Hell to the No

That's what Mayor Villaraigosa's office is saying about yesterday's reports that the Purple Line subway extension to Westwood won't open for 23 years (with the Bev Hills extension opening in a decade and the Century City leg in 17 years), according to Steve Hymon in the Los Angeles Times. Villaraigosa press secretary Matt Szabo called that timetable unacceptable and said the recently-passed Measure R, as well as Obama and the feds, should come to the rescue to speed up the process. In the same article, Hymon brings up the Crenshaw rail line which was sold to voters as opening in less than 10 years, but now looks to not open for almost 20. South LA transit activist Damien Goodmon is quoted as saying, "[if the MTA] had told us they were going to increase our sales tax so they could build projects in other more affluent communities before us, I don't think we would have voted for [Measure R] and I don't think it would have passed." [Los Angeles Times]