Doing the job our own media so totally ignores, the New York Times offers a takeout on the travesty of our leadership’s plans for costly subway and rail projects while slashing bus services to the transit dependent.even as we have the highest sales tax rates in the state heavily subsidizing the MTA.
“Though the roads in Los Angeles routinely jam with honking cars in the
morning, there is also an almost invisible commuter class — the millions
of people, most of them poor, who depend on the sprawling bus system,” the NYT’s Jennifer Medina writes.
“Local officials push public transportation as the path to an
environmentally friendly future, with plans for a subway to the sea and
miles of other rail projects in the region. But at the same time, the
financially struggling Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation
Authority is cutting back dozens of bus lines and shortening routes to
save money that they say would be better spent elsewhere…
“The fight over the city’s buses stretches back decades. In 1996,
advocacy organizations filed a civil rights lawsuit saying the
transportation authority had not done enough to keep its fares low or
prevent overcrowding. A consent decree mandated federal oversight for
the next decade and required the system to spend $1 billion to add new
lines and more buses on existing routes. But that oversight expired in
2006, and the Bus Riders Union filed a complaint that helped prompt an
investigation of the agency that is scheduled to begin this month.”
It’s worth bringing this up on American Independence Day when we celebrate the birth of our nation anchored in a notion of democracy where we share the belief that all people are created equal and have the right to live their lives in freedom while pursuing their own sense of happiness.
That’s what makes it so hard to comprehend how our city has gone so wrong for so long, how public policy has chased away good jobs and middle class families by the tens of thousands, how amid so much spectacular wealth we see so much poverty and hopelessness.
The contradictions captured in this article about public transit in Los Angeles is repeated over and over in every aspect of our lives.
We subsidize gleaming skyscrapers, luxury hotels and entertainment facilities even as our neighborhoods deteriorate and our infrastructure crumbles from old age. We have the finest health care in the world for some and tolerate intolerable conditions in our public hospitals. The same is true of education and nearly every aspect of our lives.
There are two L.A.’s: The city of the privileged elite and the city of the other four million people struggling to have a better life.
Listen to Eric Garcetti’s acceptance speech after unanimously being re-elected Friday as Council President as a prelude to his run for mayor and you tell me which city he lives in, whether his vision of a vibrant city in which democracy is flourishing matches your experience, whether, as he says, City Hall has performed an economic and political miracle over the last two years by fixing the damage caused by years of spending more money than the city took in.
Listen a while longer as Councilman Bernard Parks exposes how more than $300 million in claimed savings from a new police contract actually will cost taxpayers far more than $300 million over time as the bills for 800 hours of stored overtime per officer and sick leave come due at far higher costs.than when they were accrued.
Listen as well to how the 3-1-1 public help line has been slashed from 24-7 operation with less than a one-minute wait time to 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. last year with a 2 1/2-minute wait time and now 8 a.m.to 5 p.m. hours this fiscal year with 4-minute average wait time and the expectation that more a quarter of callers — nearly 200,000 of them – will give up in exasperation after waiting 10 minutes or longer.
It’s like the way bus riders are treated. The people most in need of help get cuts in service whether it’s closing parks and libraries, bus lines or help lines because what matters in this democracy is building a downtown football stadium where only the well-to-do can afford tickets or a subway to the sea that doesn’t solve traffic congestion problems.
When 88 percent of the people know better than to bother even voting because the elections are rigged with fortunes from special interests buying favors from the politicians and honest, caring citizens don’t stand a chance, this isn’t democracy.
If Garcetti believes what he says about democracy in L.A. and what has been achieved under his leadership over the last two years, he is either delusional or a complete cynic. I’m not sure whether it matters which is true.
Eric loves Hollywood & this City, his friends and fellow City Councilmen. Good Luck Eric! But we have a few things we need to level the economic playing field. First, get rid of LAHD pass through fees. SCEP & Registration Fees. That’s 45 dollars A YEAR.
When the LL rents at Market Rate the $45 fee per year should not be paid by the tenant because the rent amount is high enough; another words the LL decided it’s true market value which equates into a fair return.
When a Politician Advocates “Equality for ALL Angeleno’s” His or Her voice must also pay attention to the many Angeleno’s that have no voice.
http://t.co/M5fuRmU
“…the Bus Riders Union filed a complaint that helped prompt an investigation of the agency that is scheduled to begin this month.”
Hallelujah!
This city has been mismanaged badly.
Is it worth repairing? What do you all think?
If your answer is yes, tomorrow is not too soon
and we need to elect ordinary citizens, not
re-elect the scum-bags we are dealing with
now. And let us limit the time they will be able
to serve with no automatic advancement to another
seat like there is right now.,
I cannot imagine Hahn, Perry, Zine, Garzetti, etc.. I am sure there are more, aren’t there?
Well, I’m doing my part to oppose City Hall by currently campaigning against JHahn, and campaigning for Craig Huey for Congress. Voting is this July 12th. Small businessman with ethics and no political ties to wealthy supporters or unions.
Here’s what Cardenas thinks of his constituents; Recently at the Van Nuys 100 year Birthday celebration held at the Orange Line parking lot, mostly made-up of the Van Nuys NC, Van Nuys High School Band, a Mariachi band, and a handful of people, mostly Cardenas’ staff. After his speech; he asks the small crowd, “Isn’t Van Nuys beautiful after 100 years?” A resident in the back, shouts out, “No!” Then, dead silence!
Not to mention the outrages extortion penalty fees if the landlord is late on the inspection bill.
Not to mention the possibility of a ‘non-profit’ developement company buying your former foreclosed property with subsidized taxed dollars.
Not to mention the tenant’s who temporarily enjoy a reduced monthly rent until they’re surprisingly informed their building is going to be demolsihed. Now where are they going to find the cheap rent they were paying? The relocation money doesn’t last long.
I give grateful thanks to our military men and women who served our ‘USA’ to preserve our freedom. A special salute, rememberance, and thanks to the Americans, who during World War ll, were sent to internment camps, and labled ‘enemy non-alien,’ because they were of Japanese descent. These strong, brave Japanese-Americans were eventually allowed to enlist in the armed forces. Many lost their lives in Italy, France and Normandy. As an elite group they risked their lives in the dark of night, climbing the face of a steep mountain to rescue a detail of Texan US soldiers who were pinned down by the Germans. A salute to these soldiers who fought with valor. Americans are not defined by race, but by your allegiance to the American Flag for which it stands. This story was told to us last night by actor George Takei, of T.V.’s Star Trek. Important to know history. But it seems our ‘antonio’ and city council are ungrateful to the fact that veteran soldiers who have fought to keep our USA free, is what gave these elected officials the opportunity to run for public office in a Republic, democratic society. Otherwise, if they were greatful, they would find it an honor to serve the public, instead of themselves and their politically connected ‘millionaire’ supporters. God Bless America.
Generally the problem is a combination of Corruption and Incompetence. When a city councilmen all agree more than 99% of the time and all elect the same jerk who has presided over the greatest decline in LA’s history, you know it is massive corruption and incompetence.
Corruption and Incompetence are highlighted in CRA/LA will steals billions of tax payer dollars and doles it out to the cronies of the city hall cretins.
Angelenos are so fed up that in the last election they re-elected every imbecile goniff who has brought this disaster upon us.
Now the City Council is agreeing to pay an additional $400 M to the State in order to keep the C RA after AB 1x 26 abolished it. That’s right: forget fire service, forget new police equipment, forget libraries, forget 311, forget roads and parks — the city is giving away $400 Million of our tax dollars and cutting all the vital services so it can gie hundreds of millions of dollars to the force of corruption andm destruction.
If I were an LA politician, I’d look at how Angelenos vote and I would say to my self, “These A-holes want me to cheat them.” Then I would give $400 Million to keep the CRA and $1 Billions to AEG to build a football stadium.
Ronnie I support all you do but to listen to anything Bitter Bernie has to say is wasting time. Bitter Bernie Parks has the audacity to talk about the budget when he voted all along to give 17% raises to DWP back a few years. He also voted to give DWP general managers a $5 million back pay. Bernie Parks also gave his friend Magic Johnson a $30 million concession contract at LAX. Oh and let’s talk about all the DEAD people Parks had on his campaign mailer during his relection. Parks took campaign money from Tony Todd DeStefano you know the promoter of racves at the Coliseum who made millions illegally. Then remember the MTA illegal campaign donations to Parks too? The list goes on and on. Parks is no better then any of the other clowns on council.
The registered voters are to blame for not voting. Public safety is the elephant in the room and is resulting in cuts to all other services. The City can live with much fewer officers as crime rates are down everywhere in USA and not just in LA.
Also City Council should pass a wealth tax on the billionaires in entertainment industry.
Its in everyone’s interest (Except the Development Community, AEG, and Eli Broad) to allow the CRA/LA to wind down and close shop.
Instead LA is planning on spending more money to keep it alive.
Let your Councilmember know that your are against the plan to keep CRA/LA alive, since this will require more funds (now from the General Fund) to keep it going.
Follow Council File No. 11-0763: http://cityclerk.lacity.org/lacityclerkconnect/index.cfm?fa=ccfi.viewrecord&cfnumber=11-0763
Ron, I presume you will be following the CRA/LA issue closely as the City considers whether it will close the CRA or pay our tax increment to Sacramento so that CRA can continue handing out millions to politically connected developers who do not need this form of welfare.
Hey David Barron, if you want to use this blog to give mini speeches and muckrake, leave the 442 out of it. They have nothing to do with you or your politicking.
Gosh, hyper-sensitive-thought police are so petty.
CRA, AEG, City Council, Mayor:
We all know what is going now. It is over. Give up now
while you are still out of jail where you belong.
Also, you might give some thought as to how you are going to pay us taxpayers back.
My apologies to mystery writer; Re; the 442nd Regimental Combat Team, if I offended you.
I spoke Japanese about as good as my spanish, when I supervised multiple projects in Southern California and Mexico, for Sanpoh-USA of Japan and other industrial Japanese companies. I built a 1400 sq.ft Japanese style home for Mrs Kaneko. She shared with me, her experience in an internment camp.