So by now we know that Beverly Hills and its school district have rained hellfire down now that Metro has finalized plans to build a Century City Purple Line station at Constellation and Avenue of the Stars, which means tunneling underneath BH High School. As part of its battle plan to stop the tunneling, the school district just reupped its contract with a DC lobbying firm that they're currently paying $15,000 a month, the Beverly Hills Patch reports: "The board approved the extension, at a total cost of $90,000, at the same meeting in which it debated potential budget cuts for the next school year." One lone board member, Noah Margo, voted against the contract extension for Venable LLP, which is urging federal transportation authorities to deny the subway extension's final designs if they contain the dreaded tunnel. Margo says Metro already certified the project, and the school district--and the city--already filed lawsuits, and that it's not clear how lobbyists will convince the Federal Transit Administration to turn against the project (it has local funding and is extremely popular with residents). "We are now engaged in a local battle with the MTA that will consume an even larger portion of our future construction budget and I would like every dollar spent on this challenge to count," Margo told Patch. Meanwhile, BHUSD president Brian Goldberg says the lobbyists are needed because they know the National Environmental Policy Act, which BHUSD alleges the subway project violates.
· BH Board of Ed Extends Contract of D.C. Lobbyists [BH Patch]
· 90210's Way or the Highway [Curbed LA]
Filed under:
Loading comments...