Purpose

To consolidate, disseminate, and gather information concerning the 710 expansion into our San Rafael neighborhood and into our surrounding neighborhoods. If you have an item that you would like posted on this blog, please e-mail the item to Peggy Drouet at pdrouet@earthlink.net

Friday, September 20, 2013

Beverly Hills versus Metro

http://thesource.metro.net/2013/09/19/transportation-headlines-friday-september-20/

By Steve Hymon, September 20, 2013

 Beverly Hills versus Metro 
(Beverly Hills Weekly)

Three stories in this pdf. The first, on page 2, describes a new complaint filed by the city of Beverly Hills in their ongoing lawsuit against Metro and the Federal Transit Administration that alleges the environmental study for the Purple Line Extension was not sufficient. The new complaint against the FTA alleges that seismic work done by Beverly Hills High School on their campus should have triggered a supplemental environmental review.

The second story on page 3 is about the Beverly Hills City Council voting to approve work permits for Metro to perform geotechnical work near the intersection of Wilshire and La Cienega. At the meeting, Councilwoman Lili Bosse said that Metro’s requests for work permits are being handled differently than others who seek work permits in the city — i.e. Metro’s must be approved by the City Council, which is a very irregular arrangement. The article also quotes from a letter sent by Metro to Beverly Hills asking for a master agreement for work permits for the subway project. Councilman Willie Brien in the article also tells his colleagues that restricting hours could lead to project delays and lengthier construction times in the city.

The bigger story here is this: Metro is only seeking permits for the first phase of the subway project, which ends at Wilshire and La Cienega. This part of the route has never been in dispute and in the past Beverly Hills elected officials have maintained they support the project — they just don’t want the subway to tunnel under Beverly Hills High School.

The third article, also on page three, is about the hiring of a new law firm by Beverly Hills Unified School District to handle its lawsuit against the FTA over its approval of the subway project. The new firm includes former Senator Joe Lieberman, who is giving the BHUSD a 23 percent discount — he’s only charging them $924 an hour. BHUSD President Jake Manaster says that Lieberman will be used to talk to people who may not understand the school district’s position on the subway project.