Meet Oscar, who appeared in Wednesday's Press-Telegram. He's the Long Beach father of three children who suffer from asthma, and a port driver for nine years. In 2004 Oscar opted to take clean air into his own hands and purchased a truck through Gateway Cities, a limited grant program resembling the scheme approved by Long Beach Harbor Commissioners.

Oscar wanted to escape the diesel that permeated every aspect of his life, but soon discovered there was no way out.

The debt he was left with ($700 a month on his loan) along with the soaring cost of fuel and other expenses, has made it impossible for Oscar to properly maintain his truck to keep it clean-burning. Just a few days before he delivered emotional testimony to the Long Beach Harbor Commission on Feb. 19th about his Gateway experience, Oscar's truck broke down. He was forced to take it to a back-alley repair shop where he could barter for parts and pay a small fraction of what a dealer would charge.

He often works up to 70 hours a week to make his monthly truck payment, and the year after he's finally paid it off, in 2010, the Port will have to shell out another $20,000 for it to be retrofitted (Note to taxpayers: the financial details are "unclear" and haven't been worked out yet).

And then what? In 2012, will he have to come up with $100,000 plus for a 2007 truck or newer? Or will he qualify for a subsidy that will give him monthly payments too steep to afford fuel and necessary, high tech maintenance? Oscar Tarelo says he's had it with half-baked schemes, he's got a different plan: "I'll go haul at the Port of LA, where they are going to make the companies pay for the trucks."