Dear Editor,
For over 30 years I have worked to get the Wilshire Subway built to the Westside. Lynne Bronstein reports in her Update on Westside Subway that Century City with over 40,000 employees, and who knows how many visitors cannot have a station at Avenue of the Stars “due to the problem of tunneling under the [Los Angeles Country Club] golf course.” We can drill under high rise buildings, we can drill under private homes but we cannot drill under the Country Club. It does sound a bit ludicrous doesn’t it?
Then it is reported that a location at UCLA has been ruled out due to problems with tunneling under the nearby Veteran’s Cemetery and construction impacts in Westwood Village.” It is my understanding that there are 40,000 students and 35,000 employees at UCLA, that is 75,000 people plus visitors and we can’t have a station there. With all due respect to the heroes buried at the Cemetery and they are all heroes, I don’t think a Subway passing well below their burial ground is going to disturb their rest. And as for Westwood Village, if Hollywood Blvd. could survive construction, and drilling has been materially improved since the work on Hollywood Blvd., I would think Westwood Village would survive just fine.
How can we possibly spend all that money and by-pass the two largest pockets of employment and potential riders on the Westside?
I sometimes think we live in the world of Oz.
Harold L. Katz
Los Angeles, CA
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Open Letter to Jerry and Marissa Rubin (Tree-Hugging Day Founders)
Thank you for bringing Tree-Hugging Day to the attention of the Santa Monica College Board of Trustees. What a nice idea, to create an event that unites our community and celebrates our collective appreciation for our environment and, in particular, for our trees.
Scheduling this unique community event on the day of the Autumn Equinox makes an already special day, even more special. This is a great opportunity for people to come together, to contemplate the importance of nature to all of us, and to expand our knowledge, appreciation and love of trees.
We at Santa Monica College are proud that we emulate the spirit of Tree-Hugging Day, day in and day out. Our deep commitment to the environment is evidenced by our continued efforts to make our college facilities and operations sustainable and to educate our students to become responsible, well-informed, environmental stewards. The many sustainable features of Santa Monica College include an increasingly green curriculum, a healthy Sustainable Works program that teaches students how to live greener lives, an environmental lecture series, and an Associated Students zero waste events policy. SMC is launching a Solar Photovoltaic Systems Installation certificate program this fall and we continue to explore other green technology career training programs. We are the proud recipients of a 2009 Sustainable Quality Award.
On behalf of the Santa Monica College Board of Trustees, thank you for your personal commitment to trees and to the environment and for your concerted efforts to bring our community together. We wish you the very best for a successful Tree-Hugging Day event.
Cheers and Onward,
Louise Jaffe, Chair
Board of Trustees
Santa Monica Community College District
