New Transit Agency Elects 1st Chairman
City Councilman Paul Little was chosen Wednesday night as the first chairman of a new transit agency created to oversee construction of a long-delayed light-rail line from downtown Los Angeles to Pasadena.
The selection of Little came at the first meeting of the Pasadena Metro Blue Line Construction Authority, established to complete the 13.6-mile rail project.
The authority’s five-member board of directors, dominated by San Gabriel Valley representatives, chose Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Hernandez as vice chairman.
State lawmakers established the transit authority out of frustration with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s troubled track record.
The new construction authority has until the end of March to finish a detailed financial plan showing the rail line can be built for the money available. To do so will require major cuts in the MTA’s $818-million budget for the rail line, which would run from Union Station through Chinatown to Lincoln Heights, Highland Park, South Pasadena and Pasadena.
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