LA Times – by Patrick McGreevy
State lawmakers Tuesday gave final approval to designating a section of the 134 Freeway as the President Barack H. Obama Highway in honor of the 44th president of the United States.
Supporters of the measure will now raise the private funds needed to place signs with Obama’s name along the section of the 134 between the 210 Freeway and the 2 Freeway, which includes parts of Glendale, Pasadena and Eagle Rock.
Obama, who left office in January, attended Occidental College in Eagle Rock in 1979 before transferring to Columbia University in 1981.
State Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge) said he decided to seek renaming the stretch of the Ventura Freeway after learning Obama lived in Pasadena as a student and used the freeway to commute to class at Occidental.
Portantino made a veiled reference in his comments on the floor to President Trump’s decision that day to end a program that protects young immigrants from deportation.
“It is particularly proud to stand today to recognize [Obama’s] compassion and heart and dignity on a day when we sorely need compassion, heart and dignity expressed,” Portantino told his colleagues.
In an interview, the senator said the renaming makes sense because “President Obama has a strong and productive connection to Southern California, and particularly to this stretch of freeway.”
The Senate vote was 38 to 0 with most Republicans in support (two did not vote). In the Assembly, Republicans either voted against granting the honor or withheld their vote.
Assemblyman Matthew Harper (R-Huntington Beach) voted against the measure, saying the naming is premature and will confuse motorists given that Los Angeles is renaming a stretch of Rodeo Road in southwest L.A. as Obama Boulevard.
He noted that a section of the 90 Freeway was named after President Nixon until he ended up resigning after the Watergate scandal.
“With Obama being so young, it’s kind of undetermined what his overall legacy will be and how history will judge him,” Harper said. He called Obama’s link to Los Angeles County tangential, adding, “He didn’t even graduate from a California university.”
Caltrans will now do a cost estimate for the signage. The cost of signs for naming other stretches of freeways in honor of public figures has ranged from $3,000 to $7,000.
The late President Reagan was honored with his name on signs on a freeway east of Simi Valley.
http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-ca-essential-politics-updates-california-lawmakers-act-to-rename-1504653461-htmlstory.html
WTF for?
Gone from top black, to black top…so it goes.
Clever.
🙂
It was a coin toss between a free way or a railroad.
Will the center line be painted like a rainbow?
.
These morons in California never cease to surprise me! Yeah, let’s name a fking freeway after an illegally elected president. Do you know how much trouble it’s going to be to rename it to its rightful designation?
Yeah, that’s right, the “fk you America thru way”
It has a ring to it.
🙂
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That’s about all he’s worth
A few battered miles of our failing infrastructure
Named after the fool who destroyed a country
Perfect
I wonder how long the signs with his name on them will last ?
They were probably made in Kenya , just like him
Useless, faded and worthless , just like his man wife
Ah but…Obama is half white. All whites are racists. Ergo, Obama is a racist. We’re not naming any freeway after a phucking racist! Start the protests!
Actually, as a California resident, I have a ringside seat at this circus. Morons and money…such a powerful combination.
I’ve already designated my property a ‘sanctuary property’ from any laws which curtail freedom. Whatever they do, I do. I can’t wait for secession.
Why do they always gotta name highways and roads after presidents? To satisfy their egos? And what the hell did he do for California? In Dallas we got a stupid turnpike named after George Bush just because he’s a friggin Texan. I’m so sick of that crap.
By the way, you have to be BORN IN AMERICA in order to be president. So calling it “President Barack H. Obama Highway” is incorrect.
However, considering that California is made up of over 60% illegal immigrants, I guess it’s fitting for him. He’s an illegal immigrant that calls himself a president in a state taken over by illegal immigrants.
Talk about a delusional state.
A “Free” Way get it ? Like everything else he gave his supporters and the suckers and silent ones who did not stop the ” Affordable ” Care Act. Note Sacramento is the capital and are NOW PAYING the gangs to stop murdering. What insanity are the people of that state? It makes no sense. They should just dissolve and give it back to Mexico now because they lean so far to the left it would only be what’s best for “the people”. Marxism at its best.
Well that’s some bullshit, seems to be racial. If you are going to insult American history and take down all the statues and protest does this not seem a little like a slap in the face. Lets rename all the streets, highways and counties named after all the homies and make everything politically correct so we can all be happy. I can’t drive on MLK Blvd here in Tampa without getting pissed off so I take another route.