It’s been four years in coming and, while not official yet, it looks like a downtown site has finally been selected for the proposed $300 million federal courthouse: the parcel at 107 S. Broadway, which now is home to the earthquake-damaged Junipero Serra state office building.

This parcel has emerged as the preferred location for a new courthouse over two nearby sites, both because of its size it’s a full city block and its proximity to the existing federal courthouse at 312 N. Spring St.

“The 107 S. Broadway site looks to be the one that would most fit the needs of a new courthouse,” said Mary Filippini, spokeswoman for the U.S. General Services Agency’s Region IX office in San Francisco.

Filippini said a final decision won’t be made for at least another month and depends on the outcome of sensitive negotiations between federal and state officials. Since the state owns the site, the feds are trying to work out a land swap, an outright purchase, or some combination of the two, Filippini said.

Also, a draft environmental impact report outlining the pros and cons of each of the three sites that had been considered is due out later this month, just prior to a Feb. 28 public hearing, she said.

But even before the EIR hits the street, it’s already clear that the other two sites have been ruled out. One site, on a parcel one block to the north and east at First and Spring streets, was considered too small for the proposed 17-to-20-story courthouse.

Also, one source familiar with the project said, that site faced objections from L.A. city officials who didn’t want a huge new federal courthouse to outshine the newly renovated City Hall directly across the street.

The other site, four blocks to the west at the corner of Olive and First streets, was considered too far away from the old courthouse and way too far from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court at the Roybal Federal Office Building in Little Tokyo.

Even though the Broadway site has now emerged as the likely location for the proposed courthouse, construction is still at least two years away. And it will be mid-2006 at the earliest before the courthouse is up and running.

Siting New Schools

It’s no secret that finding sites for up to 100 new schools over the next decade will be one of the biggest challenges facing the L.A. Unified School District and local elected officials. Almost any site that is mentioned runs into some opposition, often from nearby homeowners or businesses or both.

Last week, on his bus tour of local schools as part of his self-proclaimed “Education Week,” L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan said that school district officials need to stand up to those who oppose new schools.

“What you need is backbone,” Riordan said. “Every time you try to site a new school, there is some constituency that is against you, whether it’s a business developer or homeowners or environmentalists. What the district needs is the backbone to say, ‘We’re going to put a school there, and if we make some people mad, so what. The kids need it.'”

Of course, those comments may not sit well with local homeowners groups or businesses concerned about traffic, parking, noise and other impacts that schools bring. But, unlike private developers, the school district has the power of eminent domain, which means it can forcibly evict people that stand in the way of siting new schools.

Whether the district will exercise that power is another matter. Last year, the district floated a plan to put a school in a residential neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley, only to withdraw it in a matter of days when residents objected. It is precisely that kind of scenario that Riordan thinks must be avoided if the district is to have any realistic chance of meeting its goals for new schools.

San Gabriel Valley Legislative Race

It’s one of the most hotly contested races in the L.A. area, yet is has almost completely slipped under the radar screen.

With two weeks to go, there has been virtually no coverage of the special election to fill the state Senate seat vacated by Democrat Hilda Solis when she won election to Congress last November.

The race pits two established Democrats against each other: current state Assembly member Gloria Romero and former state Assemblyman Martin Gallegos.

“This race has come up so fast that it really has escaped people’s attention,” said political consultant Allan Hoffenblum, who co-publishes a newsletter covering state politics. The election was called during the holidays and ballot handbooks only went out last week.

Nonetheless, that hasn’t stopped the two candidates from raising what Hoffenblum termed a “respectable” amount of money. Through Jan. 31, state filings show that Romero had raised $370,000, while Gallegos had raised $260,000. Romero’s funding has come primarily from teachers’ unions and other labor groups, while Gallegos, who was chair of the Assembly Health Committee before he was termed out last November, has received considerable backing from medical groups.

Media coverage, though, has been almost completely overshadowed by the one issue dominating state politics these days: the energy crisis. Not surprisingly, representatives from both campaigns say that issue has dominated the race.

But the sleeper issue that could determine the outcome is the long-stalled 710 Freeway extension, which would go through Alhambra and South Pasadena, right through the heart of the district. Both candidates support the extension, although Romero only recently became a supporter.

Hoffenblum says Romero appears to have the upper hand in the race, thanks to a strong endorsement from the popular Solis and independent polling that shows her 8 to 10 points ahead of Gallegos.

But, he said, in an election where voter turnout is expected to be less than 20 percent, Romero hardly has the election wrapped up.

“Everything will depend on who can get their supporters to the polls,” Hoffenblum said.

Staff reporter Howard Fine can be reached by phone at (323) 549-5225, ext. 227, or by e-mail at [email protected].