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Owners of polluting vehicles clean up their acts
By Louis Galvan / The Fresno Bee (Updated Sunday, September 18, 2005, 5:55 AM)
Larry Forbes had the right idea when he decided to show up 90 minutes early Saturday to line up his 1989 Cadillac El Dorado for a free smog testing and repair program at Fresno City College.
What the 68-year-old Fresno resident didn't count on, however, was that at least another 100 owners of cars with smog problems decided to get an even earlier jump — some of them arriving as early as 6:30 a.m. — for a program that was not scheduled to start until 9 a.m.
But Forbes wasn't complaining after waiting nearly four hours for his car to be tested.
"It was worth it," he said, holding a smog-repair coupon for up to $500 at A-1 Auto Electric to help his vehicle meet state standards.
Like most of the other motorists who showed up for the program, Forbes already knew his Cadillac was not going to pass the emissions test.
"I've known since May, but I just haven't had the money to get it fixed," he said. "Thanks to this program, I can now afford to take care of the problem."
The voluntary program was sponsored by Valley Clean Air Now (CAN), a nonprofit air-improvement group, and the Advanced Transportation Technology Center at City College.
The event is known as the "Tune In & Tune Up" vehicle emission repair program. Saturday was the third year the event has been held in Fresno.
The program targets gross-polluting vehicles and gives owners of such vehicles a chance to get their cars tested and at the same time get money to repair them.
"Gross-polluting vehicles are among the largest sources of air pollution in the San Joaquin Valley," said Octavia Diener, president of Valley CAN.
Air-quality officials say gross-polluting vehicles make up less than 10% of the state's cars and small trucks, but they account for more than half of the state's smog-forming emissions from light-gasoline vehicles.
Shelley McKenry, a Valley CAN spokeswoman and organizer, said turnout for Saturday's program, which had drawn nearly 200 motorists by noon and was not scheduled to end until 3 p.m., was about three times bigger than in previous years.
Because of the long lines, some car owners who arrived shortly before noon were told they could leave and return in a couple of hours instead of waiting to be called.
But some latecomers such as Danny Safarian, 46, of Fresno, weren't too keen about that suggestion.
"I'm here already," he said. "I don't think the line is going to get any shorter. I'm staying."
McKenry said Valley CAN had about 200 coupons available for up to $500 in smog-related repairs.
Additionally, she said, the state's Bureau of Automotive Repair was also offering a number of $500 emissions-repair coupons to eligible participants.
Qualified motorists also were given the opportunity to receive $1,000 from the Bureau of Automotive Repair in exchange for their polluting vehicles.
The reporter can be reached at lgalvan@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6139.
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