August 18,
2006
Thirty-seven
billion dollars would pay for a lot of WUF breakfasts, but if infrastructure is
on the menu, it barely sates California's appetite. The passage of time and
population growth has exerted pressure that engineers only dreamed of, and for
the first time in nearly a generation, the state's infrastructure has come to
the fore. Bridges have grown ever more rickety, and levees threaten to
dissolve. Roads and ports carry an unrelenting flow of traffic, while
overcrowded schools take on more students each year.
To address
these-and other-looming crises, the Governor and Legislature are asking voters
to approve a package of bonds that dwarfs some states' entire budgets. To
discuss what this investment means for California, L.A., and the Westside - and
learn the financial gymnastics behind the bonds and the projects they will fund
- please join the Westside Urban Forum for a special roundtable featuring three
of the region's foremost experts on public policy: Billie Greer, Director of
the Los Angeles office of Governor Schwarzenegger; Richard Katz, former Assembly
member and current Metro Board Member; and Raphael Sonenshein, executive
director of the L.A. Charter Reform Commission and professor of political
science at Cal State Fullerton.
Panelist
Billie Greer, Director of the Los Angeles office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
Richard Katz, Metro Board Member, former State Assembly member
Moderator
Prof. Raphael Sonenshein, Cal State Fullerton
