Efforts to Break Up LA Take Big Step Forward

LOS ANGELES-Efforts by secessionists in the sprawling San Fernando Valley to break away from the grip of LA City Hall and form their own city–the nation’s sixth-largest–have been given a major boost by a key government commission.

Ending a study that took more than a year to complete, the Local Agency Formation Commission has determined that in independent Valley would be financially viable and would not harm what would be left of the City of Los Angeles. The study by LAFCO, a government body that must approve such breakups, also confirmed what Valley secessionists have claimed for years: They pay a lot more in taxes than they get back in city services.

Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan and other opponents of secession decried the study’s findings. “LAFCO is a very political source,” the mayor says. “It’s made up of people who support secession.”