SGV Connect

Welcome to SGV Connect. In this week's episode, Kris Fortin interviews Paul Alva with the county's Department of Public Works about East L.A. Sustainable Median Stormwater Capture Project. After that, Damien talks to Streetsblog USA editor Kea Wilson about the state of transit during the ongoing pandemic. L.A. County Department of Public Works is upgrading medians Unincorporated East LA to better capture water runoff. The project will include things like infiltration wells and bioswales which will divert stormwater from going into places like the LA River and replenish the local ground water supply. But it won't be just something nice to look at, it will have benches, picnic tables, walking paths, and exercise equipment and quite a bit of vegetation, including planting more than 300 trees. This project costs, $36 million. Read more about the project at the official project website, and see why some East L.A. residents are unhappy with the project in this story on L.A. Eastsider.

In the second interview, Wilson explains how national politics are delaying or even killing a second relief fund for transit projects and programs.

Wilson also discusses how agencies are responding to the crisis by focusing efforts on making service as usable as possible for essential workers and what transit will look like in our post COVID future.

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays.

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

In our first interview, Damien reconnects with Teresa Eilers and Shawn Morrissey who appeared on the podcast last fall. Morrissey works with Union Station Homeless Services, a support and housing provider based in Pasadena while Eilers is a coordinator for the Everyone In! Campaign in San Fernando Valley.

If someone wants to get involved in their community, sign up at Everyone In's "Get Involved" page and a representative will get in touch with you.

In the interview, the trio discuss how COVID-19 has changed the way advocates reach out to people experiencing homelessness and the special challenges the pandemic presents. Some programs such as Project Roomkey have helped as has a growing understanding of how the regional homeless crisis impacts everyone.

Second, Kris interviews Duarte City Councilmember and Metro Board Director John Fasana. Fasna has served as a Metro Board Member for 27 consecutive years dating back to the first Metro Board in 1993. The interview provides a retrospective on Fasna's career and time on the Metro Board. As you can imagine, a lot has changed.

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays.

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

In this week's SGV Connect, Kris Fortin marches with protestors in cities throughout the San Gabriel Valley and brings us their voices direct from the rallies and marches. Kris also discusses his experience at the protests with his broadcast partner, Damien Newton, and how activism is changing in the San Gabriel Valley.

You can read, and see, more of Kris' experiences at an article published at Streetsblog last week.

One of the protests Kris attended on June 7 was in response to police violence that occurred the weekend before. On June 4 of last week, a lawsuit was filed against El Monte police officers involved who injured protestors through necklocks and chokeholds at the end of May. Last week, on June 9, the city announced that it was suspending the use of the "carotid choke hold" more commonly known as the "sleeper hold".

If people want to get involved with the protests, Kris recommends following SGV Progressive Action, Pasadena Black Lives Matter, and Pomona Protests.

Second, Damien talks with Eric Pierce, the editor of the Greenleaf Guardian in Whittier. Eric broke the news of a small-business-led effort to close a portion of Greenleaf Avenue in Whittier's downtown to car traffic to claim the space for retail and restaurant expansion during the COVID-19 crisis. After our interview, the plan was temporarily put on hold as the city is purchasing bollards and other devices to place around the expanded pedestrian/shopping/dining areas for safety.

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

This week, SGV Connect talks to government executives that are overseeing some of L.A. County's largest departments as they respond to COVID-19 and do long-term planning for the future.

First, Kris talks to Norma Garcia, the Acting Director of the L.A. County Department of Parks. Fortin and Garcia discuss the county's plans to continue to re-open public space, should the numbers support greater openings, and the experience inside of the re-opened parks and trails last weekend. So far, things seem to be going pretty well. Fingers crossed that the numbers stay low.

Next, Damien talks to Kome Ajise, the executive director of the mammoth Southern California Association of Governments, the regional planning organization for the nine county Southern California region. A little under two weeks ago, SCAG approved it's long-term plan for the region, a document that helps guide development in large cities and small municipalities throughout the region. Efforts were made to change language in the plan around density, citing how overcrowding is partially responsible for the spread of COVID-19 in some cities. However, Ajise and the SCAG staff resisted, and he eloquently describes the difference between density and overcrowding in the interview. That section of the plan remains unchanged from the draft in the fall.

During what is usually a short between-interview segment, Damien asked Kris his take on the SCAG plan. Kris had been engaged with SCAG on behalf of Santa Ana Active Streets, and he surprised Damien with a nearly ten-minute detailed answer. It's as though we had three interviews this week.

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

This week, SGV Connect goes macro and micro with a look at the just started public process on the county's water plan and studies why Pasadena is resisting the call to eliminate pedestrian crossing buttons before allowing people to legally cross the street at most intersections.

Kris spoke with Matt Frary, Acting Principal Engieneer at Los Angeles County Public Works, about the County Water Plan. The board of supervisors decided at last week's meeting to hire a consultant to develop the plan by 2021.

This plan would try to create a regional approach to water resource management. It would be a practical, policy document, that would help to articulate a shared vision with the more than 200+ water agencies in the County. Frary said.

For folks in the SGV who want to get involved with the development of the County Water Plan, or actions taken as part of the Safe Clean Water Program, there are 3 dedicated Steering Committees focused on this topic. Each committee is comprised of 17 committee members, five of which are community stakeholders and at least one watershed coordinator to help facilitate additional involvement. The three committees are as follow:

1. Upper San Gabriel River Watershed Area Steering Committee
2. Lower San Gabriel Watershed Area Steering Committee
3. Rio Hondo Watershed Area Steering Committee

Second, Damien speaks with Misch Anderson, an advocate for safer transportation options in Pasadena. Anderson has been vocal about the city's response to COVID-19, criticizing the city in Colorado Boulevard (not once, but twice) for not turning off the "Beg Buttons" that need pressing before one crosses the street.

Damien and Misch discuss Pasadena's login in not following the example of Los Angeles and other peer cities and make the case that once the buttons are turned off, they should never be turned back on.

Last, we have a programming note on the expanded SGV Connect we announced in last week's podcast. Future podcasts and articles that are written as part of our agreement with Foothill Transit will have a place to signup for the new SGV Connect Newsletter. We're going to launch the newsletter in two weeks, May 22, and we hope to have hundreds of you joining us.

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

A new BRT line connecting San Bernadino County to a series of cities in the San Gabriel Valley is expected to be approved at the May 6 meeting of San Bernadino County's regional transit agency's Board of Directors. Phase 1 of the BRT line, known as the "Miliken Alignment" of the West Valley Connector BRT will reach from the Pomona Downtown Metrolink station to Victoria Gardens in Rancho Cucamonga.

For more information on the board meeting, and directions on how to participate, click here.

This week, Kris speaks with Victor Lopez, San Bernardino County Transportation Authority's Chief of Transit and Rail Programs. Lopez gives Fortin an overview of the project, which would be the second BRT project in the San Gabriel Valley. The first one is the E Street BRT, which started in 2014 and is a 16-mile route with 16 stations.

For more information, visit the project website, here.

Instead of a second interview, Damien and Kris discuss an expanded SGV Connect that will be ramping up in May. Thanks to reader support and the ongoing support of Foothill Transit, we will start seeing regular written articles by Fortin, a weekly e-newsletter on issues related to transportation, public health, equity and planning by Damien and the launch of an SGV Connect Instagram. Stay tuned for more details on all of these, and we hope you enjoy the expanded #SGVConnect.

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

This week's SGV Connect focuses on how the Coronavirus is impacting planning and transit throughout not just San Gabriel Valley, but all of Southern California.

First up, Kris speaks with Demi Espinoza of the Safe Routes Partnership about the upcoming approval of SCAG's Connect SoCal document.

Connect SoCal is a long-range plan that seeks to balance future mobility and housing needs with economic, environmental and public health goals. SCAG is the regional planning organization for a mammoth six-country region that includes Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura.

Before their interview, Damien and Kris discuss whether or not it even makes sense to push such a plan right now. Damien references a recent statement and action put out by The Untokening that urges governments to stop planning processes that will not be able to reach many populations during COVID-19. Kris also mentioned, and it comes up again in the interview, that things have changed so much since the outreach began for this process that does the plan still make sense? The SCAG Regional Council is scheduled to vote on the plan on May 7.

Second, our hosts talk about the impact COVID 19 is having on the transit agencies that serve the San Gabriel Valley. This week L.A. Metro announced another round of service cuts while revealing sharp declines in ridership: Bus Ridership Down 65 Percent, Rail Down 75 Percent. For more on Metro's cuts, read this article by Joe Linton, published on Wednesday.

Three agencies have suspended regular service: Carson, Montebello and Monterey Park. Other agencies are scaling service back as agencies see steep ridership declines and loss of other income that bolsters transit budgets such as sales taxes and parking fees.

While many agencies are still providing on-demand micro transit or ride-hailing services for residents in-need of transit, there is no doubt that both the present and future of many transit agencies is uncertain. If you're planning a transit trip, we recommend double-checking the relevant websites in advance and immediately before your trip to see if there are any changes.

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

For anyone who lives in the SGV, and frankly throughout Los Angeles County, coyotes are a regular reality. Whether hiking in the San Gabriel Mountains or walking down Valley Boulevard, hearing a coyote's yelp or spotting its thin frame crossing a street is common. But how we should interact with these wildlife neighbors isn't always clear.

On part two of this week's SGV Connect, we spoke with Natalya Romo, the program manager of the Neighborhood Coyote Program, and Alexander Fung, a management analyst with the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments, about how this program is engaging and educating residents to become better stewards to the coyote population. The program has been sharing with residents information about how they should act when coming across a coyote, how to report a sighting, and how residents can deter coyotes in a nonlethal way from making themselves at home in a neighborhood --- leaving pet food and water out would be a no-no.

People can find this info on the SGV COG website or by calling their hotline at (626)278-8039. Residents who also want to report a coyote sighting can call the number; calls are documented and reported to the University of California Cooperative Extension's Coyote Cacher program.

The Coyote program is a pilot of 10 SGV cities which include:

• City of Arcadia
• City of Alhambra
• City of Azusa
• City of Covina
• City of Irwindale
• City of Montebello
• City of Rosemead
• City of San Gabriel
• City of San Marino
• City of Temple City

Residents outside of these cities can call and will be referred to their local animal control agency or their respective government agency.

Neighborhood Coyote Program

Hotline: (626)278-8039, 8:00 a.m.-6:00p.m., Monday-Thursday

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

April 1 is Census Day! Every ten years, the United States government sends out a questionnaire to ask people living in America where they live and other questions about their lives. The final count of where people lives helps determine how the federal government allocates its money. So, the more people that fill out the census, the more money will flow into their community.

Today, we broadcast this half-episode with Adriana Pinedo of Active SGV who is leading the advocacy group's efforts to get as many people counted in the San Gabriel Valley as possible.

In this time of Sheltering in Place and Safe at Home, there's no excuse to not fill out your census form online today. Right now. Go ahead, we'll wait.

A quick note, in the interview I make reference to an old Saturday Night Live Skit. After filling out your census, you can watch that skit, here.

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

This week, SGV Connect continues our coverage of the Coronavirus and our regional response.

First, Kris speaks with Laura Raymond of ACT-LA and Jessica Meaney of Investing in Place about transit agencies' (especially Metro) response to the Coronavirus. Like many groups and organizations, transit agencies find themselves learning as they go along and trying their hardest to react to and learn from what other agencies are doing. The role of advocates, to point out some things the agencies may be missing can help save lives.

In the interview, they discuss a letter sent by ACT-LA and Investing in Place for things agencies should be doing to protect riders and drivers. That letter can be read, here.

In our second interview, Damien talks with Eli Kaufman, the Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition about how people can stay healthy and safe while bicycling during the "Safe at Home." The conversation swerves into a discussion of the River Ride (get up to date information, here) and what we, as a society, can learn from our time sheltering in place.

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.