How’s This for Imbalance?
We have been given more time (18 months and still going) to consider temporary traffic measures than we have been given (six months) to consider something that is going to be with us for a long time.
The only people who think it is going too slow are probably the developer Bob Champion, who wants to start the project, and the people in the city who are counting on the increased tax revenues from the project to help with budget constraints.
The Last to Know
When you think about it, this project was being considered several years before any of the neighbors knew of the plans.
The neighbors’ first notification was last October when Champion went to the City Council for his exclusive negotiating agreement.
It was followed by a neighborhood meeting in December.
Short Gap Is Criticized
Then there was nothing until March when the Advisory Committee was appointed. There was no discussion of the project at that time, just the selection of the committee members. The first meeting of the Committee was in late April.
They then started scheduling meetings about every two weeks. This short span between meetings allowed no time for notification of meetings, dissemination of information from the last meeting, analysis of the information from the last meeting, and communicating with the Committee members and Council members our reactions to the information presented.
Whose Time Constraints?
When I questioned the short time between meetings, I was informed that Mr. Champion was working under time constraints. This may be cold but Mr. Champion’s time constraints are of no concern to me. My concern is a massive project that will have negative impacts on my neighborhood.
These meetings are also not well advertised.
I knew there was a meeting scheduled for Tuesday, May 22. But it wasn’t until a few days before the meeting that I found out where it was to be held.
I receive calls all the time asking me what can be done about the project.
Who Knows Where?
I tell them to come to the Advisory Committee meetings, become informed and then contact the Committee members and the Councilmen. It makes it hard to tell them to go to a meeting and not be able to tell them where the meeting is being held.
They finally announced a meeting in the papers, and then it was cancelled. It appears that someone does not want large attendance at these meetings. The people I talk to think we need to slow down this process so that all residents have a chance to understand the proposal and provide their inputs.
Vets’ Rights: Why Did Feinstein Allow Bush to Bully Her?
Written by Jay Handal
It may not have hit your radar when the troop funding bill was passed and signed by President Bush.
But with all of the pork spending left in the bill, a little known fact is that the President demanded the removal of a Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) bill that was attached. It would have mandated the federal government not to lease or to sell any of the deeded property in West Los Angeles at the Veterans Administration property.
This property has been under assault by the V.A., with commercial uses already on the site, with no fiscal accountability.
True Motives
The fact that President Bush threatened to veto the troop funding bill if the Feinstein legislation remained, shows us that the administration is actively attempting to sell off the land from under the 1.5 million veterans who live within 50 miles of the property.
This land was deeded to the sole use of veterans’ uses back in the late 1800s. The community is raising funds to litigate against the government to stop the land grab.
A Question for Feinstein
It is time for the press to look at the poor treatment of the veterans, beyond the Walter Reed Army Hospital issue, and to see that this administration threatened a veto on Memorial Day due to the Senator trying to secure the land. (See the Steve Lopez column in the Los Angeles Times, May 30.)
In addition, the community questions why Sen. Feinstein allowed herself to be bullied by the administration.
She knew the White House could not afford to veto the troop spending bill on Memorial Day, especially due to the reason given — eliminating her bill and leaving the pork intact.
Issue Deserves Wider Play
Any responsible media should pick this story up forthwith.
I, or any of the board members of Coalition for Veterans Land, would be happy to speak to you to further the discussion on a more national level. The media should bring this to the attention of all citizens.
Jay Handal is president of the Greater West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Chair of the West L.A. Neighborhood Council, and co-chair of the WLAPD Community Police Advisory Board.
