“Hope is not a strategy.”

For nearly three years, L.A. County officials have clung to “hope” as a solution for residents near the Chiquita Canyon Landfill. The trouble began when residents started reporting toxic, foul odors — far worse than the typical landfill smell. Something was changing inside the landfill, and for almost three years, county experts offered vague promises, but little was done to resolve the issue.

As complaints surged — reaching 19,788 in 2024 alone, along with 194 formal Air Quality Management District violations — the county assembled various task forces, assuring residents that they were working to get to the bottom of the problem.

Time passed, and what followed were weak attempts at relief: a couple million dollars for emergency assistance, and a secretive “Community Relief Fund” set up by Waste Connections to help residents “harden” their homes against the toxic fumes and hotel rooms when the stench was too much to bear.

But the relief was minimal.

The air quality in Val Verde and Castaic worsened, and common complaints ranged from headaches and nausea to breathing problems, depression, heart issues, and cancer.

For nearly three years, the county’s........

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