Local News in Brief : Bernardi Glad Reagan Didn’t Budget Subway

City officials are usually asking the federal government to send money, but mid-San Fernando Valley Councilman Ernani Bernardi on Thursday thanked President Reagan for sending none.

Bernardi sent a letter to the President praising him for cutting from his proposed 1986 budget funds for construction of the $3.3-billion downtown Los Angeles-to-North Hollywood Metro Rail subway. The fate of the project rests with Congress, which must approve Reagan’s budget cuts.

In a letter released by his office, Bernardi wrote: “Please, Mr. President. Let the word from Washington be a definite ‘NO’ for Metro Rail.

“I am convinced that until we receive a firm ‘NO’ from Washington on the exorbitantly expensive, ill-conceived Metro Rail project, we can make no real progress toward solving our transportation problems.”

Nikolas Patsaouras, board president of the Southern California Rapid Transit District, which is seeking to build Metro Rail, said he was not surprised by Bernardi’s letter, noting, “Mr. Bernardi, all along, has fought the project.”

Patsaouras said he doubted that Bernardi’s letter would hurt Metro Rail’s chances. “It’s one public official’s opinion that is outweighed by the confidence of many other public officials, Republican and Democrat, who are supporting the project,” he said.