The Best of Times, the Worst of Times : Los Angeles will try to buff its image with a big promotion campaign

In the wake of riots, earthquakes, fires and floods, Mayor Richard Riordan wants to polish the image of Los Angeles. Despite the back-to-back disasters of recent years, millions of people still would rather live in Southern California than anywhere else. But many here and around the nation may well require a goodly measure of persuading that there still is good reason to love L.A.

To kick off the effort, the City of Los Angeles put up $2 million and the county $500,000. The City of Long Beach and the county Federation of Labor, among others, brought the total to $4.5 million. That’s a start, but other cities and businesses also should contribute. Spending $4.5 million for a public relations campaign may seem silly in tight fiscal times, but this campaign is about more than image; when Los Angeles is wrongly thought of as a bad place, business, jobs and opportunity are lost. So all Angelenos have a stake in presenting an accurate picture of their city.

As the creative people tackle this job, they should consider a perfect beach day, balmy and sunny, while the rest of the nation freezes its boots off; a great day for golf or jogging or walking or biking, nearly every day. Of course sunshine is far from the only thing L.A. has to offer. In addition to Southern California’s cultural, geographical and recreational riches, the region remains a place where ambition can be exercised and businesses can make money. Small firms drive the engine of economic growth, and L.A. County boasts the most minority-owned businesses in the country. Diversity is one of our strengths. The best Mexican, Japanese, Chinese, Korean and (fill in the blank) foods beckon. So do a million permutations, including the now famous Kosher Burrito.

Los Angeles has been through the roughest of times--there’s no smoothing over that fact. But it has endured and continues to thrive. And good people who never make the television news and tabloid programs still get up every day, go to work, care for their children, make money and pay the bills. Neighbors still help each other. That unremarkable but important part of the Los Angeles story--that it remains a place where dreams can be happily pursued--needs to be told, and this campaign is one way to do it.