Last Thursday, Alex Marino and her husband, Christopher, reached out to community reporter Karson Wells about an overgrown field across from their home in Santa Margarita.
The field belongs to the Union Pacific Railroad Company, and the Marinos say they had been reaching out for months to them, with no response. Now, just four days since the story first aired on KSBY, the field was mowed.
"This is huge," said Alexandria Marino, a Santa Margarita resident. "We're so excited; probably 15 feet of brush was cut down today. I'm just happy that they finally listened to our request."
The Santa Margarita Fire Chief, Robert Murach, told KSBY last week that it had been four years since the field was properly mowed.
"We've been trying for three, almost four years, to get it done," said Christopher Marino, a Santa Margarita Resident. "And until we reached out to a news outlet, and I think it really just shows you the squeaky wheel gets the grease."
Now, the Marinos and their neighbors say they hope it won't get this bad again.
"It's also about the maintenance every year, every other year, continuing this so it doesn't get 15 ft again," said Alexandria.
KSBY called Union Pacific Railroad a few days ago, and they said they were working to schedule the brush to be cut.
After it was trimmed, KSBY called them again to ask them what prompted them to finally do it after four years and they said it was scheduled to be cut.
We also asked them if they would mow the area going forward, and did not get a response.
