Tom Camarella and Rebecca Rona-Tuttle, two of Culver City’s most seasoned activists, strode into Council Chambers last evening 45 minutes ahead of other oil field protestors.

Well-armed with supporting documents, both had prepared statements they intended to deliver an hour later at the now-deflated special City Council meeting.

Yes, Sentinel Peak Resources, operators of the Inglewood Oil Field, formally had ceased resistance 12 hours earlier to prompt release of potential new oil field regulations.

Didn’t Sentinel’s withdrawal at least temporarily end any conflict with protestors seeking maximally tight rules?

No one, ostensibly, was left to fight.

Mr. Camarella disagreed. “Withdrawal means virtually nothing,” he said. “We know that they are not going to stop what they are doing.

“This is just one particular day in the long thing they are expecting to do.

“They will do whatever they can to pump the oil out.”

Ms. Rona-Tuttle nodded affirmatively as Mr. Camarella explained his reasoning.

“They don’t care about the people that much,” he said.

Mr. Camarella suspected chicanery in the late-hour timing of Sentinel’s sudden resignation from the dispute with City Hall over when to release proposed new regulations.

“Of course they waited until the last day to say, ‘Oh, we really don’t want the extension.’

“I have no idea what the strategy was behind their withdrawal.”

“You will have to ask them,” said Ms. Rona-Tuttle.

“They probably made that decision early on,” Mr. Camarella said. “But they didn’t tell us until the last second.”

Ms. Rona-Tuttle exhaled before speaking. “Look, I don’t trust them whatsoever,” she said. “But what their precise tactics are, who is to say? Only they know.”

Mr. Camarella said that even though the perceived impediment to a timely release of strengthened regulations had been removed, there was a need to come out and protest. “They are not going to stop what they are doing.”