Page 2 June 2, 2016 Construction Snarls LAX Traffic Ahead of Summer Peak By Rob McCarthy A major cause of traffic congestion at the upper entrance to Los Angeles International Airport is due to be removed next month in time for the summer rush. Still, the nation’s third-busiest airport is asking visitors to pardon the dust. Traffic backups at Southwest Terminal 1 should improve after a construction barricade is removed sometime in June, said airport spokesman Charles Pannunzio. The barricade on the west end of the terminal is blocking access to the curb for passenger drop-offs, and creating a bottleneck for drivers entering the upper level. “There’ll be more space between terminals 1 and 2 when they take that out, probably near the end of June,” the spokesman said. Crews have finished remodeling the west end of the terminal, which Southwest took over from US Airways. Phase two of Southwest Airlines’ $500-million renovation project in Terminal 1 has moved to the eastern side of the terminal. Construction crews won’t complete the remodeling of the check-in and ticketing areas before late 2017. A pedestrian bridge from parking structure 1 is closed. The east curb area outside the Southwest terminal is blocked by a barricade. Southwest’s terminal is one of several construction projects under way in the airport. Traffic delays are expected because of work to: Parking structures 3 and 4 across from the Bradley International Terminal: The left lane is blocked and expected to last through June, according to an LAX construction update posted on its web site. Alternate route: East Way. Elevator and stairwell upgrades on the south side of parking structure 4: Lane 1 adjacent to parking structure 4 on the lower/ arrivals level is closed, and will continue through August. Alternate route: East Way as a shortcut to United Terminal 7 or Center Way to exit the airport and avoid the Bradley Terminal. “They finished a couple of elevators, but there is still going to be a left lane closed there,” Pannunzio said. United Airlines’ renovation of Terminals 7 and 8: Work is taking place behind barricades in front of the two terminals. Redevelopment of Terminal 7 has closed a 135-foot section of the passenger drop-off area on the upper-level for departures Level, which will remain in place through September. The elevated walkway to parking structure 7 is closed, with access to the parking garbage limited to the street level. The waiting area at Gate 71A is closed during the next several months. United’s baggage service office and baggage carousel 3 are closed and will be replaced. A few other notable projects, which drivers and travelers out of LAX may encounter, are: Parking on some levels of parking structure 1 may be restricted while brighter lighting is installed. Terminal 2: Upgrades continue in the ticketing lobby. Barricades have split the airlines’ check-in operations. Baggage carousels on the lower-level for arrivals are being replaced, and go offline one at a time for replacement. The construction is scheduled for completion in 2017. Terminal 6: New concessions have been added and will continue to open this year. Blu2o, By Rob McCarthy California voters can expect a barrage of campaign promises from presidential candidates as they compete in California’s delegate-rich primary on June 7. How can voters know if the candidates are giving it to them straight or spinning the facts? Well, the truth is out there. There are a couple of websites called Factcheck.org and Politifact.org that closely follow every debate, campaign speech and interview given by candidates running for president and state elected offices. Their role in the current campaign is to check the accuracy of the claims politicians make in public. Neither is affiliated with a political party or accepts corporate donations to avoid suspicion. One is run by a public university. The other is staffed by an independent-minded Florida newspaper. The Herald contacted Factcheck.org and asked how it decides which political claims to investigate, and about being fair and balanced to the candidates. “It is important for fact checkers to guard against selection bias,” said Eugene Kiely, the Factcheck.org director. “In a presidential year, we cover every debate on both sides (that included in the early going two GOP debates a night) and we cover both conventions (all the major speeches, such as the keynote address, the nominating speeches and the prime-time speeches).” The staff includes a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, a Penn University professor in communication, and a science writer and researcher. The fact-check team investigates claims, some of which are suggested by the The new Terminal 1 check-in lobby opened in February, and now work has shifted to the east side. Photo credit: LAWA Like Some Candidates’ Claims, the Truth is Out There Osteria by Fabio Viviani, Starbucks Evenings, The Habit Burger Grill, The Marketplace by Wolfgang Puck, and Wahoo’s Fish Taco are now serving. Travelers for domestic flights should arrive at LAX terminals two hours before their flights begin boarding, according to LAX spokesman Pannuzio. International travelers should arrive at their terminals three hours before their boarding times. Rather than time airport arrivals to departure times, he suggests using the boarding times for added protection in case of heavy inbound traffic and to get through ticketing and security. LAX passengers shouldn’t see significantly longer wait times to get through security checkpoints this summer, Pannunzio said. However, travelers returning to LAX from New York likely will encounter long lines at other airports because of a staffing shortage at the Transportation Safety Administration, according to published reports. TSA is filling more than 300 positions for screeners. The new agents won’t be hired and trained in time for the busy summer travel season, according to TSA. The agency attributes the shortage of airport security officers to budget cuts and more people flying within the United States. A TSA spokesman released a statement to The Sun in response to questions about reported delays at airport checkpoints around the country. One answer offered was more passengers are carrying on luggage because airlines are charging baggage fees. Each carry-on bag gets scanned and checked. “Our strong economy means air carriers are enjoying record travel volume, which is resulting in heavier than normal volumes of travelers at our nation’s airports – some with double digit increases over last summer. “In addition to arriving at U.S. airports up to two hours prior to departure, we encourage travelers to enroll in TSA Pre Check or other trusted traveler programs such as Global Entry, Nexus, or SENTRI, which improve security and reduce wait times.” TSA is addressing the increased volume of travelers, with measures including more baggage-sniffing dogs, overtime and hiring, the agency said. “We are appreciative that our airline partners are working with us by asking travelers to arrive at the airport as much as two hours early for domestic flights, which will help to alleviate some of the expected summer congestion,” the TSA statement read. A TSA spokesman, when asked how many checkpoint agents would be hired for LAX, Long Beach and Burbank airports, said he didn’t have an airport-by-airport breakdown. Two U.S. senators have suggested that airlines drop their checked-baggage fees during the summer months to deal with expected longer lines at TSA checkpoints. Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Ed Markey of Massachusetts cite data indicating that bag fees increase the use of rolling carry-ons by 27 percent, the U.S. Travel Association reported on May 11. The airlines blame TSA staffing for the wait times, the association reported, and they say TSA should promote the Pre-Check trusted travel program. • Vice President Joe Biden got it wrong about cancer deaths in America. readers. “We review transcripts of all Sunday talk shows (CNN, FOX News, ABC, NBC and CBS.) This is a staple of our coverage. We do this every year, not just presidential years,” Kiely said. “The idea is to draw material from a select number of sources that provide an equal opportunity for review of claims made by Republicans and Democrats.” Factcheck.org monitors the accuracy of political TV ads, debates, speeches, and news releases, too. The team’s work follows the national news as the candidates descend on California, with 341 Republican delegates at stake and 548 Democrat delegates. Recent topics lend support to Factcheck.org’s assertion that it’s an equal-opportunity examiner of claims made on the political trail. They include: “The Clinton Furniture Flap” “Trump on Hairspray and Ozone” “Harry Reid’s Wild Exaggerations” “Sanders False Income Claim” The fact-check team also looked into the Zika outbreak in Brazil, a reported cancellation of National Prayer Day, and hotly contested Senate races in Ohio and Pennsylvania. In non-election years, the fact-check team reviews every speech and press conference given by the president, Kiely told the Herald. Factcheck.org is a nonprofit and nonpartisan project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Editors and reporters from the Tampa Bay Times comprise the staff of PolitiFact, which See The Truth, page 3 2 new lines. 13 new stations. gold line to azusa. expo line to santa monica. 16-2322ps_sby-ie-16-013 ©2016 lacmta Metro Eases Tra;c Everyone knows that congestion is bad, but we really can improve the way we get around. Right now, Metro is easing tra;c by delivering 1.4 million rides each day. And we’re planning future relief all over LA County by adding more bus and rail service, >xing freeway bottlenecks, funding local road improvements and updating our strategic transportation vision. We’ve come a long way in a short amount of time, but we still have so much more to do. Let’s get it done, together. Learn more about The Plan at metro.net/theplan. Silver Line All-Door Boarding Beginning June 26, 2016, Metro will be testing All-Door Boarding along the full Silver Line route. To allow for faster boarding and service, all passengers will be required to have a valid TAP card in order to ride. Find out more about the program at metro.net/silverline. Feedback Wanted on LAX Transit Connection Metro is planning a new transit hub that will connect the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to the regional rail system. Once complete, the Airport Metro Connector (AMC) 96th Street Transit Station will provide the connection to an Automated People Mover to be built and operated by Los Angeles World Airports. Metro is seeking public comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the AMC station at a public hearing on June 27, 2016. For more info, visit metro.net/laxconnector. Go Metro to see the Dodgers Want to reach Dodger Stadium faster this season? Go Metro to Union Station or Harbor Gateway Transit Center and connect with the Dodger Stadium Express. Your Dodger ticket is good for the fare! For more information, visit metro.net/dodgers. metro.net @metrolosangeles losangelesmetro
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