One of the Obama administration's most promising anti-poverty initiatives will marshal federal grants and expertise from numerous agencies to improve infrastructure, services and opportunities across a wide swath of Los Angeles.
Los Angeles will join San Antonio, Philadelphia, southeastern Kentucky and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma as test cases for President Obama's "Promise Zone" initiative. "L.A.'s Promise Zone stretches through Pico-Union, Westlake, Koreatown, East Hollywood and Hollywood, what Mayor Eric Garcetti called some of the 'toughest, challenged areas' in the city," reports Soumya Karlamangla.
"The White House said Los Angeles' funding would go toward increasing affordable housing, investing in public transit lines and bike lanes, and giving people more access to career and technical training opportunities through a partnership with the Los Angeles Community College District," she adds. "Money also would go to the L.A. Unified School District and the nonprofit Youth Policy Institute to increase the number of support services at schools."
Read the full story: U.S. to designate poor L.A. areas a 'Promise Zone,' eligible for aid
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