expo line

May 31 2012

Western Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard stations at issue

A month after Metro’s Expo Line opened, safety questions are being raised about several street crossings along the light-rail route, including an intersection that forms a maze of track, traffic signals and warning signs for the public to navigate, it was reported today.

Najmedin Meshkati, a professor and safety expert at USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering, asserts that precautions at three crossings along the 7.9-mile route between downtown Los Angeles and the Westside are “woefully inadequate,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
May 3 2012

Saturday and Sunday rides were free

The 7.6-mile Expo Line started its regular service this week between downtown Los Angeles and its last stop at La Cienega Boulevard, and I was among the thousands who jumped aboard on Sunday.

Regular fares on Metro’s first westward light-rail line are $1.50, but that weekend rides were free. Metro officials had logged about 44,000 boardings on Saturday.

On Sunday, the train was full, but not uncomfortably so, and riders seemed to be pretty excited to be a part of the Expo Line’s historic first rides.

Dec 9 2011

Agency needs more time to analyze changes

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The county’s transportation authority today suspended changes to a handful of Metro bus lines that were scheduled to go into effect on Sunday.

The agency made the unusual last minute decision because it needed more time to analyze the affects the changes would have on riders in light of recent changes to federal and state regulations, a Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman said.

Sep 1 2011

Leimert Park stop unclear

The Federal Transit Administration gave the approval for construction to begin on Metro’s $1.76 billion light rail line along Crenshaw Boulevard that will run from the Green Line near Los Angeles International Airport to the Expo Line.

The FTA approved the final environmental impact report for the 8.5-mile line. The report still needs approval by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which is expected to vote on the report at its Sept. 22 board meeting.

Joseph Wright  |   OW Senior Staff Writer
Aug 5 2010

Community fears for Dorsey students’ safety

The endeavor to lay train tracks at street-level near Dorsey High School has been opposed for many years by community activists, Dorsey faculty, alumni, and students because of the risk of danger they felt it would introduce to the  area. However, a state regulatory body recently cleared the way for construction of the Exposition light rail line and bolstered its decision by pointing out a list of what they called thorough safety improvements.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.