Transit Priorities Battle It Out In Los Angeles

"Currently, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is in the midst of deciding which light-rail projects will have priority over the next quarter century. And the contentious process unfolding in Los Angeles is reverberating in Washington, where the region's congressional representatives are jockeying for their own priorities in the scramble for federal dollars."

On a recent trip to Washington, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa lobbied for federal funding to extend the city's subway to the Pacific Ocean -- one of his promises to voters during his campaign. But proposals to extend or build new light-rail lines have the support of several key members of congress, who feel their plans are cheaper and quicker to build.