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Old Man River
Hopefully you heard about the beach closures at parts of Santa Monica and Will Rogers over the weekend, and avoided being coated in a layer of untreated…um, sludge.
But, the good people at the CA Department of Health have lifted their restrictions, and we can now bring you this more savory link regarding the aesthetic virtues of the L.A Storm Drain System. FOVICKS -- or Friends of Vast Industrial Concrete Kafkaesque Structures, has a series of photos of the Los Angeles River flood control channel that are mesmerizing. Our storm drain system handles one hundred million gallons of water on a dry day, and ten billion gallons when it’s rainy. Even if you don’t like how it looks, (or when it breaks down) it’s still an impressive piece of infrastructure.
Photo by eecue
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
