Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority

Los Angeles County transportation officials revealed Tuesday that shrinking tax revenues cast a shadow on plans to build a San Fernando Valley rail line, saying there is no money in sight for at least the next 10 years. Nonetheless, representatives of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority say they will not give up on the proposed east-west Valley line, and will look for alternative funding, such as federal grants, to make up for dwindling transit dollars.

Two top officials of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Friday sharply criticized the firm that is managing construction of the Los Angeles subway, saying a recent company brochure regarding problems in the tunnels is misleading. The brochure, with a cover photograph of the MTA's logo, was published by the Parsons Corp. and distributed last week to government officials throughout the region. The 19-page pamphlet discusses tunnel construction defects that have prompted investigations.

On the eve of crucial budget deliberations, Caltrans officials unveiled an ambitious $6.2-billion program Tuesday to add car-pool lanes to virtually every Los Angeles County freeway. There is, however, one catch: There is no assurance that the money will be there to pay for it. "Good luck!" said Glendale Mayor Larry Zarian, a board member of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which will meet today to hammer out the agency's budget. "The $6.2 billion is wishful thinking."

Pledging "an aggressive pushing for the facts," the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's top executive said Friday he is seeking an outside examination of the firm that managed construction of the Los Angeles subway. Franklin E. White, the agency's chief executive officer, said in an interview that he plans to announce early next month the selection of an independent consulting firm to conduct the review.

An attempt to halt further study of a mostly subway rail line in the San Fernando Valley failed Thursday amid debate at a Los Angeles County transportation panel meeting. The recommendation to put an end to studies of the proposed east-west line parallel to Burbank and Chandler boulevards was made by Metropolitan Transportation Authority members Nick Patsaouras and John Fasana during a meeting of the MTA Planning and Programming Committee.

In a bid to expand security and continue ambitious rail programs, the head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority released a budget proposal Friday that calls for increasing the agency's budget by 9% to $3.4 billion. Although the proposal contains an increase of $300 million over last year's county transportation spending, it calls for laying off 246 desk job employees and hiring an additional 130 transit police officers.

Walter J. Karabian, a politically well-connected former state assemblyman, has been hired to guide the merger of the region's two giant transportation agencies despite complaints from some quarters that a transportation expert would be better suited for the job. Karabian was chosen this week as facilitator for the January merger of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission.

When she arrived in South-Central Los Angeles two years ago from Quito, Ecuador, many things struck Christina Andrade as novel. The size of her new city. The variety of its people. While impressed with U.S. technological advances, Andrade was markedly less awed by one Los Angeles institution: bus transportation. "The buses in Quito were a lot better--and cheaper," says Andrade, now a 17-year-old high school student, who compared the approximate 25-cent fare in Quito to the $1.

Pledging "an aggressive pushing for the facts," the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's top executive said Friday he is seeking an outside examination of the firm that managed construction of the Los Angeles subway. Franklin E. White, the agency's chief executive officer, said in an interview that he plans to announce early next month the selection of an independent consulting firm to conduct the review.

Pending final approval by a federal appropriations committee, three Los Angeles high schools will share a $4-million grant as part of an education project of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Under the MTA's Transportation Occupations Program, or TOP, the funds will go to North Hollywood, Alain Leroy Locke and Woodrow Wilson high schools to create transportation academies to educate students about transportation-related professions.

A former top New York corrections official emerged this week as the leading candidate to become the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's inspector general, the agency's watchdog. Arthur Sinai, president of his own security company in New York, was selected by unanimous vote Thursday in a closed-door session with MTA committee members. The agency's full board is expected to approve and publicly announce the appointment next week.

Pending final approval by a federal appropriations committee, three Los Angeles high schools will share a $4-million grant as part of an education project of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Under the MTA's Transportation Occupations Program, or TOP, the funds will go to North Hollywood, Alain Leroy Locke and Woodrow Wilson high schools to create transportation academies to educate students about transportation-related professions.

When she arrived in South-Central Los Angeles two years ago from Quito, Ecuador, many things struck Christina Andrade as novel. The size of her new city. The variety of its people. While impressed with U.S. technological advances, Andrade was markedly less awed by one Los Angeles institution: bus transportation. "The buses in Quito were a lot better--and cheaper," says Andrade, now a 17-year-old high school student, who compared the approximate 25-cent fare in Quito to the $1.

The Blue Line trains that rumble 252 times a day through the inner city do more than haul commuters between downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach. They've carried Jose Torres off to college. And into the future. The 19-year-old from Compton is among 300 teen-agers living near Metro Rail tracks who are being steered toward careers in transportation design and engineering by an unusual matchup of classroom work and summertime jobs.

The city drove away with about $3.5 million in grants awarded in July by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Santa Clarita announced Friday. Local officials say they are happy with the seven grant awards, which will help fund two bike trails, two bridge widenings, street lane restriping and traffic signal synchronization along major Santa Clarita roads. "We're real pleased because it's a lot more competitive this year.

An attempt to halt further study of a mostly subway rail line in the San Fernando Valley failed Thursday amid debate at a Los Angeles County transportation panel meeting. The recommendation to put an end to studies of the proposed east-west line parallel to Burbank and Chandler boulevards was made by Metropolitan Transportation Authority members Nick Patsaouras and John Fasana during a meeting of the MTA Planning and Programming Committee.

The Blue Line trains that rumble 252 times a day through the inner city do more than haul commuters between downtown Los Angeles and Long Beach. They've carried Jose Torres off to college. And into the future. The 19-year-old from Compton is among 300 teen-agers living near Metro Rail tracks who are being steered toward careers in transportation design and engineering by an unusual matchup of classroom work and summertime jobs.

The city drove away with about $3.5 million in grants awarded in July by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Santa Clarita announced Friday. Local officials say they are happy with the seven grant awards, which will help fund two bike trails, two bridge widenings, street lane restriping and traffic signal synchronization along major Santa Clarita roads. "We're real pleased because it's a lot more competitive this year.

Los Angeles County transportation officials revealed Tuesday that shrinking tax revenues cast a shadow on plans to build a San Fernando Valley rail line, saying there is no money in sight for at least the next 10 years. Nonetheless, representatives of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority say they will not give up on the proposed east-west Valley line, and will look for alternative funding, such as federal grants, to make up for dwindling transit dollars.

On the eve of crucial budget deliberations, Caltrans officials unveiled an ambitious $6.2-billion program Tuesday to add car-pool lanes to virtually every Los Angeles County freeway. There is, however, one catch: There is no assurance that the money will be there to pay for it. "Good luck!" said Glendale Mayor Larry Zarian, a board member of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which will meet today to hammer out the agency's budget. "The $6.2 billion is wishful thinking."