Latest news with #LACountyBoardofSupervisors
Mint
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Mint
California's High-Speed Rail Deserves to Be Canceled
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- If President Donald Trump follows through on his recent threats to cut off federal funding for California's long-troubled high-speed rail project, it would be better for all concerned: For all intents and purposes, this thing went off the rails (sorry) a long time ago. Escalating costs have made it clear that no money was or ever would be available to realize the vision of a modern bullet train between Los Angeles and San Francisco. What's under construction is a segment through California's Central Valley, where costs are cheap compared to other parts of the system but which offers almost no economic value. The whole thing has become a zombie project that nobody with clout in state politics can either rescue or kill. A hated outsider officially ending it would let the state's Democrats complain while also allowing them to acknowledge the reality that it's not going to happen. The tragedy is that the basic concept of high-speed rail for California makes a lot of sense. Los Angeles and San Francisco are two large metropolitan areas that are about as far apart as Rome and Milan (about 380 miles). Trains between those two Italian cities have a 68% market share relative to airplanes, and the competition puts downward pressure on airfares. At this kind of distance, many passengers prefer the comfort of a train to the speed of a plane, and the convenience of train stations to airports. A train could also provide frequent service to intermediary locations such as Bakersfield, Modesto and Fresno — cities that in the aggregate have a large population, but by themselves aren't large enough to support a lot of flights to LAX or SFO. And finally, once the core HSR line was built, spurs to San Jose and Sacramento, and an extension to San Diego, would be relatively straightforward. These are all real benefits. But they depend on connecting Los Angeles and San Francisco with a train that is both fast and cost-effective to build. The failure to achieve this has become a legendary case study in progressive excess, but the original sin was committed by a Republican — Michael Antonovich, then a member of the LA County Board of Supervisors — in 1999. Planners wanted the train to head north from Los Angeles along the route of Interstate 5, but Antonovich successfully pushed to detour the train through his district. That made the project more expensive and increased travel time. Unfortunately, this set the template for almost every subsequent decision around the project. To build a fast train between Los Angeles and San Francisco in a cost-effective way, it is important to prioritize making the train go quickly between Los Angeles and San Francisco. There may be tradeoffs between expense and speed. But it should never cost more to make the train slower. Yet it happened again with another major decision to get from the Central Valley to San Francisco via the Pacheco Pass rather than the more northerly Altamont Pass. There are many more details, complexities and decisions that went into this fiasco, but the basic story is pretty simple: They couldn't build a cost-effective fast train between Los Angeles and San Franciso because they kept making choices that deprioritized that goal. It is of course understandable that elected officials who represent places other than LA or San Francisco would have other priorities. But regularly deferring to the wishes of those who weren't aligned with the core goal of the project undermined it. The way to do these things is to avoid precommitments. California should have invested a modest amount of money for a cost-effective proposal, and then asked the legislature to support it. If it said yes, great. If it said no, fine. Either way, you wouldn't end up with a bottomless money pit — and no train. A new high-speed rail proposal for the East Coast, from the Transit Costs Project at New York University, shows what sound planning looks like. Rather than copying Amtrak's official proposal — which starts by asking every stakeholder what they want, then rolls it into an impossible $117 billion plan — the NYU study looks for the cheapest way to send trains from Washington to Boston in just under four hours. Its plan involves modest amounts of new construction and significant changes to commuter rail operations. But the whole thing comes in at about $17 billion, which is a very modest cost for a program with large benefits given New York's constrained airspace, and leaves most train commuters better off. Yes, some existing riders would lose out, as would some Amtrak customers in less populated cities. The politics of making this plan a reality aren't simple. But the upside — especially to 'in between' cities such as Baltimore, Providence and Philadelphia — would be huge. It's an idea creative politicians should take up. More important, politicians throughout the country should pay attention to the enormous price gap between the 'do it as cheaply as possible' plan and the 'accommodate as many as possible' plan, because the basic point is applicable to all kinds of infrastructure projects in all kinds of places: If something is worth doing, it needs to be made a priority. If it's not important enough to be prioritized over other considerations, better to give up and do something else instead. Otherwise, like California's politicians, they may be left with not much more than a lot of wasted time and money. Elsewhere in Bloomberg Opinion: For more, subscribe to our newsletter. This column reflects the personal views of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Matthew Yglesias is a columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. A co-founder of and former columnist for Vox, he writes the Slow Boring blog and newsletter. He is author of 'One Billion Americans.' More stories like this are available on
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
About 55,000 Los Angeles County workers go on strike, pausing some services
Tens of thousands of people who work for Los Angeles County went on strike Monday night, consequently disrupting some public services. The members of labor union SEIU 721 walked off their jobs after 7 p.m. Monday in an effort to negotiate for a new and fair contract with the county. Promising not to impact law enforcement and first responder services, this strike could, however, pause services ranging from parks and libraries to healthcare and social work. The union represents frontline workers, hundreds of whom were seen joining a picket line outside LA General Medical Center on Monday night – the first of the two-day strike. 'We are in the business of healthcare. We would never leave our patients in danger walking out,' Kelly Zhou, a nurse anesthetist, told KTLA's Carlos Saucedo. 'We gave 10 days' notice – this is the last resort.' SEIU 721 claims the county has repeatedly violated labor laws and failed to bargain in good faith on cost-of-living increases and health insurance. 'We've had to file 44 unfair labor practice charges against them,' said David Green, president and executive director of SEIU 721. 'It includes everything from not giving a fair deal at the table, not bargaining in good faith, health and safety issues.' According to the union's website, this Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) Strike will directly impact more than 55,000 employees represented by SEIU 721 as well as nearly 10 million county residents. 'Also, we're talking about filling vacancies, there are 12 thousand vacancies in LA county right now,' added Green, 'And a huge amount of outsourcing, almost 7.8 billion in outsourcing. So these are all things we're talking about at the bargaining table.' The strike will close libraries and some healthcare clinics, and wildfire beach debris cleanup could also be affected. The union's contract expired at the end of March with no resolution in sight. 'All the healthcare providers are stressed and stretched thin, yet they're spending billions of dollars on contracting out,' said Zhou. 'I am open to creative solutions, but the bottom line is simple: we must not write checks that cannot be cashed,' Kathryn Barger, chair of the LA County Board of Supervisors, said in a statement. 'Fiscal responsibility must guide our negotiations to both ensure the long-term stability of the County's services and operations and protect County jobs. Neither should be sacrificed.' For more information on closures, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Dolores Huerta, labor leader and civil rights activist, celebrates 95th birthday
The Brief Labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta turned 95 on Thursday. The LA County Board of Supervisors proclaimed April 10 as Dolores Huerta Day. LOS ANGELES - Labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta celebrated her 95th birthday on Thursday. Earlier in the week, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors proclaimed Thursday as Dolores Huerta Day. What we know Supervisor Hilda Solis, who introduced the motion, lauded Huerta for inspiring her life and career and joked that she didn't "look a day over 30." Huerta, who attended the meeting with her two daughters, beamed with pride, calling the supervisors the "face of courage" and thanking them for honoring her. "When Coretta Scott King said, `We will never have peace in the world until women take power,' and to see all of you great supervisors here is showing that example to women," Huerta said, referring to the fact that all five county supervisors are women. The backstory Dolores Clara Fernández was born April 10, 1930 in Dawson, New Mexico and moved to Stockton, California at age 3 with her mother after her parents divorced. Witnessing racism against Latino-Americans from early on inspired her toward activism. The National Museum of Women's History lists two significant events she witnessed as a child: when a prejudiced schoolteacher accused her of cheating because her papers were too well-written and in 1945 at the end of World War II, when white men brutally beat her brother for wearing a popular Latino fashion Zoot-Suit. She took up her last name after marrying her second husband and fellow activist Ventura Huerta. She received an associate teaching degree from the University of the Pacific's Delta College and briefly taught school in the 1950s. Working with hungry farm children coming to school motivated her in organizing farmers and farm workers. In 1955, she founded the Stockton chapter of the Community Service Organization, which led voter registration drives and fought for economic stability for Latinos, according to the motion introduced by Solis. Huerta met activist César Chávez through an associate and in 1962, the pair founded the National Farm Workers Association, the predecessor of the United Farm Workers' Union. Huerta served as UFW vice president until 1999. At the UFW, she negotiated contracts and ardently advocated for safer working conditions, including the elimination of harmful pesticides, and for unemployment and health care benefits for agricultural workers. In 1973, Huerta led a consumer boycott, resulting in the ground-breaking California Agricultural Labor Relations Act of 1975. Throughout her career, Huerta has worked to improve workers' legislative representation and toward electing more Latinos and women. Solis listed some of her numerous accolades, including the Eugene V. Debs Foundation Outstanding American Award, the U.S. Presidential Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She was also the first Latina inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1993. What they're saying "Dolores, your life and legacy are an integral part of our collective history and resistance," Solis said, "I'm deeply honored to be a part of it, and in knowing you and serving alongside you as you mentored me and so many others." "Dolores Huerta's contributions to Los Angeles County and to Latinos across the country have inspired generations of leaders fighting for justice for all," Solis later said in a statement. "Now more than ever, we honor Dolores Huerta for her work as one of the most influential labor activists of our time and celebrate her 95th birthday. On this Dolores Huerta Day, may her legacy continue to light a fire in us all." Huerta returned the praise, calling Solis "modest" and noting that she "never really brags about herself or talks about the work that she's done." Recalling Solis' advocacy against femicides in Mexico, Huerta congratulated her for achieving a significant milestone for women across borders. Fellow Supervisor Janice Hahn recalled the grapes boycott and said it empowered women to take charge, even at a time when they were not working. "My dad was a civil rights leader himself, but it was my mom who refused to buy grapes at the grocery store," Hahn said. The board passed a similar motion in 2024, proclaiming April 10 as Dolores Huerta Day. "Today, we reflect on your passion to overcome challenges and make reality the changes we want the entire world to see," Board Chair Kathryn Barger said Tuesday. "Happy birthday and we look forward to celebrating you at 96, 97, 98, 99 and 100." "I'm honored to receive this recognition from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, who work tirelessly to make Los Angeles County a vibrant home for all," said Huerta in a statement. "I accept this on behalf of Los Angeles' working people, especially our immigrant community, whose labor supports families and children. The Supervisors have gone above and beyond to assist immigrants, and as we face challenges ahead, it's vital to continue supporting their bold, compassionate leadership for our most underserved communities."
CBS News
05-03-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
LA County officials will provide an update on debris removal, extension of relief grants
A week after Phase 1 of the debris removal process was completed, Los Angeles County officials will be providing an update Wednesday morning about the progress of Phase 2. At a news conference, officials will also provide information regarding weather preparedness regarding the upcoming rainstorms that will increase the potential of thunderstorms and debris flow in the Eaton and Palisades fire areas. To prepare for the upcoming weather event, Sierra Madre city leaders have issued an evacuation warning in anticipation of debris flow and unsafe conditions. Last week, LA County Board of Supervisors Chair Kathryn Barger announced the launch of the Household Relief Grant. According to a press release, officials will be providing an update about the extension of application deadlines for the grants.
CBS News
26-02-2025
- General
- CBS News
Officials to provide update on debris removal in Los Angeles, announce opening of relief grants
Weeks after the deadly Eaton and Palisades fires, crews continue to make progress in the debris removal process working to clear fire-affected properties from toxic materials. At a weekly news conference Wednesday morning, officials will provide an update on recovery efforts and will announce the opening of applications for the County's Household Relief Grants. The county plans to provide direct financial relief for homeowners and tenants who were most affected by the fires. Phase 1 of the debris removal process being handled by the U.S. Environment Protection Agency for hazardous household material is expected to be completed by the end of the week. Phase 2 by the Army Corps of Engineers to remove the remaining fire debris. Residents in several areas near landfills across the county have expressed their concerns over the fire debris being dumped. At a meeting Tuesday night, the LA County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a controversial plan that will increase the daily dumping limits in three county landfills.
