Guess Again

“The thing that disappoints me is the rest of the state doesn’t understand the dire circumstances that Southern California is in.” Betcha can’t guess who made this statement.

If you guessed that it was made by those grieving the premature deaths of some 2,400 Californians annually as a result of illnesses linked to pollution emitted by the trucks, trains, ships and cargo-handling equipment servicing Southern California ports … you’d be wrong.

If you guessed that it was made by the 2,380 admitted to Southern California hospitals every year as a result of illnesses linked to pollution emitted by the trucks, trains, ships and cargo-handling equipment servicing Southern California ports … you’d be wrong.

If you guessed it was made by executives lamenting the 360,000 workdays lost annually by employees as a result of illnesses linked to pollution emitted by the trucks, trains, ships and cargo-handling equipment servicing Southern California ports … you’d be wrong.

If you guessed it was made by parents and school principals disturbed by the 1,100 missed school days every year as a result of illnesses linked to pollution emitted by the trucks, trains, ships and cargo-handling equipment servicing Southern California ports … you’d be wrong.

According to the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Roger Snoble, CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is the correct answer, but he wasn’t concerned about the “dire circumstances” facing the unfortunate residents of Southern California. His only concern is that he won’t get the amount of funding he requested for upgrading and expanding the transportation infrastructure in the county so that more and more containers can be pushed through the LA/Long Beach port complex.

About $ 3 billion of taxpayers money are being taken from the Proposition 1B transportation bond and directed to the Trade Corridor Improvement Funds. In Los Angeles County, the funds are slated to make grade separations along the rail crossings on the Alameda Corridor East; replace the Gerald Desmond Bridge at the Port of Long Beach; and put up sidings along the Antelope Valley train line, among other purposes. Handling the projected increases in container volumes is all that matters, and he wants to make sure he his infrastructure is adequate to handle the influx.

As for the annual premature death count, the annual hospital admissions, the thousands of lost workdays and schooldays … well, someone else will have to worry about that. Those unfortunate happenings aren’t the concern of transportation and maritime authorities.

All that matters is that the LA/Long Beach port complex maintains its standing as the continent’s largest container port.

[That’s what justifies the “corporate fanning of feathers”… and fat salaries.]