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    KumfinemeeAndy Cush
    5/24/16 6:54pm

    I’m really bad at judging distance but how far is Downtown LA to the Santa Monica Beach in terms of NYC scale from Grand Central Term. as the starting point? Before I die I would love to visit LA. For a time I was obsessed with the Wonderland murders. Then Robert Durst and his LA friend in her little bungalow. (how far is that?)

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      The Most Humble Man in the WorldKumfinemee
      5/24/16 7:01pm

      Its not the distance which is only about 10-15 miles. The issue is that it could take anywhere from 15 min - 4 years to drive depending on road conditions.

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      Halesite147Kumfinemee
      5/24/16 7:05pm

      On transit... Essentially Grand Central to Coney Island +/- 10 min according to google. Also, point to point distance is roughly similar.

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    Fred SmithAndy Cush
    5/24/16 7:07pm

    I’ve lived and worked in lots of cities all over the world, and one thing I know is that whenever a metro train or bus line is extended into a new area, there will always be someone who frets that criminals will come with it. Even dopey bedroom communities with no real wealth to speak of will have a few folks freaking out about the new metro stop, because in their minds, criminals have just been waiting to take a one-hour metro ride, with two transfers, to come rob their houses, and then, with pillowcases full of their valuables, make the same return trip.

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      Jerry-NetherlandFred Smith
      5/24/16 7:21pm

      And yet, in Los Angeles, every new Metro Line has brought gentrification along its entire route, and with that the only blight is the that of endless new “luxury apartments” and a shortage of affordable housing.

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      XrdsAlumJerry-Netherland
      5/24/16 7:32pm

      That’s what I don’t get about NIMBYs like this woman: how can someone be so invested in an issue and yet not see the gentrification and new development and higher property values that surround every new station? That’s in addition to the relief on traffic and parking, two issues not unknown in Santa Monica.

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    whateverAndy Cush
    5/24/16 6:55pm

    no real person calls it “SaMo” get the fuck out of here. guaranteed that person is a transplant

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      Doesntgeteddievedderwhatever
      5/24/16 7:11pm

      Except for ‘Samo High’, but you’re right i’ve never heard it used in any other context.

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      Strizowhatever
      5/24/16 7:14pm

      Right?!I’ve never heard anyone call it that before this article. We in the biz call it Samica.

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    Jerry-NetherlandAndy Cush
    5/24/16 7:07pm

    The Expo line is a much needed addition to LA’s Metro system, and one from which they can now drop a few North-South lines over the next few years (The Sepulveda Pass parallel to the 405 will supposedly be first).

    It’s one thing to publish an opposing viewpoint, but if her complaint is about more people coming to Santa Monica, it’s pretty clear what she means, because no chamber of commerce would NOT want more consumers - unless there’s something, ummm no se lo que puede ser...

    The Purple (Wilshire) line is on its way west, (boring underground and station construction is halfway along; in Beverly Hills right now), but perhaps she’ll have no complaints with that line because, at present, it stops short of Santa Monica, ending in Brentwood.

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      BrendanJerry-Netherland
      5/24/16 7:17pm

      To say that the Purple Line has had “no complaints” would be to ignore the massive and ongoing lawsuits Beverly Hills has waged against it. Also, I believe the Crenshaw Line will be finished before a Sepulveda Pass line.

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      JiminyCricketJerry-Netherland
      5/24/16 7:27pm

      The only thing that sounds crap about some of these new lines is that some will be street level. Better than nothing, I suppose, but it can certainly be an eyesore.

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    audenAndy Cush
    5/24/16 6:59pm

    “It seems to me I’ve heard that song before” as Sinatra sang. And she knows she’s wrong for this, since it got taken down so quickly. L.A. needs public transit in the worst way, just keep it coming.

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      1Pompadourauden
      5/24/16 7:14pm

      I know that the city of Santa Cruz, another popular beach destination, fought having a freeway replace deadly Highway 17 through the Santa Cruz mountains because of the increased traffic and visitors that would bring. Tourists already flock in even at the risk of accidents and traffic jams on 17. The oppositional argument to the freeway was that easier access and more people would destroy the environment in the mountains as well as the “quaint little laid back beach community” image of Santa Cruz and turn it into a hyper-commercialized madhouse. I thought that whatever saved lives would be the best idea. Highway 17 is a dangerous drive, particularly for inexperienced drivers. But there was definitely an aspect of “we got here first, so you stay away.” But people love the beach, and they need the beach, so making it easier for them to get there is a benefit and a pleasure. Not to mention a relief of the driving and parking nightmares. The current residents of Santa Monica will just have to adjust. For now, Santa Cruz is winning its anti-freeway fight.

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      I Started Something1Pompadour
      5/24/16 7:29pm

      Highway 17 has had incredible safety improvements made over the last 20-30 years. No longer a “blood alley” highway, etc. The current fight against freeways seems to be related more to Highway 1 than 17. The gridlock that occurs daily from about 3pm to 7pm is quite frankly ridiculous. But there is definitely an aspect of not wanting to widen or improve for fear of more people moving here - as if anyone can actually afford it, lol. To make it sound less NIMBY the current argument seems to be that money for the highway takes money away from local road improvements - and that is true to a certain extent. But even when CalTrans said they would pay for a huge upgrade at the Fishhook, locals protested - calling the design a “freeway worthy of San Jose if not LA. We don’t want to be a bedroom community to Silicon Valley.” Blah, love this place but locals only flavor is going to be our downfall eventually. We are ALREADY that bedroom community - everyone is just in denial.

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    Kyle My Future Daughter's Idiot BoyfriendAndy Cush
    5/24/16 6:53pm

    As resident who lives a couple miles south in Venice, I can tell you that Santa Monica was already a crowded hell hole that’s genuinely impossible to drive in at any time of day. But it’s cool we can actually go downtown now via train.

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      ObviousHuh20Kyle My Future Daughter's Idiot Boyfriend
      5/24/16 7:00pm

      It’s cute that she also thinks downtown will import poor people via train. Bitch, the poor people don’t live in downtown, they just work there! Do know what the fucking rents are in downtown?

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      bunnywatsonKyle My Future Daughter's Idiot Boyfriend
      5/24/16 8:06pm

      I’ve only lived here for 2 years and I am ready to GTFO. I never go to the beach, it’s horribly dirty and so many people everywhere and the traffic! I can’t get OUT of Santa Monica to go anywhere, it takes almost an hour just to get to the other side of 405. Where does one go to get away from this?

      My husband has a great job in Santa Monica. The train means we might be able to go east and he can commute this way. I'm hoping, anyway.

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    OMG!PONIES!Andy Cush
    5/24/16 7:07pm

    I’m just going to leave this right here.

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      Mr.PeepersOMG!PONIES!
      5/25/16 7:56am

      Santa Monica pigs (no offense meant to real cops) are horrid. See the story of the African American exec locked out of her apartment subjected to a SWAT team with no apologies.

      Santa Monica isn’t even that nice to complain about this shit. I stopped going to Santa Monica Beach when I was 10 for actual in water activity. The sand was like a playground in a landfill. Make a castle and you’re bound to find a nice full diaper to complete it. Go swimming? Enjoy the diapers and whatnot. Fuck that. We went to Malibu, Redondo or Pt Mugu(sp?) or any number of nicer beaches. As an African American you know how much inhospitable shit I ever ran into in those other beaches? None.

      Any asshole trying to lay claim to SoCal’s beaches or beach communities as belonging to those who live in the immediate area are scum who wouldn’t mouth that shit publicly.

      Best Santa Monica memory - 2am July 5th maybe 1980-83 not sure which year. Thousands of people trying to get on the bus after the fireworks. Think Hajj stampede. I was protected by a bunch of Cholos who let me, sibling and mother get on the bus without being crushed. Act of kindness by those society shits on. Always stayed with me.

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    JohnSadamsAndy Cush
    5/24/16 6:59pm

    “And before you cry “privilege,” it’s not just me that’s worried about this.”

    By the way. Who ever said “privilege” was a bad thing?

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      NobizdashizJohnSadams
      5/24/16 7:54pm

      When the left (I.e slave moralists) decided to equate poor with holy

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      JohnSadamsNobizdashiz
      5/24/16 8:36pm

      That makes sense.

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    VoxPoptartiusAndy Cush
    5/24/16 6:53pm

    “This thing that will help out poor people will also make me have to interact with them”

    - not quite an unpopular opinion among white people in LA.

    Witness the purple line and it’s grand total of 2 stops before it ran into Beverly Hills Opposition.

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      Jerry-NetherlandVoxPoptartius
      5/24/16 7:25pm

      They’re building a purple line stop around the corner from me in Beverly Hills as we speak.

      The matter of “opposition” from Beverly Hills had to direct the line to the Century City stop under the campus of landmarked Beverly Hills High without destroying the building. It was settled years ago.

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      PromotionalKittenBasketVoxPoptartius
      5/24/16 10:55pm

      The funny thing is Santa Monica already imports poors from Crenshaw/East Side to work, they just had to spent four fucking hours a day on the bus before. Who the fuck do they think is working for $9 an hour at the Promenade anyway? It’s not like a Pali High student is ringing up your pretzel.

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    GMOCAndy Cush
    5/24/16 8:35pm

    Public transit raises property values. People fucking kill to live close to a Metro stop in DC.

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      KatsPurpleDiscoBallGMOC
      5/24/16 10:14pm

      Holy shit, so true. I live out in the wilds in Clifton-ish and even I can see the allure of living within walking distance of a Metro stop. MisterDisco drives to Alexandria every day and I bounce into DC at least 6-8 times a month, so I can definitely see how truly awesome it would be to live within a mile of the Vienna train station or even something on the Blue Line.

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      NoOnesPostGMOC
      5/25/16 2:21pm

      Which is ironic considering rich people are the reason you can’t find a Metro stop in Georgetown.

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