Federal funding wish list: California examples

Reporting from Washington —  While House Republicans forgo earmarks, Democrats are eagerly seeking funds, from $5.8 million toward building a park above a section of the Hollywood Freeway to $100 million to put lower-polluting buses on Los Angeles County streets.

California Democrats are seeking money for job-training programs, solar and wind energy projects, anti-crime programs, medical research and work on projects such as revitalizing the Los Angeles River and cleaning up polluted groundwater in the San Gabriel Valley.

Projects range from $95,000 to fix up the American Legion Hall in Alhambra to $77 million requested for engineering on a subway extension to the Westside and the downtown connector that would link rail lines, according to wish lists posted on the House Appropriations Committee website.

Other requests include:

* $1 million sought by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) to replace 2,000 streetlights in his west San Fernando Valley district with more energy-efficient lighting.

* $431,000 requested by Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Valley Village) and Sherman for a team of mortgage and foreclosure fraud investigators in the San Fernando Valley.

* $2 million sought by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-East Los Angeles) for a South Coast Air Quality District project to install air filters in schools near freight corridors.

* $1.8 million sought by Rep. Joe Baca (D-Rialto) for the Inland Empire Obesity Research Project at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center.

* $1.5 million sought by Rep. Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles) to help pay for restoring Wilshire Boulevard Temple’s sanctuary, a project her office says is worthy of taxpayer funding because the sanctuary is a landmark “used not only as a place of worship, but also for nondenominational meetings, cultural performances and a variety of public events.”

richard.simon@

latimes.com