Socialists offer more of the same decay while LA crumbles in the dark

Los Angeles’ Sixth Street Bridge was supposed to be a triumph. Completed in 2022 after years of delays and cost overruns, the new structure connecting Boyle Heights to downtown LA was hailed as a civic landmark.

At $588 million, it was the most expensive bridge project in the city’s history. Its ten soaring arches and thousands of LED lights led its designers to call it the “Ribbon of Light.”

Today, the bridge is dark. Within months of its opening, thieves began tearing copper wire from its electrical infrastructure to sell for scrap. By one estimate, nearly 7 miles of copper were stripped from the bridge, extinguishing what was meant to be its defining feature.

The city’s new showpiece soon became a monument to broader civic dysfunction. Officials now estimate that repairing and relighting the bridge in time for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will cost $2.5 million.
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Los Angeles’ Sixth Street Bridge was supposed to be a triumph. Completed in 2022 after years of delays and cost overruns, the new structure connecting Boyle Heights to downtown LA was hailed as a civic landmark.

This is Los Angeles in 2026: the nation’s second-largest city, the center of a trillion-dollar regional economy and an entertainment industry mecca — yet one that struggles to perform the basic functions of urban government.

And the troubles extend far beyond streetlights. The city seems unable to repair its sidewalks, repave its streets or maintain aging infrastructure. It cannot keep public parks from becoming open-air drug markets or streets from turning into homeless encampments. It cannot build enough housing for its residents or attract and retain businesses. Its most famous industry, Hollywood, is struggling. Families are leaving and school enrollment is falling.

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