Talk Turns to Los Angeles 2.0

ImageWhat next for Los Angeles? Angelenos can’t catch a break.Dangerous winds are expected to bear down on Southern California, putting homes and businesses from Ventura to San Diego County on high alert even as wildfires still rage around Los Angeles.The cost of rebuilding once the fires are finally out is sure to be enormous.

But officials will face huge pressure on where to prioritize spending to get the economy back on its feet.Gov.

Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order to speed up reconstruction of homes and safeguard against price gouging.But hard questions remain about the future of more ambitious endeavors.For example, will the city be able to meet its obligation to host the 2028 Summer Olympics? Or next year’s World Cup events?Hosting the Olympics is more costly.

LA28, the private organizing group behind the Games, has set a budget of roughly $7 billion.Taxpayers would be on the hook for any cost overruns.

That kind of obligation has prompted some, including the conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, to call on Los Angeles to bow out now.The Games have a history of being an economic drag on the host city.But last year’s organizers, Paris, reversed that trend with a roughly $28 million budget surplus.

And the hugely successful 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles is still seen as an economic model.But dangers abound.International Olympic Committee rules stipulate that host cities must be able to accommodate the influx of global athletes and fans.

The University of California campus, the planned venue for the Olympic Village, is not far from the Pacific Palisades fire.Neither is another prospective venue, the Riviera Country Club, which is set to host the golf competition.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

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