Most Angelenos are still reeling off the President's last visit in September. Many major streets were completely blocked off and freeways were at a standstill for hours. Local officials have been working with the White House to minimize the traffic impact of the president's visit. This time around, he will be traveling mostly by helicopter. Authorities also said they would try to minimize hard closures and instead quickly reopen streets after the president's motorcade passed by. Obama has been traveling along the West Coast to help promote his budget plans, which have been facing heavy criticism around the nation. He is also getting started on raising funds for his 2012 reelection campaign. The president touched down at Los Angeles International Airport around 2:30 p.m., and then boarded his helicopter, Marine One. He will head first to Culver City, where he has a number of speaking engagements starting around 4:30 p.m. One of those is at DNC fundraiser at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City. Several streets around Sony will be closed to accommodate both onlookers and protesters. They include Madison Avenue, Clarington Avenue and Washington. At least three groups of protesters are expected to show up, including opponents of U.S. involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, immigration rights activists and others who disagree with the president's proposed budget plan. Obama is expected at a fundraising dinner at Tavern in Brentwood around 8:30 p.m. The event is sold out at $38,500 a plate. Los Angeles City Councilmember Bill Rosendahl, whose district includes much of the Westside and the South Bay, has promised that this year's tie-up will not be anything like what commuters dealt with last time. "But there will be gridlock, there will be traffic jams. That's a reality when the President of the United States comes," Rosendahl said. "The good news is, after we had that terrible situation, I spoke with the White House, and the next trip he came out he [traveled] by helicopter.... No problems on the ground." The president is scheduled to depart from LAX at 9 a.m. on Friday. It's not clear where he will stay Thursday night. On Wednesday, the president went up to Palo Alto and held a town hall meeting at the headquarters of Facebook.
President Obama Touches Down in LA For Fundraisers - YouTube |
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