Transportation in the Greater Los Angeles
by Brandon Rodriguez
Traffic in Los Angeles (© Photo by Reed Saxon / Associated Press)
The state of California is notorious for its busy highways and for the most annoying traffic commute in America. The famous city of Los Angeles, California is by far the most congested city in America, beating out New York and Chicago. According to the Texas Transportation Institute’s Mobility Report, Los Angeles drivers who travel in the peak periods of traffic suffer from 72 annual hours of delay.
As business and living in the west continued to expand in the twentieth century, so did transportation systems. Making things more interesting, the greater Los Angeles area used to have a great transportation system in the 1940s-1950s called the Los Angeles Railway or the L.A. Transit Lines. However, the system of the yellow rail streetcars were dismantled in 1963. There are many different theories and conspiracies on why the streetcars were dismantled, although no clear answers have been given.
Today, the main goal is trying to get the transportation in Los Angeles back to the way that it once used to be. Changes started to occur in 2005, when now former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa came into office. He proposed a plan called Measure R, otherwise known as the “30/10 Plan”. The proposal, according to the former mayor, would not only create better transportation in Los Angeles within the next 30 years, but would also create more job openings. During his time in office, from 2005 to 2013, he became known as the “Transportation Major,” but concerns remain for the future of transportation in Los Angeles. Eric Garcetti became L.A.’s new major in 2013, and it is unknown if Garcetti will keep the same momentum to this issue, as Villaraigosa did.
Los Angeles Metro (© Photo: TMD)
The good news is that Los Angeles commuters, or Angelenos, have found different ways to get to where they need to be. Many Angelenos have ditched the idea of driving, and have converted to using the L.A Metro and transit system. Paul Sorensen of NewGeography.com wrote, “To achieve lasting traffic relief, it will be necessary to manage the demand for travel through pricing reforms (e.g., congestion tolls) that increase the cost of driving and parking in the busiest corridors and areas during peak travel hours. Other measures which include better transit service, ridesharing programs, traffic signal synchronization, can complement pricing, but are not on their own sufficient to stem current and projected future traffic congestion.”
As it will take time and money for the 30/10 Plan to come into effect, Angelenos can find some comfort in knowing that there are many different alternatives that they can use to get around. For the commuters who wish to stay on the road, researchers from RAND (Research And Development) have multiple recommendations to help improve transportations in L.A., which include: Pairing one-way street conversions to increase travel speed and reduce travel time; High-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes to maintain free flowing travel speeds during peak travel hours while carrying up to twice the volume that congested general-purpose lanes do and HOT lanes can also raise sufficient revenue to subsidize express-bus operations; and finally, bus rapid transit featuring bus-only lanes can result in much faster transit service at relatively low cost.
As expansion continues to grow in the greater Los Angeles, daily commuters now have the option to expand the way they travel in order to have a more convenient commute.
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Red, white and green: Is America heading toward complete legalization of marijuana?
by Faith Vander Voort
The legalization of marijuana in the United States has been on the rise exponentially in the last five years. At this point in time, 23 states have some form of legal marijuana use, whether it is for medical or recreational use.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, California was the first state to legalize medical marijuana in November of 1996. Patients suffering from AIDS, glaucoma, chronic pain, seizures and various forms of cancer were all able to access the drug with a physician’s written consent.
A few years later, Washington, Oregon and Alaska “removed state-level criminal penalties on the use, possession and cultivation of marijuana by patients who possess ‘valid documentation’” confirming that medical marijuana would improve their condition, said Medical Marijuana Pro/Con.
On a more recent note, Washington, Oregon and Alaska have passed California in terms of legalization. While California has still only legalized the medicinal use of marijuana, Washington, Oregon, Alaska and now Denver, have all legalized for recreational use as well, according to Governing Data.
Red: medical marijuana legalized – Pink: recreational marijuana legalized
The most recent states to join the medicinal movement in November of 2014 are New York, Minnesota and Maryland. The recent Quinnipiac University Poll indicated that swing states including Virginia and Iowa are looking to legalize. The legalization in Iowa, a conservative stronghold, could create a wake of change in the surrounding Midwestern states.
While many states are legalizing marijuana, there is still confusion between the state and federal laws. Even if medical and/or recreational use of marijuana has been legalized in a state, it is still against the federal law. Charles Lynch, 52, of New Mexico has fallen victim to this very confusion.
When Lynch opened a medical marijuana dispensary in Morro Bay, California, he made sure to abide by every state regulation.
That did not change the fact that he broke the federal law that regards marijuana to be in the same class as heroin and cocaine, leaving him with several felonies. Currently out on bond, Lynch feels “so left out of society.”
Even though it appears that the United States is moving toward becoming a “green nation”, Washington seems to be going back on their promises.
Washington was one of the first to legalize medicinal use and is one of the four states that has recreational use, but their House of Representatives has passed Senate Bill 5052, “a proposal to close every medical cannabis dispensary in the state.”
This legislation may stand as a red flag for states looking to legalize – a warning signal that the drug’s effects on society are simply too drastic. Bill 5052 is still awaiting the desk of Governor Jay Inslee, where he will have the power to pass or veto.
America has taken great strides to legalize marijuana for those who would benefit from it, but it still has a long way to go. The main issue standing in the way of nation-wide medical marijuana use is the federal law. If the federal law were to be amended, people like Charles Lynch would not be living in a state of confusion. Until then, confusion it is.
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The influence of Pope Francis on APU students and nationwide
by Erika Hunter
Courtesy: Erika Hunter
There are a vast number of students at Azusa Pacific University who do not identify with Christianity. Although APU invites students to develop a Christian perspective of truth and life, they recognize that they must also create a safe environment for those with other religious stances. To accommodate these students, APU offers different chapel selections that one can choose from according to their liking.
Several Catholics on campus have found comfort in going to liturgical chapels that are offered every other Thursday in Upper Turner Campus Center on East campus.
“I appreciate that we have liturgical chapels here because of how similar the setting is to what my church was like back home,” said Taylor Allen, a sophomore Graphic Design major. Allen was born into a Christian household, but decided to convert over to Catholicism roughly two years ago when she was introduced to Pope Francis in her theology course. “I’ve learned so much about Pope Francis inside of the classroom that I now appreciate studying him on my own time,” Allen continued.
Allen poses outside of a local Catholic church in Azusa, CA. Courtesy: Erika Hunter
Pope Francis, also known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was elected the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church in March 2013. He is the first pope from the Americas who, since his time in office, has received positive feedback from people like Allen as well as those outside of the Catholicism community. CNN anchor, Carol Costello, is a prime example. In an article entitled “How Pope Francis Awakened the Faith of a CNN Anchor”, Costello said that she had been looking for someone to pray for her after the death of her brother.
Although she didn’t receive direct prayer from Pope Francis himself, she did speak with a cardinal of his who then relayed the message to him. The cardinal gave her background knowledge of who the pope was that she instantly became interested in finding out more about him. She then utilized her time to studying him. Through her constant studying of him, her faith was awakened.
Similar to Costello, Allen along with several of her catholic friends have made it a part of their weekly agenda to meet and discuss the latest news on Pope Francis. In many of their meetings, they talk about the events that Pope Francis attends and how his values make him credible as a pope.
“It amazes me at how selfless he is; the qualities he demonstrates as a pope are ones that I someday hope to possess as I grow closer to God,” said Jonell Offray, a sophomore Computer Information Systems major and friend of Allen’s.
Pope Francis, although not mentioned a lot on campus, has affected the lives of those that are influenced by him. He has taught them the value of being moral, and a person of great integrity. Through this, they are also learning more about God and who He is in their own lives.
https://audioboom.com/boos/3134052-pope-francis-and-twitter
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