Page 6 Beverly Hills Weekly

Newspaper columnists and reporters just

love it when PR flacks call to point out
mistakes. So you can just imagine my joy
when an MTA public information officer
contacted me to correct two errors in last
weeks column.
You might have assumed that having
to do deal with the anger of that other
newspaper might be of sufficient chal-
lenge to keep them busy and even tolerant
of my efforts at balanced reporting on the
Westside subway extension plans.
The MTA spokesperson began by
explaining he was calling to correct mis-
takes in the column. Not that I am inca-
pable of blunders, as frequent readers will
gladly declare. But when you contact a
newspaper person to lodge a complaint,
please be very careful of your facts. We
do have sufficient ink to deliver the final
word.
One of the errors is of sufficient impor-
tance to warrant all this space; the other
trivial and more semantic than substantive.
I had challenged the use of the word
final in the Environmental Impact Report
and the MTA rep said I was wrong. (I had
called it a draft.) By insisting it was
final there was the obvious assump-
tion that all the data in the key report was
approved by the MTA as totally correct and
acceptable in helping them make a final
decision on many matters, the most impor-
tant of which is the selection of routes.
As I understand the states rules, CEQA
(California Environmental Quality Act), an
EIR is not final until it has been certified
by the controlling agency, in this case the
Board of the MTA. In local land use mat-
ters, the approval of the DEIR rests with
the city council.
Just because time allotted for public
comment has passed does not prevent the
governing body from accepting input at a
public hearing when the Draft EIR is up
for approval.
In any case, not totally trusting my own
memory or judgment, I contacted a leading
land use attorney to check. Without asking
Murray Fischer for any opinion on the
validity of the MTA study, only the pro-
cess, he confirmed that an environmental
study was not final until certified by the
responsible agency.
Again, this is not just a matter of word
usage. The DEIR contains findings and
even recommendations that the MTA board
should consider before making a decision
on the route.
The other goof in the column, and
certainly worthy of a high priced phone
call, was whether tonights MTA event at
Temple Emanuel was, what I mistakenly
dubbed it, a hearing.
The announcement described the session
as an open house but added that partici-
pants would be welcome to view all MTA
exhibits and that their staff would be avail-
able to answer questions.
Ill gladly give them this one. However,
if they expect not to hear objections on the
route choice from residents attending their
meeting, no matter what they call it, they
must be making their first visit to our not
so laid back village. And MTA staff will
have to field questions on the EIR, Draft or
Final, that should be included in reports to
the MTA board.
There are other reasons why the EIR
might not yet be ready for prime time. Just
one example: The report cites the Bank of
America building at 9461 Wilshire as the
property that will be a permanent ease-
ment for a station entrance. Hopefully,
when the MTA wrecking crew arrives it
will not demolish the entrance to the B of
A which is now across the street at 9454
Wilshire. In fact, that historic bank has
been in its new venue for months and the
information that they had or were mov-
ing has been out there for much longer.
Hopefully, the MTA board will learn this
prior to certifying the EIR.
I should also alert the MTA to another
strong force they will have to confront:
The powerful husband and wife team of
Lou Milkowski and Gloria Jennings.
Wait until they discover that their favor-
ite restaurant, Shanghai Grill at 9385
Wilshire Boulevard will be takena
not so elegant word for confiscation of a
business property. They will feel that anti-
Constellation route activist Nancy Barth is
a marriage conciliator.
We are just beginning to realize that
this taking of private property will have
a profound impact on our city. Stations
and staging areas together will change
two major intersections and nearby areas:
Rodeo Drive and Beverly Drive on Wilshire
and La Cienega and Gale further east on
Wilshire.
Would this be a good time to point out
to the MTA that Wilshire Boulevard was
named for a turn of the 20th century land
developer who was also a fiery socialist
who corresponded frequently with Karl
Marx and heavily supported far left move-
ments?
Up to now, our focus has been on
the choice of routes, not how stations in
Beverly Hills could affect our city. That
could soon change.
However, back to the battle de jour:
Constellation or Santa Monica Boulevard.
Reasonable people on both sides of this
dispute need to put aside the angry words
that have led to attacks on the integrity of
the MTA and conversely the presumption
that our city listens only to NIMBYs. (No
subway in our back yard.)
Whatever decision is made on the route
will remain with us for many generations.
Condensed, the two issues are benefits and
safety. Will the subway reduce traffic and
how safe are the route options?
Traffic first. This should matter to us.
Frankly, I have real doubts that our resi-
dents will actually use the subway. Some
may ride the MTA to visit Staples, Disney
Hall or the Music Center, but our automo-
bile culture is too strong to make mass tran-
sit viable. However, if people who work
here use the subway, that could help relieve
traffic. More important, since most of our
congestion is caused by through traffic, if
the subway actually is utilized by visitors
to Century City, Westwood and UCLA, it
could see a reduction in vehicular move-
ment on our major streets.
The original MTA traffic study was not
favorable. It said that the subway would
create a traffic neutral condition. Now, a
supplemental report argues a reduction in
car trips since the Century City station will
be moved one block east. (Part of the Draft
Environmental Impact Report.)
The critical debate remains the choice
of routes. Constellation would go under
the high school to the middle of Century
City, and the Santa Monica Boulevard
route to one large city block north of
Constellation.
Only one question is really worth consid-
ering: Safety. In this emotional discussion
we should put aside the demagoguery of
political opportunists who are using the
subway route battle to even old scores or
make new ones.
We must find the means of some clar-
ity on the safety questions. From what I
have learned, the Santa Monica option
is questioned because it may be too vul-
nerable to a big quake, far more so than
Constellation. This is being decided with-
out sufficient basis in fact. According to
one very knowledgeable expert, the safety
of Santa Monica Boulevard could only be
proved by digging of trenches, something
that has not happened.
If trench digging tests conclude that Santa
Monica Boulevard is safe, that should be
the option. Continuing this divisive battle
is doing real harm to our community and
could actually delay or even eliminate a
Westside subway extension.
However, we need to be very clear in
how we join this battle. This is not up to
our city council or school boardboth
unanimously opposed to Constellation
but the Board of the MTA.
One sidebar to the MTA published lists
of properties they will use for stations
includes, among many others, a fairly
new and small financial institution called
Luther Burbank Savings and Loan at 8401
Wilshire Boulevard. This property is on
the MTA list as a full take. Incredibly,
although this data is available online,
according to bank staffers, they have not
had one word from MTA on the possible
loss of jobs and business.
What follows is the MTA board mem-
bership. You want to help prevent a sub-
way under our high school? Give one
or more members a call at (323) 466-
3876 or e-mail boardsecretary@metro.
net: Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Michael
D. Antonovich, Diane DuBois, John
Fasana, Jos Huizar, Richard Katz, Don
Knabe, Gloria Molina, Ara Najarian,
Pam OConnor, Mark Ridley-Thomas,
Mel Wilson, Zev Yaroslavsky.
My apologies to all those nice readers
who have sent me notices of meetings and
events, and to people who have earned
accolades for outstanding service in the
work placewe will use names and hap-
penings next week.
However, one exception because of the
date is the Concert Extravaganza that
will be performed by the Jr. Philharmonic,
the Los Angeles Lawyers Philharmonic,
Legal Voices and the Big Band of
Barristers for a combined benefit concert
on Sunday, April 1, 3:30 p.m. at the Shrine
Auditorium.
Loads of celebrity participants for an
outstanding musical program to benefit the
Shriners Hospital for Children. Tickets
are only $10, and seating is first come. For
more information, call 213.748.0173.
Rudy Cole served for eight years as a
member and chair of the citys Recreation
& Parks Commission. He was also
President of the Greystone Foundation
and served on three other city committees.
Rudy can be reached at: Rudy@bhweekly.
com.
MTA corrects us
And put safety first
By Rudy Cole
fromthehillsofbeverly
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