Ara Najarian
Streetsblog LA
Najarian Effort to Retain Metro Board Seat about to Commence
(Update: It turns out that unless the Najarian nomination is rejected by a majority in a weighted vote by the City Selection Committee, that no action is required by North County Cities earlier today. While the Committee didn't confirm his nomination, it didn't reject it either. This wasn't announced until today at the meeting, with everyone involved somewhat confused as to what the rules are. As Najarian put it in an interview with Streetsblog, "It's no surprise people are confused. This has never happened before."
January 14, 2013
Najarian Metro Board Seat in Danger Over Opposition to 710 Big Dig
(The original version of the story stated that the League of Cities selects the Metro Board Members. Dana Gabbard points out it is actually The City Selection Committee. The CSC is not a subsidiary of the League of California Cities, Los Angeles Division. Its authority is Sections 50270 through 50281 of the Government Code, and it is administered by Los Angeles County.)
December 10, 2012
Shakeup at Metrolink Board: Najarian Out. Ridley-Thomas In?
One of the powers of the Chair of the Metro Board of Directors, is the right to appoint three members to the Board of the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, commonly known as Metrolink. Supervisor Mike Antonovich, who took over as Metro Board Chair on July 1, wasted no time in exercising that power, replacing Glendale City Councilman Ara Najarian with Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.
July 19, 2012
Name the SR-710 Extension Moves to the Final Page, But How Much Will It Cost?
Last week's poll asking you to vote on what name L.A. Streetsblog will use to describe the 710 Extension Project was easily Streetsblog's most popular poll to date, with 252 total votes. Two project names got sixty votes each to move on to this final poll. One week from today, either Art Dean's "Golden Freight Freeway" or Joanne Nuckols' "SR-710, L.A.'s Big Dig" will become the official name that Streetsblog uses to describe the project from here on out.
February 25, 2011
Najarian on 710: Before We Pay for EIR, Let’s Know the Cost
Now that the full agenda for this week's meeting of the Metro Board Meeting is finally online, we can focus on issues beyond the Wilshire Bus Only Lanes.
December 8, 2010
Former Metro Board Chair: How Much Will 710 Tunnel Cost?
Maybe Ara Najarian has been reading the news about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie canceling the ARC Rail Tunnel Project because of concerns about cost over runs.
October 26, 2010
The Problem(s) with Westlake MacArthur Park
Last week, Metro Chair Ara Najarian penned a piece for The Source announcing that bicycle parking is coming to the Westlake/MacArthur Park T.O.D. at some point in the future. It's not everyday that the Metro Board Chair responds to something written on Streetsblog (although Stephen Box and I are debating which one of us he actually responded to); so Streetsblog owes a response.
April 28, 2010
Want to Add 30,000 Cars to the I-210? Then Dig the 710 Tunnel
A traffic analysis published by the City of Glendale projects that the "completion" of the I-710 by building a tunnel under South Pasadena would cause an increase of 30,000 vehicles daily on the I-210 north of SR-134. The report was included as part of a packet to Glendale City Council Members with a resolution affirming the town's traditional opposition to the project. In one of the non-surprises of the year, the Council, which includes Metro Board Chair Ara Najarian, voted to oppose the project.
July 31, 2009
Glendale City Councilman Najarian Takes Over as Metro Board Chair
Every year on July 1, the Chairmanship of the Metro Board of Directors changes hands. This year, Glendale City Councilman, and former Mayor, Ara Najarian takes the helm. While outgoing Chair Villaraigosa is rightly proud of his steering of the Board during the Metro debate, he often seemed bored at meetings and liked to skip "open comment" and just show up to vote.
July 1, 2009