Mayor Villaraigosa Takes New Job as Construction Worker
Well not really. But today the Mayor toured the construction site of the Eastside extension of the Metro Gold Line with US Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters. The Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension will extend the light rail six miles east through Little Tokyo, the Arts District, Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. The $898 million project is scheduled for completion in late 2009.Villaraigosa told KNX radio:
''We're using our federal dollars very efficiently,'' he said. ''There's a local match here as well. We've been committed, as we started to say, to putting our own money up. That's what makes, I think, L.A. very different from a lot of other places that go to the federal government, ask for money and don't put their own money up. You should know, we're also building the Exposition Line, which I think you know, and we did that, all the first phase, all local money.
Posted by Mayor Sam @ 2/28/2007 12:10:00 AM
10 Comments:
Same old, same old: another day, another photo op. The only time he's not standing in front of a camera is when he's sitting on a plane.
Mayor Photo Op poses again.
Color me shocked.
Update on the School Board Race for District 3. Some very strange phone calls have come into the Lauritzen campaign over the past few days. Several callers have asked what religion Mr. Lauritzen is, and have asked what country he comes from. These calls have all come from the South-Eastern part of the district, Studio City, Sherman Oaks and North Hollywood. One elderly woman said she had been told that Mr. Lauritzen was anti-semitic.
I sincerly hope that this was not Tamar herself pulling the religion card, but I don't know.
I was raised at Temple Beth Hillel in North Hollywood. My children are being raised at Temple Judea. The thought that this woman would slander a good man like this makes me sick.
It leads me to ask what else she would do to those who do not agree with her.
Walter, You're so Jealous!
Sounds like another Trujillo trick. Set up an auto dialer to tell Jews that Lauritzen is anti-semitic
Wouldn't it have been faster and more economical to have tried a monorail system above ground? The noise would be less than light rail, more quiet because of the use of rubber tires instead of metal wheels that trains use. The beam carrying the monorail train would be above the street, not subject to the traffic problems below; There would be no collisions with cars at intersections, and the structure would obstruct much less light than other elevated train systems. This information was on Alweg's website and more about monorails is on the Hitachi-Alweg website. Imagine the Orange Line as a monorail route, using the existing right-of-way that abandoned rail routes left behind.
The monorail plan was an idea presented by writer Ray Bradbury in about 1963 to the L.A. Board of Spvsrs. They did not give consideration in any way, according to reports I have read. Recently he has again brought this up as a way out of our public transportation mess. It may be worth a look.
The Japanese built a 13.1 km long monorail in 16 months of construction time for the 1964 Olympics. It still is in operation. (Source: Hitachi-Alweg website) Driling underground is what we do now. I would suspect the same distance would take much longer to arrive at a completed project.
Remember the problem with buildings having sunk during construction of the Red Line subway in Hollywood? And the interference with business access was no small matter during that time.
For all the money that is thrown around for the transportation projects by politicians, the alternative of a monorail system might be tried. At least a "study" could be undertaken. Studies have been funded for less worthy endeavors. Again, because of the various lobbyists and special-interests, I believe that we are stuck without imaginative solutions for delivering a better mode of transit.
At least Mayor Villaraigosa got through his photo op without another young future CEO messing up his pitch.
Update on School Board Race # 3
Interesting because i have been telling folks the following lies about Tamar.
1. She supports a plan that will divert $$$ from valley schools -- yet i offer up no proof. Why you ask? because there isn't any. I know Tamar graduated from Birmingham in the Valley, and that her kids will attend LAUSD valley schools AND that her husband is a big valley booster. But because i HIRED the most disgusting consultant to ever claim he was a man this side of the mississippi i can say anything!!!!
2. I also want people to believe she is a political hack...unlike myself who has been running for office for the last 8 years until i tripped on this whole school board trick. I used to be the guy you send out to hold up signs, because i couldn't phone bank or really walk precincts, wait i still am the guy you send out to hold up street signs even on my own campaign.
I lied and said she has no education experience -- even though 75% of my daily agenda has to do with legal issues, i believe that what i did in the classroom still is relevant today. 14 years ago i once had to ask for assistance in helping kids run the "oregan trail" program on the apple II's because it was too complicated. Nevermind that i was the COMPUTER TEACHER. But these details are too nuanced and TRUE for me to actually want to talk about. So i will resort to lying, distorting and sending out evil penguins like Smiley to do my dirty work.
Galatzan supports a plan that will divert $$$ from valley schools? Figures. I knew something was fishy about that Galatzan.
And the only way Walter gets a photo op is by publishing his own photo next to his blog entries and comments. Boo-hoo...
And 12:16 a.m., what's with the big fixation on monorails? Talk about an expensive option! What do you think building an elevated high-tech train up on a massive, seismically-safe structure running down the middle of major boulevards would cost, not to mention removing existing traffic lanes and disrupting the route with construction for years and years?! You want monorails, go to Disneyland.
People, it's not about me, it's about the person who's supposed to be WORKING as the City's Mayor. Does it not trouble you that seemingly every day he is staging a photo-op instead of doing actual work? Are you so petty that your reaction to this collosal waste of time is to attack the messenger, or are you just staffers glad that you get to screw around on the internet all day while the boss is out getting his picture taken? I guess from your perspective, the longer he's out, the fewer Lister-mints you need to fetch.
Walter,
"Th id me lear hou to spoke aut Rose,e,vet"
Toni
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