By Natalie Ragus 
Until recently, oil drilling was a thing of the past in Baldwin Hills and Culver City. Residents approved a bond to purchase oil fields and to turn them into a two-square mile park linked by a bridge over La Cienega Boulevard.
That changed in 2003 when Plains Exploration & Production Company (PXP) unearthed a 65 percent untapped oil and gas reservoir underneath Culver City, extending out to Venice Boulevard. Two years later, the company wanted to drill six more wells under Ballona Creek and a number of single-family homes.
Increased drilling polluted the air and noxious fumes interrupted residents in their sleep. The county adopted a moratorium on new well drilling in PXP's Inglewood Oil Fields through 2008.
Since the moratorium expired, PXP, community members, county supervisors and the Natural Resource Defense Council have been locked in a battle over the future of drilling in the Culver City area. It's unclear if drilling will move forward and under what safety standards.
In collaboration with the Culver City Patch, we plan to produce an in-depth look at how the issue is developing, a sidebar providing context and more voices, and a timeline.
