Vice Mayor Visits D.C. For Metro Talk

Vice Mayor William Brien discussed the proposed Westside Subway Extension and his recent trip to Washington, D.C. at Tuesday's City Council meeting. 

Brien was in the nation's capital May 12 to May 15 for a legislative advocacy meeting, where he spoke at Mayor Barry Brucker's request about the city's opposition to subway tunneling under Beverly Hills High School with members of Congress, including California senators Diane Feinstein, Barbara Boxer and Rep. Henry Waxman.

Invoking the "safety and integrity of our campus and our neighborhoods," Brien said "the city can be most effective with an aggressive strategic approach that involves direct meetings and discussions with key decision makers, including members of Congress, county supervisors, MTA board members and MTA staff."

The city has hired for advice and guidance on the matter, he said.

"You will not find the progress of these efforts being played out in the media, but the community needs to know that this city has, is and will continue to do everything it can to ... promote the route under Santa Monica Boulevard, avoiding ," Brien said.

The vice mayor also mentioned the ICIS, the Interagency Communications Interoperability System.

The ICIS is a "radio system that provides emergency communication to public safety officers and public works [departments] throughout the region," Brien said. The program is funded through federal Homeland Security grants that include 25 Los Angeles-area municipalities as well as first-responders such as the American Red Cross.

In Washington he "discussed issues that went beyond ICIS including the things that we do here ... that make Beverly Hills the safest city in America," Brien said, noting cutting-edge security technology such as "video analytics ... where we beta test many of the things that go on from Homeland Security here in the city."

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