2012: Local Economy Poised to Bear Fruit -- Jobs!

by Gary Toebben

I am upbeat about the growth of the local economy in 2012. The roots are growing for major job creating projects that could put thousands of family members back to work in large and small businesses across the southland. Fruit trees have been planted to yield an economic recovery that will benefit all Angelenos. Here are some exciting examples.

It has been almost 20 years since L.A. lost two football teams and bringing this economic engine back to L.A. has not been without its false starts. But we are closer to the goal line than ever before. Protected from frivolous and endless lawsuits by legislators in Sacramento, these viable and exciting deals could bring Los Angeles not one but two NFL franchises.

It isn’t just football that is in the red zone positioned to score for Los Angeles. Disney, Paramount Pictures and NBCUniversal are investing in their own backyards with projects that will solidify LA County as the entertainment capital of the world. Modernizing their lots with state of the art technology, new sound stages and production offices will create thousands of jobs.

Aircraft loaded with tourists flock to our shores each year from all over the world hoping to catch a glimpse of Hollywood glamour. After nearly 30 years of waiting, LAX is finally being modernized to welcome these visitors to our city and nation. An exciting new West Wing of the Tom Bradley International Terminal is part of $4.2 billion in investments at LAX that will bring new gates and concourses to the terminal and dramatically improve the customer experience. 40,000 temporary and permanent jobs will be created by these improvements. Now, the north airfield must be reconfigured to safely and efficiently handle the next generation of aircraft for the international passengers and cargo that fly in and out of LAX.

Just as LAX must be repositioned to handle the next generation of aircraft, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach must be poised to handle the next generation of cargo ships and new competition from a widened Panama Canal. A channel deepening project at the Port of Los Angeles is nearly finished and several other major terminal improvements have been proposed at both ports to retain jobs and improve the environment at the same time. The Port of L.A. has spent five years working on an environmental impact study for a Burlington Northern Santa Fe near-dock rail project that will take more than 1.5 million trucks off the overcrowded 710 Freeway and create the greenest rail yard in the world, while generating 22,000 direct and indirect jobs.

In 2012 Los Angeles County voters will begin to benefit from their support for a one-half cent sales tax for transportation projects approved in 2008. Expo Line Phase 1 is set to open and Phase 2 will break ground. The Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor could also break ground and the extension of the Orange Line bus-rapid transit is scheduled to open from Canoga Park to Chatsworth this summer. The Gold Line Extension overcame a number of obstacles this year including an environmental lawsuit and should also move forward in 2012.

When you add to this list other billion dollar projects like USC’s University Village and Korean Air’s Wilshire Grand Redevelopment and the growth of new technology-related industries in cities throughout the county, it is clear to me that our region has the ingredients to create jobs in both our established industry sectors and in new industry clusters that are emerging every day.

But there is an unknown factor that will influence whether the fruit on these trees actually create jobs during 2012. That unknown factor is the approval process before locally-elected officials. While we cannot control the global economy, we have significantly more influence over our local economy than most people recognize. And much of that control lies in the hands of our locally-elected officials as they vote yes or no on the projects outlined in this op-ed and many other proposals, both large and small in every corner of our city and county.

Visionary people in both the public and the private sector have planted hundreds of trees that are about to bear fruit and create jobs for our community. The fruit should be picked with care, but it must not be allowed to fall to the ground and rot without creating jobs to reduce our 12 percent unemployment rate and bolster our tax base.

2012 is a time for elected officials to enable Angelenos to harvest the fruit – jobs from the trees that have been planted. That action would ensure a very Happy New Year for thousands of hard working family members in the City and County of Los Angeles.

And that's The Business Perspective.