Entekhabi

0

Hed — L.A.’s Passing Grade

The Business Journal, somewhat immodestly, laid out an agenda for Los Angeles six months ago under the heading, “25 Ways to Make L.A. Grow.” It was a plan, fashioned with the help of business, political and academic leaders throughout town, to examine the local economic and community needs for 1997.

In taking stock at the mid-year point, there is reason for some optimism. As pointed out in our front-page story, significant progress has been made in many of the 25 ways such as a green light from the City Council for a new downtown sports arena, stepped-up efforts for a more flexible city tax structure, a savvier approach to enhancing L.A.’s image and a dramatic turnabout in the county’s health care system.

What happened? Well, for one thing, the local economy has finally come out of its shell in a big way leading to more job growth and spending. That, of course, leads to an increasing tax base and with it, a greater opportunity for more cops, better roads, improved schools, etc.

Beyond the obvious economic gains, we sense that after years of fundamental restructuring, Los Angeles is becoming accustomed to its newfound status an immensely diverse city, ethnically and financially, with a growing reliance on an array of small-to-medium-sized businesses.

Admittedly, the adjustment takes some getting used to. With the loss of so many major corporate headquarters in recent years, along with the ongoing retrenchment in aerospace, some may find it hard to muster much enthusiasm for fairly anonymous businesses in the $50 million-to-$100 million range.

Indeed, L.A.’s second-class status in technology more perception than reality in our view is largely due to the absence of high-profile “mother companies” like Hewlett Packard Co. and Intel Corp. Judging from the lukewarm treatment that L.A. gets from the nation’s venture capital community it’s clear that becoming a prominent technology center remains very much a work in progress.

In looking at our list of 25, there are other works in progress. L.A.’s search for an NFL franchise, for example, is going nowhere, thanks to the misguided efforts to revive the Coliseum. The subway remains an unmitigated disaster, traffic is still a mess and surveys indicate that L.A. is one of the hardest and costliest places to do business.

And while voters approved the formation of a charter reform commission, it has attracted little public notice and is destined to be a long, acrimonious process (typified by the two separate charter reform groups being assembled).

In fairness, many of the Business Journal’s 25 ways to make L.A. grow are long-term public policy matters that couldn’t possibly be realized in six months. A good example is the expansion of Los Angeles International Airport, which has yet to clear even the preliminary hurdles.

Then there are issues where progress is in the eye of the beholder, such as a reduction in bureaucratic red tape or the harnessing of entertainment and technology.

All told, it’s hard to keep score on a city, especially one that’s as complex as Los Angeles. But we can’t help note that the relentless period of bad news is well passed and that the hits are beginning to at least even out with the misses. We also suspect that much of the social tensions are easing if for no other reason than pure dollars and cents considerations.

Maybe it’s not the perfect report card on L.A., but it’s far from a failing grade.

No posts to display