Pork, Yes--but Not a Hog

Call it what it is: pork. With last week’s passage of the state’s $76-billion budget, a generous helping of local projects got served up to the San Fernando Valley--everything from money to study secession to money to buy parkland. Backers of various projects recoil from having their parks or technology centers described in porcine terms, but that’s what they are.

Not that that’s a bad thing.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

The legislative job description includes wrangling enough money to keep the folks back home happy. Most of the time, the money is not enough to make a difference in the big picture, but plenty to make a big difference in the small picture. Gov. Pete Wilson should recognize their value and let the few small strips of Valley bacon stand as he reviews the budget.

For instance, the $150,000 allocated by Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) and state Sen. Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley) to study the health effects of Rocketdyne’s Santa Susana Field Laboratory totals less than 0.0002% of the total budget. But it can help determine whether the neighbors around the test facility suffer higher rates of cancer and other illnesses than the general population. That information is priceless.

And although the $4.2 million set aside for expansion of Mission College in Sylmar makes up a slightly higher percentage--0.0055%--the money will be used to build a multimedia and fine arts facility to train talented young people to serve as tomorrow’s leaders. An even better bargain at $100,000--0.0001%--would be a training program for students in Glendale and Burbank to prepare them for high-tech jobs. The Valley Industry and Commerce Assn. would share the program’s costs, which shows how a small infusion of public money can grow with private participation.

The $5 million--0.0066%--Assemblyman Scott Wildman (D-Los Angeles) earmarked for purchase of 238 acres near Glendale and Burbank will preserve an oak habitat that serves as home to deer, mountain lions and foxes. And the $340,000--0.0005%--set aside to help pay for a feasibility study on Valley cityhood provides the right amount of public money to sort out a complicated question.

Bottom line: Special projects headed for the Valley don’t have that much effect on the bottom line. After years of lean, the Valley--and communities across the state--got used to sparse offerings. Although this year’s goodies may add up to only the tiniest slice of pork, they seem like big, fat hams in the communities set to receive them.