Streets Lights

The city of Simi Valley has sold 837 streets lights to Southern California Edison Co. after determining it was more economical and efficient for the utility firm to operate, maintain and replace the lights than it was for the city, officials said. Bill Golubics, the city's traffic engineer, said Edison paid $519,000 for the lights. Edison already owns and maintains 6,280 free-standing lights along Simi Valley streets, he said.

An upside-down American flag is considered a signal of distress. And that's the feeling Robert Rosebrock had when he looked up and noticed the red, white and blue street-lamp banners outside the Department of Veterans Affairs' West Los Angeles Medical Center were in disarray - tattered, tangled around the poles or flapping upside-down in the breeze. "It was disgraceful," said Rosebrock, a 71-year-old U.S. Army veteran who arranged for the flags' installation 11 months ago using $12,000 donated by Metabolic Studio, a charitable arm of the Annenberg Foundation.

How many Long Beach officials does it take to screw in a lightbulb? Today, about 10--as Mayor Beverly O'Neill--assisted by an assortment of council members and administrators--will symbolically switch to whiter, brighter city lights by pulling the plug on the town's current 28,000 murky yellow street lamps.

It's the green economy, stupid. It was hard not to think of this twist on his long-ago campaign slogan as former President Clinton toured the Los Angeles area on Monday, making the case that the quickest way out of the country's latest economic morass lies in the wonky topic of energy efficiency.

At dusk today, Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon and housing developers will turn on a set of new street lights on Hubbard Street at Laurel Canyon Boulevard in Sylmar. The event marks the next stage of Alarcon's project, "Operation Lights On," a campaign he launched in 1993 to light all dark streets and alleys in his 7th Council District. When Alarcon was elected, his district had fewer streets lights than any other district in the city.

The Los Angeles City Council may soon decide whether to make new technology available citywide that would allow emergency vehicles to control street lights in their path. Early next week, the council is expected to hear a motion introduced by Councilman Richard Alarcon that would instruct city, fire and police department officials to study the feasibility of installing the technology at key, congested intersections throughout the city.

Re "Debate Over Vintage Street Lights Heats Up," June 17. I see this as a pure case of finding work and ways to spend more of our hard-earned tax dollars. The street lamps we have are just fine and distinguish the area as residential in character. I have been a resident for over 30 years and experienced no trouble at all driving at night with the level of light that we have now. We should recognize the difference in ambience between residential lighting and commercial lighting.

A project to synchronize traffic lights on Valley View Street between the Garden Grove Freeway and Artesia Boulevard will begin in mid-July, according to city engineers. The $450,000 project will enable computers to monitor traffic along the busy corridor and minimize unnecessary stop-and-go driving, engineers say. The two-month project, which also involves the cities of Buena Park, Garden Grove and La Palma, will be paid for by Measure M funds and the Orange County Transportation Authority.

Property owners along Sherman Way in Canoga Park overwhelmingly approved a new street lighting assessment district to add pedestrian-friendly street lights to heighten security in the area. City officials said of the 61 property owners on Sherman Way between Jordan and Canoga avenues, 35 turned in ballots by the March 11 deadline. Of those, 32 favored and two opposed the new lighting district, according to Stan Horwitz, division manager of the city's Bureau of Street Lighting.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who served as national co-chairman of Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign, is scheduled to appear today at City Hall with former President Clinton to announce a five-year project with the Clinton Climate Initiative to make the city's streetlights more energy-efficient. The mayor's office said the plan to swap out all 140,000 of L.A.'s residential streetlights with more energy-efficient LED lights would be the largest program of its kind undertaken by a city.

Outside the Union Rescue Mission on Sunday on San Julian Street, Debbie Dues surveyed the uniformed police officers, on foot and riding bicycles, who were visible in three directions. "Today at least there's no drug-selling because there's cops on every corner," said Dues, a two-year skid row resident with no bottom teeth and a shiny gold scarf wrapped around her head.

Orange County transportation officials predicted Monday that they will face serious budget challenges in the year ahead with shortages of government funding, looming labor issues and soaring demands by the disabled for transit service. "We have a tough budget year in front of us," Arthur T. Leahy, the Orange County Transportation Authority's chief executive officer, warned board members at their regular meeting. "There are a number of very large financial issues."

The CenterLine light-rail system should travel underground through the heart of Costa Mesa's high-rise business and cultural arts district, the City Council has concluded. Costa Mesa's decision goes to the Orange County Transportation Authority, which on Jan. 12 is scheduled to adopt a route for the $1-billion, 8.5-mile CenterLine project.

Ventura property owners have overwhelmingly rejected a new street-light tax intended to offset increased electricity costs. Of the 15,094 ballots cast, 62% of the property owners voted against creating a second assessment district to help pay for operating and maintaining street lights in Ventura. The assessment would have cost single-family homeowners about $10 annually in addition to the $31 they already pay each year, city engineer Rick Raives said.

More than 90% of Lancaster property owners voted to approve a proposed $25 annual increase in their street light maintenance assessment, city officials said Friday. Because of increased electricity costs, City Manager Jim Gilley said, if voters had not approved the measure, street lighting would have been reduced. Gilley said that 95 of Lancaster's 104 zones voted for the increase, which will be added to property tax bills.

Rural-minded Nipomo residents are taking on what they consider an urban plague akin to big-box stores, traffic congestion and fouled air: light pollution. They don't want a picket fence of street lights illuminating roadways because they interfere with stargazing and detract from the community's rural flavor. As a result, San Luis Obispo County officials are looking at alternatives, such as reflective strips, and aren't putting in lights unless deemed necessary for safety.

Irvine property owners agreed to double a special tax that keeps the parks pretty, streets well-lighted and the city's well-manicured look intact. The parcel tax, approved initially in 1997, received 56% of the vote. The average Irvine property owner will pay an extra $35 a year to keep the town well-groomed. The tax will generate $3.2 million a year, or roughly half the amount needed to keep Irvine's city parks in good shape and its streets lighted.