Dodgers Win One in the War of the Medflies

The Dodgers may be struggling about 10 1/2 games back in the National League West, but they managed a big win this week that few others can claim--a reprieve from malathion spraying.

Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner E. Leon Spaugy said that because of the lack of fruit trees at Dodger Stadium, the park will be spared Thursday night when the helicopters spray 14 square miles around downtown.

“There’s nothing at the stadium but blacktop,” Spaugy said. “It’s just a big area, with a big parking lot with no host trees.”

Spaugy said some parts of downtown also will be spared because of the lack of fruit trees and the presence of some nesting peregrine falcons.

During the 11-month Medfly infestation, the only other spots exempted have been the Crystal Cathedral in Orange County, a section of Riverside County that is home to the endangered kangaroo rat, and water reservoirs.

The exemptions for the church and the kangaroo rat habitat brought down a storm of complaints on the state. Malathion critics were again dumbfounded by the stadium’s reprieve, saying the state apparently cares more about a baseball stadium than residents.

“It’s absolutely unreal,” said former Monterey Park Mayor Patricia Reichenberger. “Here are thousands of people complaining about spraying and out of the blue they exempt Dodger Stadium.” Dodger Stadium operations director Bob Smith saw the exemption as no big deal.

The downtown treatment zone, which will be sprayed at least three times, is roughly bounded by the Golden State Freeway and Hyperion Avenue on the north, Vermont Avenue on the west, Olympic Boulevard on the South and the Los Angeles River on the east.