Terrorism still a problem at METRO

The blogsphere called out this bs, months ago, but here is some more info on riders getting the screwgy.

See Metrorider LA circa 2/28/08 for some backstory.
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“Metro gets $16.1 million for gates
By Sue Doyle, Staff Writer

Steps to bolster security on Los Angeles mass transit gained a little muscle Tuesday when Metro received $16.1 million to install 379 gates and surveillance cameras on subways and some light-rail lines.

Expected to save $3.8 million lost each year on people deliberately not paying fares, the gates eventually will detect explosives and chemicals and can adapt to new security technologies.

"We know that the risks to our mass transit systems are real," said Matthew Bettenhausen, director of the state Office of Homeland Security, during a news conference Tuesday outside the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's downtown building. "The difficulty is that our mass transit systems are open."
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I don’t know what’s worse that this is happening with virtually no meetings (since METRO has tons of those, what happened to the 3000 meetings on this, they are going to have about 10,000 meetings and 50 dead cyclists and 150 dead pedestrians, before they make any changes that impact real safety issues instead of imaginary safety issues, like the Taliban coming to get us ) or that I have to actually link to the Daily News. It hurts my head to read the Daily News, it is a step above USA Today, but less colorful.

The only thing our transit system is opened to is being pissed on by homeless people.

So people in One Gateway Plaza actually believe that this is going to stop terrorism??!!

The people in One Gateway Plaza, actually believe that terrorism is going to be a problem in a subway system that goes nowhere?!

Yeah lets all say it.

Noho is nowhere, downtown LA is only somewhere out of default, but it’s really nowhere either.

Noho where failed actors do one person shows about hating their mother and coming to LA from some armpit of a town and then we have downtown LA where any idiot with connections and cash can hang bad art and say they have an art gallery.

The thing I found completely fascinating about this whole matter is that the 16.1 million is our money. We voted for Prop1b in 2006 to fund METRO and this is what they spend it on?

Fighting terrorism.

It’s like they are fucking morons up there.

They are worried about 3.5 million in (alleged) lost fares a year, when they are spending at least 5 million a year towing cars off the freeway. Where are the priorities. Of course I want the new sales tax to pass, BUT METRO needs a babysitter (a mean one with braces and a head gear and obsession with Backstreet Boys and no friends)  and a board that actually does something. The Metro Board are elected officials that are supposed to be accountable to the people who vote for them, well that’s the theory any.

Revisit my entertaining take on this HERE.

So we need the defense contractor Cubic building our unneeded turnstiles for lots of money, because scary monster will touch us in special places with bombs and bullets and green goo.

Ok then.

Browne Molyneux

See even METRO knows their trains go nowhere.

Want to contact METRO (edit 7/16)

Metro Board Members:
Antonio R. Villaraigosa: mayor@lacity.org Ph: (213) 978-0600 Fax:  213 978-0750
Pam O’Connor: pam.oconnor@smgov.net
Bernard Parks: councilmember.parks@lacity.org ph: (213)-473-7008 fax: (213) 485-7683
Gloria Molina: molina@bos.lacounty.gov Ph: (323) 881-4601Fax: (323) 887-7286
Yvonne B. Burke: seconddistrict@burke.lacounty.gov
Ph: (310) 458-8201Fax:(310)458-1621
Michael D. Antonovich: (213) 974-5555, (213) 974-1010 FAX
Don Knabe: http://knabe.com/askdon/askdon.html
Zev Yaroslavsky: http://zev.lacounty.gov/forms/touch.htm#email%20address
Carol Inge: 213-922-3056 ingec@metro.net

And METRO's CEO: Roger Snoble: snobler@metro.net

I lifted that from the Bicycle Coalition, thanks for putting that info out there, because I've been looking for Roger's email for years...

 

 

Comments

[johnk]

I was going to write to the MTA about this, but there's no "contact us" area on their website.

[browne]

Roger's email:
snobler@metro.net

[Bert Green]

"we have downtown LA where any idiot with connections and cash can hang bad art and say they have an art gallery."

Dave Hickey has written extensively about how Americans are generally hostile towards art. I am beginning to believe him more and more.

Especially retarded is the idea that people who run galleries have any money.

[browne]

I love art Bert. I'm not hostile towards art, I'm hostile towards circle jerks, pretending to be art or theatre or music or fashion or lofts that aren't lofts, but apartments with no walls. Now I like what you do Bert, you are a professional, but let me tell you a little story about an art gallery in downtown.

"So why did you open this place?" me
"Because I needed a place to stay," gallery owner
"So you don't know anything about art?" me
"No, I don't know what I'm doing," proud gallery owner

I won't name the gallery, because I'm not an asshole, but I have had conversations with artists and gallery owners in other parts of the city and you know they agree with me and if you weren't always trying to be community champion and just thought about the art, not the community, but the art I am very sure you would agree with me too.

Now I think in general I'm being very nice, I'm not naming any place in particular, I only name the places I like.

My writing while I'm making commentary it's all in good fun, now if you stopped making everything so personal Bert you would embrace the humor of my commentary, because I think it's funny at least a little?

But of course I'm retarded Bert :)

[Damien Newton]

Now we know why they pushed the terrorism angle so hard in their winter meetings. They wanted someone else to pay for their turnstiles which are really about catching fare evaders and had nothing to do with Keeping Us Safe From Terrorists.

[browne]

I find all angles of this amazing. I find that the public isn't outraged about this amazing. How can anyone think that there is (or will be) a problem with terror in the subways. Why would you spend the cash to get a defense contractor to make that, oh so you can tell the gov't, "see la is dangerous we even got a defense contractor building our turnstiles to help us from being destroyed by terror." And steal even more of our money.

No it probably didn't go down like that, it was probably Cubic who went up to Snoble with a "proposal."

[Bert Green]

Hey, the blog has been eating my comments, telling me they are suspected spam ?!?

[browne]

I don't know why your past comments came up as spam. I checked the spam folder and while it had your two posts, they were both blank, sorry.

Browne