Expo Community Meeting/showing the MTA some love

[mattapoisett]

Last night there was a rare occurrence, I left work before 6pm which allowed me to drag my SO down to USC for the Expo Community Meeting. Walking in just after it had started, it was sad to see so many empty chairs in the place. It almost felt like there were more MTA reps there than audience.

The Main Focus of the meeting was to talk about the Tunnel Construction for the USC area which will be happening over the next few months. There will be around 8 Weekend road closures [none during Trojan home games] to allow the MTA to stabilize the roadway in order to build the tunnel. Once the Road is stable for tunneling they do not expect any major closures for that project. Also they need to Move a 61' Water Main which crosses Exposition to below the path of the tunnel and it will be moved so low they will be digging down on the sides of Exposition and drilling the hole under the roadway for the Main instead of digging a trench across the road.

After the presentations, there was no Q&A session but everyone was encouraged to go to the different tables around the room to ask the questions.

I will say all of the MTA Folks wore friendly nice glad to see supporters there and willing to be confronted on issues as I saw happen a few times and did myself when I asked Roland
Genick if fare gates and escalators will be included in the design process. Answer: No, sort of.

What I was really disappointed in was some of us. As Transit advocates we should be showing up to these meetings and giving support where it is due and debating points which need debating. Until last night I was really surprised that Rong-Gong Lin II called support for Public Transit fledgling and thought The Guy from the Culver City Front Page did not get it.
www.thefrontpageonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1213&Itemid=41
But we sit and browse the websites of people who agree with us thinking it means something and others get the sense we are not passionate for our cause.

Since 80% of life is showing up, below is a list of the rest of the posted MTA Community meetings. Yes, it means sitting watching men in suits reading the text off a power point screen, But it is barely a sacrifice considering what it will accomplish.

Take Care,

- P.

September 19, 2007
Dorsey High School
Cafeteria
3537 Farmdale Avenue
LA, CA 90016
6:30PM – 8:30PM

October 16, 2007
Culver City Senior Center
4095 Overland Avenue
Culver City, CA 90230
6:30PM – 8:30PM

November 14, 2007
Galen Center
Large Conference Room
3400 S. Figueroa Street
LA, CA 90007
6:30PM – 8:30PM

December 19, 2007
Dorsey High School
Cafeteria
3537 Farmdale Avenue
LA, CA 90016
6:30PM – 8:30PM

January 15, 2008
Culver City Senior Center
4095 Overland Avenue
Culver City, CA 90230
6:30PM – 8:30PM

[nickv]

What I was really disappointed in was some of us. As Transit advocates we should be showing up to these meetings and giving support where it is due and debating points which need debating.

Of course it's best to always make an effort to show up, but I've also been taught that if one can't be present at a public meeting, especially a public hearing, for whatever reason, he/she should submit suggestions, questions, and/or comments via e-mail, postal mail, or fax. I don't see any excuses here considering a typical public hearing period lasts for several weeks.

Based on experience, most agencies will return a positive reply if comments are realistic, unbiased, and for the good of the whole community. For the very least, especially for public hearings, comments submitted become part of the public record.

I've actually been to some of these functions and learn a great deal on transit projects including one on the original OC Centerline.

[roadtrainer]

;Ddude, Eveybody should have been told and that would have given us time to make allowanes for our tight schedules, Mine real tight right now and ole Bart is wonderring "where in the H--l I've been. Sincerely The Roadtrainer

[kenalpern]

Not to worry. It's summer, and things are moving forward despite the doom and gloom. When the screamers and protesters show up, it's one thing...but many if not most of us are recognizing a fait accompli when we see one. Imagine that...Expo a fait accompli.

Sometimes no fanfare is the best thing one can hope for.

[roadtrainer]

kenalpern said:

Not to worry. It's summer, and things are moving forward despite the doom and gloom. When the screamers and protesters show up, it's one thing...but many if not most of us are recognizing a fait accompli when we see one. Imagine that...Expo a fait accompli.

Sometimes no fanfare is the best thing one can hope for.

Good Doctor Alpern: ;D
Sir, what is your specialty? Are you an independent? Or are you a Kaiser doctor? The reason I ask is because I have Art. Fib. and I am taking Lopressor, and I am on Coumadim, recently I have had to add to my pill collection Lovastatin. I try to limit my induction of sweets and try (try) to eat smaller portions. Would you consider adding medical advise to this web site or can you recommend a good website for me to visit to obtain good encouraging news on living a healthy lifestyle? Thank You for your time --I know that schedule is tight. Thank You The Roadtrainer.

[kenalpern]

I'm afraid my specialty of Dermatology (I work with Talbert Medical Group in Anaheim and Huntington Beach, as well as work part-time in Temecula) isn't going to help you much, but some basic points I can throw out there:

1) Being on a beta-blocker and coumadin and a cholesterol-lowering agent sounds like steps in the right direction for atrial fibrillation and elevated cholesterol. They're all generic, and they're all tried and true, but perhaps you could check out WebMD or the many different websites that are devoted to wellness. Kaiser and myriads of other organizations have "self-help" suggestions for diet, exercise, etc. You may not have that suffix "MD" behind your name, but you're more than smart enough to learn what the doctors know with respect to the things that allow us to live longer and healthier.

2) With respect to diet, it's ultimately down to the simple "eat less and exercise more". One need not be an anorexic or a marathon runner to be healthy...and my own personal philosophy is that if it's not fun, it's not sustainable. Just getting rid of the excess junk (not eliminating it altogether, because it's neither realistic nor humane to ask someone to punish themselves, but reducing it to moderate amounts) will do much of the trick. Fast food and vanilla lattes could be eaten 2-3 times a month, but otherwise it really adds up!
When I go to McDonald's, I order the grilled chicken, hold the mayo (use BBQ sauce instead), and switch french fries to apple dippers)...with a diet coke, I have a healthy meal. There are other alternatives, but not enough...yet. One big problem I have with our country is that healthy alternatives usually are higher cost--how the heck does a typical family of 4-5 people ever afford healthy over nonhealthy food?

3) Elaborating on what I just said, simply changing sodas to diet sodas, and stopping the American-style Big Gulp portions, and converting the high-fat garbage to low-fat garbage will do a lot (change potato chips to pretzels, change ice cream to non-fat frozen yogurt). I also think we don't snack enough on fruit--remember those tasty apples, oranges and plums we had as kids? Perhaps we should limit ourselves to two meals a day as well.

4) Of course, walking more would also do the trick...hence one of the most healthy side effects of mass transit is being a pedestrian and/or a bicyclist. Any vigorous aerobic activity should be fun or you'll stop doing it--it's not a punishment! To thine own self be true--if you'd rather swim than run, then swim (it's also better on the joints).

5) Make sure your lipid panel numbers are okey-dokey while on the Lovastatin (Mevacor). If it doesn't get you where you want to go in about 2-3 months (with a good diet, of course), then consider switching to the many other alternatives that are out there. If you don't feel better and feel like your new lifestyle is sustainable, then you'll stop doing it...and hey, occasionally we'll eat a few big meals (I just came from Hawaii with my family, and I assure you I ate stuff I usually wouldn't otherwise eat), but the trick is to do so occasionally. After awhile, if you eat lightly you'll discover that heavy stuff is just too heavy--you won't want much of it!

Take care and good luck,
Ken

[mattapoisett]

Just a Note:

According to the BuildExpo site the Next community meetings have been cancelled. Those meetings were scheduled for Wed, Sept 19th and Tuesday Oct 16th. More info on Future Meetings will be forthcoming.

Take Care

- P.