11
Fri, Jul

Throwing Some Heat into LA’s Development Debate

DEEGAN ON LA-Have you ever heard of an “urban heat island?” Do you know how it affects our environment? Do you know how developers can use carbon management techniques to help offset the effects of the heat and carbon impacts generated by the tall vertical masses they want to build? 

Read more ...

LA’s Biggest R-2 Hurdle: Common Decency

TRANSIT POLITICS--Having just returned from Charleston, Savannah, and Atlanta for a weeklong family vacation, I can assure you that cities both small and large do what they can to encourage a local economy, encourage proper neighborhood preservation and densification, and create jobs and affordable housing.  

Read more ...

UTLA, LAUSD … Hard to Tell Them Apart

EDUCATION POLITICS-Every week for the last five years I have been contacted by what seems to be a never ending parade of targeted senior teachers. These are the professionals that are at the top of the salary scale who make up 93% of teachers being charged and subsequently removed from their careers at LAUSD.

Read more ...

Retirement: A California Mirage?

RETIREMENT POLITICS--More than seven million people—over one-fifth of California’s population—work without a path to retirement. They have neither a 401(k) — the so-called “roller-coaster plan” tied to the stock market — nor a traditional pension that was once considered a worker’s right and which is now a rare species outside of government employment or the public education system.

Read more ...

The Target Store Shell Still Haunts the Corner of Sunset and Western … Here’s Why

INSIDER VIEW--After Target tried to construct a patently illegal store at the corner of Sunset and Western in Hollywood, the courts ordered Target to stop construction. 

Upset that it could not build a 75 foot store in a zone which limited the height to 35 feet, Target decided to continue the legal fight while changing the law so that its illegal building would be legal. 

Read more ...

Terrorism and Crime: Not Going Away Anytime Soon

JUST THE FACTS-This week we witnessed another horrifying terrorist attack on innocent people, this time at the Brussels airport and at a subway station in that city. The current victim count is 31 innocent people dead with 300 plus wounded. This brings to mind the previous terrorist attacks that have taken place in America and other parts of the world in recent years. Some are closer to home while others are across the sea in faraway places. 

Read more ...

Reading, Writing, and Revolution

BICYCLE REVOLUTION--The bicycle is proving itself as an instrument of gentle revolution, helping to change not just how cities are used, but how they are shaped. Bike lanes do more than facilitate low-impact travel; they enrichen businesses and create community where before there was only stress, noise, and smog. More and more people saddle up for city travel every day, often counting on smartphone apps to help them make sense of this new old way of moving. The revolution proceeds apace, and everyone, it seems, is joining in.

Read more ...

Hollywood Hills ‘Hood Bonds Over Party House Debacle

NEIGHBORHOOD NIGHTMARES-From the Hills of Hollywood to the Malibu coast and even the Valley, pricey real estate has provided the backdrop for countless reality shows and some out-control parties, as well as a nice income stream for investors, including developer Danny Fitzgerald who owns a cluster of glass manses in the Hollywood Dell. 

Read more ...

$15 Minimum Wage Makes November Ballot … Kuehl Says ‘CA Should Take the Lead’

HERE’S WHAT I KNOW-An initiative to raise the state minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2021 has qualified for the November election, adding to an already jam-packed ballot. Should the Fair Wage Act of 2016 pass, California would become the largest state to improve the standard of living for the 3.3 million low-wage earners in the state, including 600,000 in Los Angeles County alone, perhaps setting the stage for a higher minimum wage across the U.S.  San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf are co-chairs of the initiative campaign. 

Read more ...

Tunneling Through the Pass … MTA Plan Needs To Consider Alternatives

PERSPECTIVE--There is much to chew on concerning the MTA’s proposed ballot measure to add a half-cent sales tax and extend the current Measure R tax. 

I’ll focus on the Valley.

Tunneling through the Sepulveda Pass to allow a rail line is apparently one of the top priority tasks, but it would not be complete until mid-century.

The Orange Line would eventually be converted into light-rail, but that is even further down the timeline. However, in the interim, a reduction in at-grade crossings will allow faster transit times. A light rail route down Van Nuys Blvd to connect the Northeast and Southeast Valley neighborhoods to the Orange Line is another piece of the plan.

As we all know too well, commuting through the pass is a nightmare during drive time (no one says rush hour anymore). But is there an effective alternative to the tunnel? A great opportunity was lost when the car pool lanes were added. They could have been busways. Perhaps they still can, with stations at both ends. No doubt a far less expensive option, but buses can’t carry the volume rail can.

The interim plan for the Orange Line might be the most cost-effective strategy on the menu. Light rail might cause over-crowding at the NoHo Red Line station. It is already a busy place; I can only imagine the mob scene on the platform as light rail discharges throngs of commuters. Ever been on an over-crowded subway platform? I have twice … and it’s pretty scary as people get antsy waiting for a train to arrive. Several years ago, MTA acted on a recommendation of mine, when circumstances dictated, to stage people at the upper levels until the train-level crowd could be absorbed. That strategy may not be as effective with light-rail feeding the station.

A busway down Van Nuys Blvd would offer most of the benefits of rail without the heavy costs.

Could we trade cost savings from alternatives to expand or improve other transportation modes in the Valley?

All of us need to seriously consider the options and express our opinions to the MTA.

Even if the measure passes, there will still be time to reconsider the plan’s components and insist on the best value for the money.

We don’t want to suffer the fate of poor old Charlie

More Articles ...

Get The News In Your Email Inbox Mondays & Thursdays