Rebuild L.A.’s Effort ‘Damn Near a Miracle,’ Writer Says

On USA Today’s opinion pages Oct. 11, columnist DeWayne Wickham says Rebuild L.A. deserves much of the credit for lifting the city out of the ashes of last year’s riots:

“Los Angeles is on the mend. . . . Nearly half of the 1,118 buildings damaged in last year’s uprising have been rebuilt--and many others are in some phase of reconstruction. If this kind of progress doesn’t impress you, then you’ve forgotten how long it took cities like Detroit, Newark and Washington to repair their riot-torn corridors. . . .

“To be sure, all of the credit for this recovery does not belong to RLA alone. A good number of projects have been started without its direct involvement. Some have come about as the result of the efforts of others. But RLA is the straw that stirs the drink. . . . Given the fiscal crisis that threatens to collapse California’s economy, what RLA has accomplished in the short span of 17 months is damn near a miracle.”