Proposal Would Cut Red Car Line Likely Gone for Good if POLA Approves By Hunter Chase, Reporter
A
[See Red Car p. 2]
A rail car from the Red Car Line, which operated in San Pedro from 2003 to 2015. The Port of Los Angeles does not plan to bring the line back. RLN photo archives
California’s Climate Gap
The dark side of Carson’s new developments p. 3
By Paul Rosenberg, Senior Editor
The Ash Grove founder, Ed Pearl: A dedicated life p. 9
“The only reason it passed … was actually because the governor passed two really huge executive orders,” he said. But even with that, “We are missing a climate plan.” He pointed to John Kerry’s recent press conference in contrast. “It’s very clear that the federal government, that the White House now has a climate plan,” he said. “It’s thinking about how climate can impact every sector and the different decisions that it’s making.” It’s precisely that kind of whole-of-government, every-facet-of-policy approach that’s needed in California as well. Locally, State Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell is symptomatic of California’s problem, earning a place on the league five-member “polluter caucus,” the worst of the worst from among the 22 senators and 52 assembly members who take money from oil companies or their political action committees, whose power and influence [See Climate Gap, p. 4]
COVID-19 Deaths in the U.S. as of March 3, 2021: 529,541 • COVID-19 Deaths in California: 52,782 COVID-19 Deaths in LA County: 21,554 • For up-to-date stats: www.randomlengthsnews.com
March 4 - 17, 2021
The mid-February winter storm stretched across most of the continental United States, but hit the state of Texas especially hard. It left more than 4.5 million homes and businesses without power, and more than 70 dead, as the state’s power grid came within minutes of “a catastrophic and complete failure,” according to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. The state’s climate denialism, free market deregulation and lack of infrastructure investment all contributed significantly to the singular catastrophe that struck Texas. California, in contrast, is seen as a beacon of climate enlightenment, but that image is highly misleading, according to the just-released “Environmental Scorecard” from the California League of Conservation Voters, and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach vividly illustrate the problems involved. The state’s overall score was just 74%. “It barely passed this year,” the league’s Political and Organizing Director Mike Young told Random Lengths News.
La Bocca Felice will put a smile on your face p. 10
Port problems are anything but local
Real News, Real People, Really Effective
proposed park will take away the right of way of the rail used for the Waterfront Red Car line — and while this is not done intentionally to displace it, the Port of Los Angeles has no plans to ever bring the Red Car line back, said Mike Galvin, director of the port’s waterfront and commercial real estate. The park is part of the One San Pedro project by the Housing Authority of Los Angeles, or HACLA, which will redevelop the Rancho San Pedro public housing. This includes the replacement of 425 units and the creation of 975 new ones. While the housing itself will not be on port land, the park next to it will — and its creation will require the removal of the tracks from the rail between 1st and 3rd streets, as well as the surrounding fencing. It will be an expansion of sorts of the Promenade. Galvin said this will provide better connectivity between Rancho San Pedro and the Los Angeles waterfront. “Right now there’s not really a seamless way to get from one to the other,” Galvin said. Galvin said the park is not being put there specifically to eliminate the right of way. “The port has actually [a] dedicated right of way at that location, as well as through the new West Harbor development, and going down all the way to Berth 46 in the outer harbor,” Galvin said. “That’s really something that we’ve done as part of a long-term planning process to provide for future opportunities for port connectivity, whether it be through light rails or through some other type of mode, which could be a rubber tire trolley system.” The Red Car line ran from 2003 to 2015 as an attraction in San Pedro, but there were plans to expand it to transportation to other parts of Los Angeles. It was closed down as the San Pedro waterfront was developed, so that the port would have
1