Los Angeles Transit Sales Tax Passes...Barely

"The approval of the half-cent sales tax delivered a more immediate victory to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who came into office more than three years ago pledging to finally start the city's so-called Subway to the Sea. Now, money to begin such a subterranean route -- probably along the Wilshire corridor -- is assured by the Measure R plan.

Measure R is expected to raise as much as $40 billion for projects on the list. The biggest and costliest is the Purple Line extension.

The MTA's spending plan for Measure R doesn't begin providing money to the subway until sometime between 2013 and 2015.

Supporters of Measure R early today were still a bit stunned that it had passed."

"It was unprecedented to get two-thirds of the vote in this environment -- this is the worst economic environment since the Great Depression," said county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky early today."