April 20 to April 19, 2016 The official guide to Gay Palm Springs for 21 years.

THE LAST WORD by Greg Pettis
The traveler has returned from India and my
stomach is trying to get used to food without
curry (actually not difficult) and getting back into
the habit of work, governing and just enjoying
spring in the valley.
Ask write this, I am about to begin a meeting with
the LOSSAN (Los Angeles * San Diego * San Luis
Obispo Rail Corridor Agency) board of directors.
This is the group that operates the Amtrak rail
service from San Diego north to San Luis Obispo.
They are also being considered to be the operating
agency for the Coachella Valley rail service. I
represent Riverside County on the board and it
certainly has helped to keep our voice in the mix
for our potential service.
The current discussions are to have two trains a
day from Los Angeles to Indio (and return), leaving
the desert about 7am and 10am and returning
about 10am and 7pm. The train would run from
Indio to Palm Springs to the Banning Pass to San
Bernardino, down to Anaheim and on to Los
Angeles. Obviously our tourism industry is agog
over the possibilities of connecting LA, all things
Disney and the greater Palm Springs area. This
certainly is a good thing, but I look at it as something
else.
For decades the Inland Empire has been the recipient
of huge numbers of housing starts but very
little in the way of employment. In government
speak we call it “jobs/housing balance. Many of
our residents are forced onto the freeways early
each morning to work and then sit on those freeways
to come home, not arriving until well past
8pm.
If we can link the major job centers of San Bernardino,
Anaheim and LA by train the opportunities
for our citizens are innumerable. Lifestyle
choices expand and use of funds expand as well
as people put less money into their cars and more
into their homes and families.
There have been two public hearings in the valley
related to the environmental studies but not about
station locations, hours of service, etc. I would
very much appreciate hearing your thoughts so
I can share with Amtrak, CALTRANS and others
involved in the decision. Please email your
thoughts at gpettis@cathedralcity.gov
The other item on my mind this week is the discussion
occurring in Palm Springs about David
Ready, City Manager and the continuing fallout
to last years FBI raids, etc. It has always been my
rule not to voice an opinion on choices other city
council’s might make. I certainly don’t want the
Mayor of Rancho Mirage to comment on Cathedral
City’s business. However, I had to weigh in
on this.
David Ready is the senior city manager in the
valley and by far is one of the most respected. He
has led Palm Springs well, navigating the recession
and bringing it through to the showcase city it is
today. City Council members set policy, we point
direction, we do not run our cities on a day to day
basis, that is the City Manager’s job.
I would only recommend to my colleagues on the
Palm Springs Council to remember what occurred
via prior council votes and not attempt to fix
blame on someone who has done an exceedingly
valuable service to the community and valley.
Greg Pettis is a 22 year city councilman in Cathedral City.
He has made his name in governmental circles as an
expert in transportation issues and is very active in working
on bringing passenger rail service to the COACHELLA
Valley. Greg was the first openly gay elected city council
members In Riverside County. He has served on the
boards of the National League of Cities and the League of
California Cities and as President of the Southern CA Asso-
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of Governments.