Politics

Another dumb freeway naming idea

I've ranted a little bit before about the second-rate practice of naming freeways and other big public works for minor political players and less-than-extraordinary do-gooders — I believe I said "they just don’t find colorful figures to name things after like they used to." (The reference point was Gaylord Wilshire.) Now this, from Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee: a bill has been introduced to rename a stretch of the 405 for former lawmaker Kevin Murray. Murray was forgettable as a legislator, and that piece of the freeway was already named for the late political contributor Nathan Shapell, so Walters offers a reasonable alternative:

Murray's hopes of extending his career vanished on a December afternoon in 1998, just days after his being sworn in as a state senator, when a Los Angeles County park police officer found him with a prostitute in Murray's state-leased black Corvette, parked outside John Anson Ford Theater.

After much angst, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office decided not to press charges against Murray, who said he was "sorry and remorseful."

Here's a thought: If Hall wants to emblazon Murray's name on something public, why not make it the off-ramp leading to the Ford Theater?

Assembly Concurrent Resolution 149 is by Assemblyman Isadore Hall, D-Compton.


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