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# Park project unfairly favors Hispanics
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/park-project-unfairly-favors-hispanics-editor/
- Published: 2003-11-05T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:09:58.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Opinion, Pico, #archive-import, Homeless

*By Patrick Holland Santa Monica*

Recently at a Santa Monica City Council meeting, the Council approved awarding all contract construction work for the upcoming Virginia Park improvement project to so-called “at-risk youths” in the Pico neighborhood. The idea was to help Hispanics, between 18 and 24 years old, on parole or probation and having difficulty finding work.

The Council erred grossly in its judgment and ought to be sued for violating long-established labor laws and for openly practicing racial discrimination. The Council should redo their unfair awarding of such contracts and be more fair in their inclusion of those who are not of Hispanic ethnicity. Just because someone lives near a city construction project — such as Virginia Park — does not entitle them to preferential hiring.

The so-called Pico neighborhood is a part of all of Santa Monica, not some exclusive enclave to Hispanics. One could not say without being accused of racism that Christine Emerson Reed Park is a "white" neighborhood park.

Not only are 18 to 24 year olds of other races unfairly excluded, this age group actually consists of adults — not youths who are in some sort of hypothetical state of “risk.” The labor on Virginia Park and any other city projects ought to be more fairly available to all people, regardless of gender or race — as long as they are of age and legal to work in this country. Any preferences in hiring at all should rightfully go to unemployed veterans and U.S. citizens before all others. It also would help the city to set aside a small percentage of that lucrative contract labor for the local homeless to reduce their dependency on the city.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 5, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/110503.pdf?ref=smdp.com)