On top of the Beverly Hills School District suing the Federal Transit Administration for ok'ing the expansion of the Purple Line subway, the city of Beverly Hills has piled on their own federal suit, the Beverly Hills Patch reports. The new lawsuit brings the lawsuit total to four, since the city and BHUSD previously filed separate lawsuits directly at Metro in state court--they both argue that Metro's decision to tunnel underneath Bev Hills High is dangerous, even though Metro's findings come away with the opposite conclusion. "The city council voted 5-0 Feb. 5 to add an additional $250,000 from Beverly Hills' budget surplus to the $1 million already allocated to fight the subway route under the high school," notes Patch. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times, which has already published two editorials blasting BH for throwing up roadblocks in front of the Purple Line, has a new one that shakes its finger at BH locals for attacking Mayor Willie Brien, who is against the high school tunnel but has remained a steadfast supporter of the subway.
"Brien, who faces a campaign battle against former Mayor Nancy Krasne, has largely tried to avoid legal battles against the MTA and has touted the subway alongside L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, which is enough to be branded a villain by local rail opponents," the Times writes. "There may be good reasons to vote against him next month, but his subway stance isn't among them." The paper also calls the BH subway battle "embarrassing" and says a stop on Santa Monica Boulevard, favored by Beverly Hills, does not make sense from a ridership perspective.
The subway fight has already informed the LA mayoral debate, with all the candidates coming out against the tunnel under BHHS, except Councilmember Eric Garcetti.
· City Sues FTA to Block Subway Funding [Patch]
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