SGV Connect

About SGV Connect

SGV Connect is Streetsblog Los Angeles' podcast that explores the people, places, projects and events that make up the changing face of transportation in the San Gabriel Valley. SGV Connect is hosted by Damien Newton and Chris Greenspon. This feed also hosts SGV Connect's predecessor podcast, #DamienTalks.

Publisher

Chris Greenspon and Damien Newton

Category

news · news

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

31 Jan 2019

Latest episode

23 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

128 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   23 Sept 2026

   SGV Connect 150: Montclair's Lawsuit Against SBCTA

   For this special mini-edition of SGV Connect, Chris met up with Southern California News Group reporter Beau Yarbrough to dig in on the nuance surrounding the city of Montclair's lawsuit against the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority. The city had long been expecting to one day build the eastern terminus of the Metro A Line, until last Fall, when the SBCTA's board voted to cut its $37 million in funding from the project. Yarbrough shared how the city has shaped its economic development plans around the A Line, and went into detail on why the SBCTA board ultimately - but divisively - lost faith in the project. He expanded on what Montclair's lawsuit is based on, and how the SBCTA has planned to reallocate the funds previously meant for the light rail project. Does this suit have a chance in court? Yarbrough weighed in on that, too. To read his article from the Daily Bulletin for free, click this link. The free link expires on 10/23/2026. A lightly-edited transcript can be found below the ad text. Streetsblog's San Gabriel Valley coverage is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the A Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, (https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/2095371/194913094966707622/share) coming to your inbox on Fridays! Chris Greenspon: We're here with Southern California News Group's Beau Yarbrough. You've read his work in the Daily Bulletin and the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. We're chatting with him today about the City of Montclair's lawsuit against the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority. The city had long been expecting to one day build the eastern terminus of the Metro A Line, until last fall, when the SBCTA board voted to cut $37 million in funding from the project. That's why we're here at the Montclair Transit Center. Beau, thanks for joining us. Beau Yarbrough: Of course. Chris: So, as you look out around you at the transit center, and being familiar with the surroundings of the general area, what do you see here that reflects Montclair's hopes for the A Line? Beau: Just south of this transit center, if you hop that wall over there, you're going to see a bunch of homes that are pretty nice and expensive. I stopped by there earlier. There was somebody washing their BMW in their garage. Montclair is right across the LA County line in San Bernardino County, and since LA County has not figured out its housing situation and likely won't for a very long time, you constantly have this flow of people moving into San Bernardino County, hoping to still work and be part of LA life. Montclair, as opposed to Claremont, right across the border, is an extremely poor city, with high rates of poverty and much lower-than-average income for the state. They had been counting on this transit center for decades to be one of their economic drivers, bringing in more tax revenue and more development. So they built this transit center with the idea that on all sides of it there would be housing, retail and things like that. Their concern now is that this will be less attractive to commuters going forward, which means a lot of those developers, some of whom are very mad at the city now, may go somewhere else and not build in the city or bring in the tax revenue they're hoping for. Chris: So why did SBCTA pull the plug, then? It sounds like there was a lot riding on this. Beau: Well, SBCTA is made up of representatives from every single city in San Bernardino County, so they have a lot of competing interests. The money that goes here could also be used to build more freeway expansions, other rail lines or bus lines in the county, and things like that. There are lots of competing interests. The board said at the time, back in September when they made the cut, that they didn't feel like they had enough input into the project. They basically had to do whatever LA Metro told them was going to happen, and they didn't like that. You've got a bunch of mayors and other city council members, and that's not the mode they move in. They were concerned that the money could be better spent elsewhere. Since that decision, they have actually put some more money in. They're going to be bringing in more frequent rail service on existing rail lines, but not running the light rail out here. Chris: So, more frequent Metrolink trains, like we're staring at right now? Beau: Yeah. They're going to be increasing the frequency of the San Bernardino Line between the Rancho Cucamonga station and the A Line. They're going to be connecting over to pick up the train here in Montclair, get over to the A Line, transfer over there, and ride the A Line. So it's sort of a compromise situation. Chris: Oh, to the Pomona station. Beau: Yes. Yes. Sorry, yeah. Chris: Okay. So I looked at the cost-benefit numbers you included in your piece, and in 10 years it would suggestively cost $53 million and bring in $186 million in economic activity. Over 20 years, that would cost $106 million and bring in $372 million. So is that just too long to wait? Beau: Yeah, no. I mean, I think if you're Montclair, it's definitely worth it. But if you are a city elsewhere in San Bernardino County, it may not be on your radar. If you're up in Barstow, you're not worried about this rail line. The rail line you care about is the one going to Vegas. So from their standpoint, there are other priorities. You have to get, I think, a 29-member board, and you have to get 15 of them on board. That's a tough task. And the vote against it wasn't unanimous by any means. It was 15 to 11 that day. Chris: So now what about Montclair? What's the basis of its lawsuit? What is the city actually suing for? Beau: They're saying they have several grounds for suing. First off, this has been a long-term commitment, and there are some contracts they feel like have been violated. There was a ballot measure where the revenue was specifically meant to go to this project, and now that revenue is not going there. They're saying that's a violation of the law. The makeup of Montclair is largely Hispanic and largely poor, and they're also saying there's a discriminatory aspect to this. Chris: But doesn't the makeup of Montclair look a lot like the makeup of most of San Bernardino County? Beau: Not really. I know that's an LA County perspective on things, but no. Montclair is poorer and browner than a lot of the county as well. It's also worth noting that San Bernardino County is, of course, the largest county in the country. When you look at national maps, Trinity County looks like an error in the corner compared to San Bernardino County. Transit in San Bernardino County is a really challenging thing because you have to go a very long distance, much of which, especially once you get away from the urban core where we are right now, is spread out and not very densely populated. So it's very expensive to run rail lines out there, or bus lines or other transit lines. Chris: So does this lawsuit seem like it actually has legs? Could SBCTA be made to fund the A Line, or is this a shakedown at best? Beau: Honestly, it's hard to tell. It could simply be that they are registering their displeasure in the most serious way possible. It could also be that they think there's a chance that there are going to be some changes. I mean, they are citing state legislation. They're saying that this decision is in conflict with local ballot measures. That may be enough to convince a judge, but, you know, who knows? Chris: And what's been your sense of Inland Empire residents' response since this was defunded a year ago? Beau: It's always interesting to me when we do transportation stories, and you know this better than I do. People are really engaged with this issue. This was one of our most popular stories when we published it, and people are really interested in it. I heard from a lot of readers, including people who were not Montclair residents and were not likely to ever ride the A Line, but they had thoughts about it, whether it was fair or not. Chris: Beau Yarbrough, reporter for Southern California News Group. Are you particularly attached to one newspaper or the other there? Beau: I'm with the Inland Empire papers mostly. That's the San Bernardino Sun, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, the Riverside Press-Enterprise and the Redlands Daily Facts. Chris: That's where you can read his coverage. Thank you for appearing with us on SGV Connect. Beau: Happy to be here.

2. 

   18 Jun 2026

   SGV Connect 149: Azusa Twilight Criterium & Monrovia Pride

   This week on SGV Connect, Chris brings us two lighter features on some fun outdoor events in the San Gabriel Foothill communities. On Saturday, July 11th, the city of Azusa will host a Twilight Criterium race in its downtown. It's an exciting race weekend for Californian cyclists, with the state championship happening the next day in Manhattan Beach, and the continuing celebration of 100 years of Route 66 in Azusa. Racers can register here. Here's the transcript for Chris' interview with Patrick Caro of Go Fast Andiamo and Jose Jimenez from the city of Azusa. Happening this Saturday is the Monrovia Pride Book Festival, put on by Underdog Books. The event will feature dozens of authors, discussion panels, drag storytellers, and even a pet parade. You may remember we spoke with the previous owners of Underdog a few years back. Now the shop has new leadership, and has expanded operations into a more active non-profit and community safe space. Read a transcript of Chris' interview with Underdog's director, Kealie Mardell, here. Streetsblog's San Gabriel Valley coverage is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the A Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit (http://foothilltransit.org/). "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

3. 

   11 Jun 2026

   SGV Connect 148: Transportation to the World Cup

   In this special World Cup edition of SGV Connect, Damien Newton talks with Foothill Transit Communications Director Felicia Friesema about how transit agencies across Los Angeles County are preparing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Friesema explains Foothill Transit's role in supporting Metro's operations at SoFi Stadium, including lending buses for shuttle service between Union Station and the stadium. She encourages San Gabriel Valley residents to use the Silver Streak and other transit connections to reach World Cup matches, noting that transit will play a critical role in moving tens of thousands of spectators. The conversation also explores the behind-the-scenes planning required for a global event, with Friesema describing months of coordination, training, and security preparation involving Metro, Foothill Transit, and other agencies. The discussion then shifts to broader transit topics, including rising gas prices, ridership growth, long-term budgeting challenges, and Foothill Transit's proposed changes to commuter express service. Newton and Friesema also discuss recent improvements to the regional fare system, including contactless credit card payments, the impact of the A Line extension into the eastern San Gabriel Valley, and the surprising success of Foothill Transit's temporary "Line 6-7" shuttle connecting the La Verne A Line station with Fairplex during the Los Angeles County Fair. Throughout the conversation, Friesema emphasizes the importance of flexibility, regional coordination, and adapting transit service to changing travel patterns across Southern California. Damien Newton: As mentioned in the intro, I'm here with Felicia Friesema of Foothill Transit. This is our unofficial, quasi-official World Cup edition of the SGV Connect podcast and Streetsblog coverage. This podcast is going up on Friday, the day of the first World Cup game in Los Angeles: the United States versus Paraguay. There's been a lot of press about how people are getting to the stadium, the cost of parking, and all of those sorts of issues. But we wanted to highlight that it is easy and possible to take transit to the games, no matter where you're coming from. As we've mentioned before, I live in West Los Angeles. On Monday, we're planning to go to a parking lot in Santa Monica and take the bus directly to the game—a game that I still only give about a 50 percent chance of actually happening. But we're not talking about Santa Monica today. We're talking about the San Gabriel Valley. So again, I'm here with Felicia. Why don't we talk a little bit about service from the San Gabriel Valley to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood? How is that all going to work? What's the expectation, and what are we hoping to see? Felicia Friesema: Well, I think it's really important that people understand how critical transit is going to be for making these matches work. When you start seeing Caltrans signs on the freeway encouraging people to take transit to the matches at SoFi, it tells you how important transit is to making the whole experience happen. FIFA has some very strict rules about tailgating—as in, you're not allowed to do it—so it takes away some of the benefits of driving to the stadium that some people enjoy. Foothill Transit is lending 10 buses to Metro to help operate the shuttle trips originating from Union Station and heading to SoFi Stadium. The best way to get from the San Gabriel Valley to Union Station and then take those shuttles is to ride the Silver Streak. It runs very regularly—every 15 minutes during the week and every half hour on weekends. It's a pretty reliable service. You can visit foothilltransit.org and get all your trips itinerized. I don't know if that's a word. Did I just make up a word? Damien Newton: I don't know. All words are made up. Felicia Friesema: I'm only the communications director, you know. Damien Newton: Doesn't Thor say that in one of the Marvel movies? Someone tells him he made up a word and he responds, "All words are made up." Felicia Friesema: Right. One thing I do want to note, though: for the shuttles going into SoFi, there won't be fare collection on the buses themselves. Spectators can pay in one of two ways. They can purchase parking online in advance, which includes shuttle service, or they can pay on site using mobile fare-payment validators that will be stationed near the shuttle boarding queues. Passengers will pay before they board the bus. It's a little different from how we're normally doing things, but it's something people should be aware of. Damien Newton: We've seen Metro do this for other major events, and even private shuttle operations. When you're trying to move 30,000 people by bus for a special event, sometimes there are different procedures for boarding and exiting. It's good for people to know ahead of time so they can plan accordingly. Do you know of other Foothill Transit employees who are planning to attend the games? Is this something people have talked about at the staff level? Like, "I'm going to the game and here's how I'm getting there." Felicia Friesema: Honestly, the biggest thing is that we all have our favorite teams, right? But most of our participation is making sure the service happens without a hitch. Our role is making sure service is delivered safely and securely, and that coordination with Metro is clear, concise, and effective. It's more about enabling other people to have a great experience. We'll mostly be listening from the sidelines while making sure everyone else can get there. Damien Newton: One thing I've always wondered about these major events, where your agency has such an important support role, is whether there's an extra level of excitement in the planning process—or whether it's more intense because there are so many additional details to work through. Felicia Friesema: FIFA—and subsequently the Olympics—are really their own category when it comes to this kind of planning. We've been meeting with Metro weekly for months to work through the logistics of serving the matches. The level of preparation, planning, security awareness, and training for operators, dispatchers, and security staff is well beyond what would normally happen for something like Rose Bowl shuttle service. We have the Rose Bowl service down to a science. We know exactly how it works. But the World Cup requires a much more detailed operational plan. I don't know that I'd call it anxiety, but it's definitely more intense. Damien Newton: That was probably the wrong word. Felicia Friesema: Yeah. Damien Newton: I should have made a word up. Felicia Friesema: Exactly. It's more intense. When you have an event as visible and heavily attended as the World Cup, everything operates at a different level. Not that we don't pay attention to those things for local events—we absolutely do—but this is bigger in every way. More people, more excitement, more moving parts. The good thing is that Metro has done a phenomenal job laying the groundwork for all of us to succeed. We're really grateful for that.

Who has been a guest on SGV Connect

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Alissa Walker
• Melanie Curry
• Felicia Friesema

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

4 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 55 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

80

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

76

Contact SGV Connect

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

Questions about SGV Connect