Pam Arment Ochs of Morro Bay was 69 when she passed peacefully July 3 after a lengthy illness, leaving behind husband Ed and son Aaron. She will be missed by those who knew her as a fun-loving rebel, an original disruptor, firebrand, fighter and organizer. Her name will forever be etched in the history of the notorious Los Osos sewer project of 2005 when she launched the Los Osos Taxpayers Association (LOTA) and sued the State of California for failing to conduct the required Proposition 218 vote. She won! One woman against the State, stopped the project cold, even though it had already broken ground at the proposed mid-town site.
It’s a true-life testament to what one woman can accomplish when she sets her mind to it! The State was forced to hold the Prop 218 vote, and, as a result, the project was eventually moved to its present location out of town. Los Osos has Pam to thank for that chain of events! Though short in stature, Pam packed a powerful punch as the State can attest to. These qualities have been passed down to her son, who is dedicated to continuing and exceeding his mother’s pursuit of truth and justice through community involvement. (At the same time Pam formed LOTA, Ed and Aaron launched The Rock newspaper, which informed the community on alternatives to the expensive gravity project.)
Pam was born in Harrisburg, Pa. and raised in Bladensburg, Maryland, outside Landover, the oldest of two daughters. Her younger sister, Lindy, was special needs, and Pam, Ed and Aaron welcomed Lindy when Pam’s mother, her closest friend, passed in 1997. Lindy passed in 2019, Pam first worked in rock radio at DC101 in Washington, D.C. and moved to L.A. in 1978 where she worked at Wally Heider Recording in Hollywood
before taking a job in the PR department of Infinity Records where she met Ed. Pam also worked at BackStreet Records, Tom Petty’s record company, and later as a media buyer at Darcy Macmanus Masias. She went on to launch an all-children’s video rental service.
Happy Kids Video, and WestCities, a West L.A. tourist magazine. Determined to move out of the L.A. for cooler climes, Pam and Aaron traveled the Coast searching for the perfect landing spot, and Pam, a devoted animal lover, was captivated by the natural beauty and tight[knit community of Los Osos. When the sewer project finally became a reality, Pam and family packed their bags and moved to Ojai, then Morro Bay, where, yet again, in pursuit of fairness for residents seeking an affordable solution, she challenged the Prop 218 vote count on the Morro Bay sewer project.
Pam had a knack for exceeding expectations. Anyone who underestimated her capabilities came to regret it. Her motto was: “Keeping people honest is a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it.” And she did it well! How did she do it? Pam combined street smarts, acute intuition, a “sixth sense” about people and a logical, legal mind, and she was willing to go toe-to-toe with anybody, no matter how lofty their position or status. She had a highly developed sense of right and wrong, and when she knew she was on the side of right, she was fearless and unstoppable, a true force of nature whose shooting star will burn without end.
