Oh, gimme a home, where developers
don't roam: Not every longtime resident of Los Angeles loves the
old pueblo. In fact, when I'm asked where I live, I never admit
to living in L.A. Instead, I proudly tell 'em I live in the "cowboy
town" of Chatsworth -- the last little piece of the Old West
-- in the San Fernando Valley.
And the answer to the question of whether secession offers a better
dream is a resounding yes!
There was a time when El Pueblo Grande offered plenty to folks
and attracted newcomers with promises of opportunity. A time when
we manufactured cars and airplanes. A time when we produced hundreds
of household products in small factories across the Valley. A
time when public schools offered children a chance to get a decent
education.
There was a time when agriculture peacefully coexisted with neighborhoods
of custom-built homes. A time when we actually had rapid transit
in the Valley -- street cars called the Red Line. A time when
Hoppy, Gene and Roy showed us how to be good and how to fight
evil. But, alas, that's all gone.
What went wrong with L.A. didn't happen overnight. It took years
of neglect and political partnerships with rich developers to
strip it of what was good and beautiful. Years that were profitable
for rich powermongers and a few greedy politicians that clung
to their coattails.
It happened so slowly most folks didn't even notice the change
until it was too late. Then one day we looked around and the orange
groves and walnut orchards were gone. The beautiful green hills
that once pastured 10,000 cattle were gone. The four-rail white
fences that framed majestic horse ranches were gone. The corner
fruit stands and little dairies were gone.
They were all replaced by urban sprawl. L.A. earned new fame.
It became the city with the highest density in America, with the
most traffic congestion in America. It became a city with polluted
waterways and air pollution that actually kills children and old
people.
It's true that the neglect of our city of dreams and unique neighborhoods
is not entirely the fault of the existing mayor and city council.
But, then again, are they doing anything to improve the situation?
Has any politician ever stood up and said stop the developers
now? Wait until we can do something about traffic congestion,
polluted water and dirty air? Has any council person or mayor
ever made a stand to save a unique neighborhood, a corner farm,
a hillside full of sheep, or a grove of fruit trees?
The answer is no. Politicians are not about to bite the hands
that feed them.
Many people who want the Valley to secede are united behind the
idea of saving what's left of the environment. We want to solve
traffic problems. We want clean air and water, and less noise.
Don't ask the career politicians that have worked for years at
building relationships with real estate developers, tobacco companies
and liquor merchants. Instead, ask the new activists who are willing
to step forward and work for what they hold dear. Ask the people
who are fighting expansion of landfills. Ask the activists who
are trying to stop new high-density housing development -- those
half-million-dollar homes -- that are not "affordable-housing,"
but will add traffic to roads already failing, children to schools
already crowded beyond their design capacity, and will further
deplete already overburdened city services.
We are an apathetic society that would rather sit in front of
our televisions and not think about the future. Let the scientists
focus on global warming while we spend our evenings channel hopping.
Los Angeles is in chaos. Look around and think about what it will
be like for your grandchildren and great-grandchildren. How will
they cope with traffic, air pollution, acid rain and no education?
Let's try something new. Let's elect some people who have been
fighting for us. Let's follow the one tenth of one percent who
are not sitting in front of their TVs, but are at city hearings
fighting to protect our environment and our quality of life.
Jerry England
Chatsworth
newtimesla July 25, 2002
