has been awarded a Tree
City USA
designation for 18 consecutive years and advocates for air quality with AQMD. The city's approach to public programs has included community members and business organizations.

State Senator Alex Padilla – Leadership In Government Award

Senator Padilla has shown strong support for improving air
quality through his work in the Senate Rules Committee.

Dr. Elisa Nicholas – Robert M. Zweig M.D. Memorial Award

Dr. Nicholas was instrumental in establishing the Long Beach
Alliance for Children with Asthma, a grassroots organization that raises
community awareness about children's asthma.

Energy Control Systems Engineering (EnergyCS) of Monrovia
– Advancement of Air Pollution Technology

EnergyCS, with support from Valence Technologies, pioneered
the engineering and development of the plug-in hybrid-electric Toyota Prius
retrofit.  This modified vehicle is designed to achieve more than 100 mpg for the first 50 to 60 miles of a user's daily
commute.

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UC Irvine Parking & Transportation Services' Sustainable Transportation Program – Innovative Transportation Project

UC Irvine provides the campus community with affordable
access to alternative transportation while reducing congestion and improving
air quality.
 
The City of Riverside "Grease
to Gas to Power" Project
Nearly 500 restaurants in the City of Riverside
are required to have grease traps in their sewer lines to prevent clogging the
city's sewers.  This type of grease can be very effectively treated in the
anaerobic digester tanks found in most sewage treatment plants.  In fact, the
grease improves the digester's performance and increases production of
high-quality methane gas, which can be used to generate electricity and heat
at the treatment plant.

Otana Jakpor – Promotion of Good Environmental Stewardship

Jakpor, a sophomore at Woodcrest
Christian High School
in Riverside, took an interest in
air quality and its link to asthma at an early age. After discovering a
lack of data on the pulmonary effects of ozone air purifiers, Otana did her own
research and showed that certain kinds of air purifiers emit astoundingly high
levels of ozone.

Clean Air Now – Public Education of Air Quality Issues

Clean Air Now, a local sponsor of the Clean Air Challenge,
has worked to help middle and high school science teachers meet California
science standards while enabling students to conduct scientific research on an environmental problem that impacts their health.