Ueberroth and Rebuild L.A.
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When I think of South-Central Los Angeles in 1995, I think of Newark, N.J., in the years following the ’67 riots. No one--not private enterprise, not the government--moved into those communities to rebuild. Consequently, many parts of Newark are now a wasteland. Unless the government and private enterprise take swift action, L.A. will follow suit.
The solution is simple: If we can use our tax dollars to pay Northrop and Lockheed billions to develop tactical jet fighters and advanced weapons systems, we can use our tax pennies to pay Boys, Ralphs and Lucky markets to build grocery stores in South-Central Los Angeles to replace those that were destroyed. If we can deploy 500,000 National Guardsmen and Army troops in Saudi Arabia to defend our oil interests, we can deploy 10,000 troops in South-Central L.A. to help rebuild that community.
After spending a month in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia last year covering the aftermath of Desert Storm for People magazine, I’m confident our soldiers can use hammers as skillfully as M-16s.
LORENZO BENET
Los Angeles
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