Excuse Us, Mr. President: Can You Please Save the L.A. River?
City Councilman Ed Reyes and other members of the National League of Cities' Advisory Council are slated to meet with President Barack Obama today in Washington, D.C. to talk L.A. River. Reyes and company are on a mission to gain Obama's support in projects related to the river that will create jobs plus improve community health and the environment.
Reyes, armed with a hand-written letter that outlines three ways Obama can support the concrete channel, will meet with Obama at the White House. The letter urges the President to issue an executive order requiring the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete an ecosystem study of the river within six months. Reyes says the study will allow the city to progress with construction plans along the river.
The letter also asks Obama to fund the America's Great Outdoors Initiative in a manner benefiting seven urban waters pilot locations. Additionally, Reyes wants the President to ask Congress to fund the Los Angeles River Corps, whose mission is to provide at-risk young adults and school-aged youth with opportunities for success via conservation and service projects.
Reyes wrote, "Such dramatic change will prove to the nation that environmental restoration and job creation can result in transformative public infrastructure realignments in the most urban communities."
Reviving the L.A. River is a massive project that is near and dear to Reyes, who chairs the city's ad hoc committee on the river and has spearheaded the Los Angeles River Revitalization Plan. The initiative identifies over 240 projects, which could foster 19,000 permanent jobs. Reyes said that the L.A. River projects are at a "serious crossroads."
