L. A. Harbor : W. Calvin Hurst Dies at 48
W. Calvin Hurst, chief environmental scientist for the Port of Los Angeles, died Sunday in his San Pedro home. He was 48.
Hurst, who was hired by the Harbor Department in 1972, was the first scientist appointed to manage environmental affairs for an American port, according to Ezunial Burts, executive director of the Los Angeles port.
Port officials credit Hurst with leading the port and its tenants through a maze of environmental regulations imposed in the 1970s with the enactment of the state’s Coastal Act and the establishment of the California Coastal Commission.
“He had few if any peers in the field of environmental management, particularly among scientists dealing with seaports and their adjacent oceans,” said Jun Mori, president of the Board of Harbor Commissioners.
Memorial services were held Wednesday at John S. Gibson Jr. Park in San Pedro. Hurst, a native of Arkansas, will be buried Friday in Hot Springs, Ark.
Port officials said an autopsy is being conducted to determine the cause of death. Hurst had suffered from kidney disease.
Donations in Hurst’s name may be made to the National Kidney Foundation of Southern California.
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