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President Obama met with UCLA students on the tarmac at LAX in May.
Yes, President Obama returns to Los Angeles today — again — for another fundraising swing with private high-roller events that are unfortunately timed for local commuters. The fun begins today with the president's arrival at LAX around 2:30 pm. There has been no official hint of how Obama will get over to the Hancock Park area, site of his evening Democratic National Committee fundraiser at the home of TV producer Shonda Rhimes (though military helicopters did some advance flying work this week.) The LAPD advises that streets may close around La Brea Avenue and West Olympic Boulevard from 2 to 4 pm, and around West 3rd Street and Rossmore Avenue from 4 to 8 pm.
In addition, the streets around the Four Seasons Hotel at Beverly Boulevard and North Doheny Drive may close between 9 am and 4 pm, and again from 6 pm to 8 pm. The guidance from the LAPD and the Secret Service is necessarily vague for security reasons.
Also from the LAPD:
There will be hard street closures along Rimpau Boulevard between Edgewood Place and Olympic Boulevard, and Olympic Boulevard between Rimpau Boulevard and West Boulevard. The following bus stops will be affected:BUS STOP: Olympic Boulevard / Rimpau Boulevard
ROUTES: MTA 28, 728 - 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.BUS STOP: Fourth Street
ROUTES: MTA 16, 210 – 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
That's all for today. On Thursday, the Obamajam impact will be more spread out. He's going out to Brentwood in the morning, for a roundtable discussion at the home of Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino at which the guests are paying $32,400 each. Then Obama will travel downtown for a 1:15 pm talk at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College, or Trade-Tech. Again, the LAPD guidance is for shutdowns at the ends where he stops, not for any motorcades enroute.
NOTE: There will be hard street closures along West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard between Hoover Street and South Figueroa Street, Figueroa Street between Exposition Park Drive and West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, and West Washington Boulevard between South Flower and Grand Avenue. South Flower Street between West Washington Boulevard and West 23rd Street, South Grand Avenue between West Washington Boulevard and West 23rd Street will also be affected by hard closures.
- The area around Beverly Boulevard and North Doheny Drive from 4:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- The area around Sunset Boulevard and Mandeville Canyon Road from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
- The area around Sunset Boulevard and Barrington Avenue from 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.
- The area around Grand Avenue and West Washington Boulevard from 4:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
- The area around Figueroa Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
The following bus routes will be affected:
BUS STOP: Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard
ROUTES: MTA 40 – 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.BUS STOP: Figueroa Street
ROUTES: MTA 81 - 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.BUS STOP: Washington Boulevard
ROUTES: MTA 35, 910 - 4:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.BUS STOP: Flower Street
ROUTES: Montebello 50 - 4:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.BUS STOP: Grand Avenue
ROUTES: Montebello 50 - 4:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
The president's plane leaves LAX mid-afternoon on Thursday, before the heart of the end-of-day commute. This will be President Obama’s 19th trip to Southern California since 2009 and the third in three months.
