You've got to hand it to Councilmember Tom LaBonge: he probably knew his Red Line expansion plan was unlikely to be approved by the MTA's Planning Committee, but he took the issue up before them anyway.

Unsurprisingly, the committee sent him packing, hat in hand. However, the good Councilmember can claim a moral victory by picking up support from some unexpected quarters - namely, the Beverly Hills establishment, and (most surprising to me) Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. Heck, even Mayor Hahn, who rarely deigns to attend to MTA matters that do not involve a ribbon-cutting, attended the meeting to lend his support.

And so, undaunted and unbowed, LaBonge, et al. will schlep their Powerpoint slides and population density reports to the full MTA board next week, hoping to scrape together enough votes to keep the dream of a subway line to the beach alive.

Speaking of the Red Line: For those of you who have never taken a ride on LA's billion dollar subway system, the MTA has posted a virtual tour of the line here. It's a great way for Angelenos to experience mass transit, without the hassle of having to come into contact with actual mass transit users.  ¶ 11:58 PM