Which Way, L.A.?
Are California's Bridges Safe Enough?
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Are California's Bridges Safe Enough?

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Southern California has more heavily travelled highway bridges than any place else in the country.  Nobody says they're in danger of falling down, but many are in serious need of repair, and CalTrans has just fired an inspector for falsifying reports on bridge safety. We hear two reports. Also, illegal immigration from Mexico is on the decline, and some Mexican families who came north for a better life are going home, despite the widespread violence south of the border. On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, what's the future of "Occupy Wall Street?"

Banner image: A section of the newly constructed catwalks hang over the eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge next to the existing bridge on August 29, 2011 in Oakland, California. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Main Topic

Local Bridge Safety ()

Southern California has 91 of the 100 most heavily traveled bridges in the United States.  Of the top ten, almost all are on Interstate 10 in Los Angeles. Investigative reporting by the Sacramento Bee has raised questions about the safety of bridges in California.  In the aftermath, one safety inspector has been fired for falsifying records, including those for an underpass on the 405 freeway in Culver City. The story begins with the new, eastern span of the San Francisco Bay Bridge, which is still under construction. There are three structures in Southern California where data were falsified: a retaining wall at the Braddock Drive underpass of the 405 Freeway in Culver City; a carpool connector lane between the 57 and the Pomona Freeway near Diamond Bar; and a ramp on the Riverside Freeway at La Sierra Avenue in Riverside.

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Reporter's Notebook

Mexicans in Santa Ana Move Back to Mexico ()

"Data from both sides of the border suggest that illegal immigration from Mexico is already in fast retreat." One example is a Mexican family that moved to Santa Ana, hoping for a better life. After 20 years, they have moved back to Mexico.

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Main Topic

What's the Future of 'Occupy Wall Street?' ()

Demonstrators were evicted this morning from Zuccotti Park, but New York isn't the only city where "Occupy Wall Street" has clashed with local officials. We hear what's happening in other places and ask if the movement has a chance to make political change.

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Underwriters

Which Way L.A.? is made possible in part by the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, and the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation, which supports study and research into policy issues of the Los Angeles region.

 

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