Council unanimously approves LaBonge Resolution on California High Speed Railway

(from left) Metro Executive Officer for Regional Rail Don Sepulveda, SCAG Executive Director Hassan Ikhrata, California High Speed Rail Authority Board Chair Dan Richard, Councilman Tom LaBonge and Valerie Martinez from VMA Communications at the Council President's Desk

The Los Angeles City Council has unanimously passed Councilmember Tom LaBonge’s resolution calling on state lawmakers to release Proposition 1A funds to begin construction on the California High-Speed Rail system. The Council cited the project’s merits as an alternative means of transportation, its advancement of President Obama’s and Governor Brown’s goal to reduce greenhouse gases and its dramatically lowered cost.

“With this revised business plan, we will see a statewide rail system developed faster and for less money, with trains capable of running 220 miles per hour gliding through the San Joaquin Valley and into the San Fernando Valley by 2022,” said Councilmember Tom LaBonge, author of the resolution. “In order to stay on this timeline and put laborers back to work as early as next year, the Legislature must release Prop. 1A funds to match ARRA monies.”

The Council’s resolution praised the High-Speed Rail Authority’s Revised 2012 Business Plan for lowering the project’s cost to $68.4 billion. The plan also extends the initial operating segment of the system into the San Fernando Valley, beginning in the Central Valley city of Madera and creating direct connectivity to San Francisco and downtown Los Angeles using existing urban commuter rail lines.

Gubernatorial Appointee Dan Richard, the Board Chair of the California High Speed Rail Authority, made a presentation to the board before the vote.

Clck to read the resolution

2012 "Hike for Health" offers kids a breath of fresh air

Councilman LaBonge and a class from Rio Vista Elementary School in Toluca Lake gather at the top of Mount Hollywood after the "Hike for Health"

Councilman LaBonge and his staff hosted the 7th annual "Hike for Health" on May 3rd, leading some 500 fifth and sixth grade students on a hike from the Griffith Observatory to the peak of Mount Hollywood -- 1625 feet above sea-level in Griffith Park. "This is a wonderful opportunity for young people to come out and enjoy the natural beauty of Griffith Park, get a little exercise and learn about the creatures who live here," said Councilman LaBonge. Classes from Franklin Avenue, Lankershim, Rio Vista, Maurice Sendak and Frances Blend schools were bussed to the park. Each kid received a goodie-bag and some snacks and refreshments at the top of the mountain. The Los Angeles ZooMobile brought several interactive exhibits, teaching kids about the critters who make their home in southern California, including black widow spiders and tarantulas. A Park Ranger rescue vehicle was also there to show children all the equipment -- including a bee-suit -- to keep people safe and well while visiting the parks. LAPD and LA Fire Department Helicopters did flyovers of the mountaintop, thrilling the students and adults gathered on the peak. The Bureau of Santitation brought out Robbie the Recycler and a blue-bin robot to teach kids about the importance of recycling. All the classes took group pictures with the Councilman.

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Working to Fund Los Angeles Parks

Councilman LaBonge, developer Steve Soboroff (far left) and Councilman Garcetti speak to reporters about the need for more funding for Los Angeles City Parks.

A new coalition is lobbying to restore funding to Los Angeles' city parks. The consortium -- called ParksSave -- is made up of conservationists, community leaders, politicians and unions and is led by developer Steve Soboroff, and supported by Councilmembers Tom LaBonge and Eric Garcetti. The group held a news conference in late April on the Spring Street steps of LA City Hall to press its call for more funding for LA city parks. Councilmembers LaBonge and Garcetti signed pledges to protect parks, indicating it's time to restore services to the city's parks and it's time to look at creative collaborations with private industry and charitable organizations to help fund park programs and facilities. The City Charter mandates the Department of Recreation and Parks get 0.0325% of the assessed value of every property in Los Angeles. The Mayor's proposed 2012-2013 budget calls for some 92 vacant positions at Recreation and Parks be permanently deleted.

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MTA Directors approve Phase One of the Westside Subway Extension

Councilman Labonge testifies before a standing-room only crowd in the Board Room at MTA headquarters on April 26, 2012

Los Angeles City Councilmember Tom LaBonge on Thursday testified before the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors as it voted to approve plans for the first phase of a $5.6-billion dollar extension of the Purple Line Subway toward the westside of Los Angeles. It was Councilman LaBonge – as an MTA Board Member – who introduced the original motion in 2004 to overtun the federal ban on drilling under Wilshire Boulevard. MTA Directors approved phase-one of the purple line but put-off action on the next two segments of the subway extension to deal with objections raised by the City of Beverly Hills and its School District over plans to tunnel under Beverly Hills High School. The Board approved a roughly 3.9-mile section of the so-called subway to the sea, from Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue to a new station at La Cienega and Wilshire Boulevards. Beverly Hills city and school district officials asked for a formal hearing on plans to tunnel under Beverly Hills High School, so MTA Directors decided to postpone action on the extension of the subway to Century City and Westwood until that hearing can be held. The Board heard a report on the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Westside Subway Extension. During his testimony, Councilman LaBonge thanked Mayor Villaraigosa and the MTA Board for moving ahead with this much-needed subway extension. “This is a significant milestone in the effort to bring rapid-transit to a city that greatly needs it.” The approval of the first phase of the Purple Line marks a milestone in the long effort to bring a subway to the sea. After a huge methane explosion at a Ross Store on 3rd Street in 1985, federal funding and political will dried-up to dig a subway tunnel to the westside of Los Angeles. But in 2004, Councilman LaBonge, as a member of the MTA Board, introduced a motion to lift the federal ban on Wilshire Subway tunneling and resume planning the so-called "Subway to the Sea". The Daily News -- in an editorial -- scoffed that the Councilman's idea was a step backward, calling the plan a "subway to nowhere". But the MTA Board passed the motion in 2005 and Councilman LaBonge got his colleagues on the City Council as well as the Mayor to support the plan. In 2007, President George Bush lifted the federal ban on tunneling under Wilshire and, a year later, Measure R -- which funds the subway and other transportation projects -- passed by a two-thirds majority of voters. “Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow. Don't stop, it'll soon be here,” said Councilman LaBonge, quoting a Fleetwood Mac song and already setting his sights on a subway down Vermont Avenue. “Today it’s the Subway to the Sea. Tomorrow it’ll be the Subway to USC!”

Launching the "Get to Know Your Wild Neighbors" Contest with an expo at Griffith Observatory

In Councilman LaBonge's ongoing effort to get people, especially young people out to enjoy nature, CD4 hosted the kickoff event for the "Get to Know" program's art and media contest. On a beautiful post-storm saturday, Councilman LaBonge and his staff organized an expo for kids and their parents at Griffith Observatory to announce the contest, which has the theme "Get to Know Your Wild Neighbors". The contest is intended to be a gateway experience for youth to connect with nature and develop a sustained and lasting interest in the outdoors and perhaps even careers in conservation. The contest is open to kids 19 and under ... now through July 16th, 2012.

click here to find out more about the contest

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Dedicating Cahuenga Peak and a new Griffith Park Hiking Trail

Councilman LaBonge, the Trust for Public Land, LA Inc. and members of the community made the trek to the peak near the Hollywood Sign to unveil a boulder and a plaque commemorating the acquisition of 138-acres of Cahuenga Peak to add to Griffith Park. The area includes a new trail-head, named the "Aileen Getty Ridge Trail", which knife-edges its way west from the Hollywood Sign on Mt. Lee to Cahuenga Peak and then on to Burbank Peak. The event culminates a decade-long effort to purchase Cahuenga Peak to protect the land from development. Councilman LaBonge and the TPL spearheaded the effort to solicit private donations to raise the $12.5-million dollars to purchase Cahuenga Peak from a group of Chicago developers. They had bought the land in 2002 from the Howard Hughes Trust and had a portion of it zoned to build 4 10-acre estates on the mountain, which would have forever altered the view of the iconic HOLLYWOOD Sign. But the donations came in -- large and small -- from school-kids to Hollywood moguls. Mega-donors Tiffany and Co. Foundation, Aileen Getty and Playboy founder Hugh Hefner kicked-in at least a million dollars each to put the effort over the top and secure the land for the people of Los Angeles and the world to enjoy in perpetuity. The dedication ceremony was to thank and honor those generous donors, to unveil the plaque and open the Aileen Getty Ridge Trail for the first time. Dozens of the attendees then hiked to Cahuenga Peak for a ceremonial toast; and -- at the urging -- of Councilman LaBonge, continued on to Burbank Peak to visit the "Magic Tree" which miraculously survived a raging wildfire several years ago. Councilman LaBonge said, "There are days we'll always remember, and this is one of them."

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A new LAIR at the Los Angeles Zoo

Councilman LaBonge and Zoo officials cut the ribbon to officially open the LAIR exhibit to the public

If it creeps, crawls, slithers or hisses, it has a new home at the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens, which has opened L.A.I.R. or Living Amphibians, Invertebrates and Reptiles to house the zoo's collection of cold-blooded creatures. The $14-million dollar enclosure is the first to open in North America in the last decade. LAIR will house 49 exhibits and 60 different species, and features climate control suited to each animal's needs. Councilman LaBonge was on-hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 8th, along with Zoo Director John Lewis, Connie Morgan of the Greater Los Angeles Zoo Association and Public Works Commission Chair Andrea Alarcon. Councilman LaBonge remarked on the green roof of the enclosures, which are also sky-lit to allow in plenty of natural light.

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Breaking Ground at Headworks

Councilman LaBonge, DWP officials and community members ceremonially break ground on the Headworks Reservoir Project near Griffith Park.

Councilman LaBonge and officials from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power hosted a Groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the Headworks Reservoir Project on March 8, 2012. Members of several nearby community groups were on-hand for the groundbreaking and information session at the construction site. The twin 55-million-gallon reservoirs are a critical component of LADWP's plan for compliance with drinking water regulations. Headworks Reservoir, which will be comprised of two underground buried reservoirs with a combined capacity of 110 million gallons, will allow LADWP to remove Silver Lake and Ivanhoe Reservoirs from service in order to meet compliance requirements and deadlines.

“Compliance with water quality regulations are driving significant investments in our Water System,” said Ron Nichols, LADWP General Manager. “These are our customers’ dollars at work, and we look for cost-effective investments like Headworks to make sure we continue to keep our water rates low.”

LADWP is currently in the midst of a multi-year compliance agreement with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the California Department of Public Health that has several mandated deadlines. Compliance with newer water quality regulations requires major investment in LADWP’s water distribution system with $600 million in major new contracts that must be awarded this year, and $1.1 billion in capital costs over the next five years to comply with these standards. Construction of Headworks Reservoir is made possible by the funding provided the 35-cent per billing unit increase to the Water Quality Factor approved in February.

Construction of the Headworks Reservoir has been divided into four separate construction phases. Today, LADWP broke ground on the first phase of the project, which includes construction of the 56 million gallon East Reservoir and a portion of the trunk line that connects it to the rest of the water distribution system. Later phases of the project will include additional facilities on the site, including the 54 million gallon West Reservoir and connecting trunk line, a 4-megawatt hydroelectric power plant, and a flow-regulating station. The power plant, which will generate energy from water traveling from North Hollywood to Headworks, will cost $25 million and is expected to pay for itself in 10 years.

“This is the Department of Water and Power at its best, a quality water infrastructure improvement," said Councilmember Tom LaBonge. "The Headworks Project is a state-of-the-art facility for all of Los Angeles, and I'm pleased that a park area will be created when it is completed."

The East Reservoir is slated to be operational in November 2014, when Ivanhoe is required to be taken out of service. The West Reservoir and power plant are expected to be operational by 2017. Once construction is complete, the underground reservoirs will be covered with three feet of soil and native vegetation.

Through a partnership between LADWP and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, future plans include the construction of the Los Angeles River Ecosystem Restoration project, which would include riparian wetlands in a park like setting and open areas with equestrian, cyclist, and pedestrian access.

Click here for a fact-sheet on Headworks

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