I had to read it twice because the first time I mis-read that the writer said it was not worth the money. One of the problems with any system is that how much warning you get depends on exactly where the quake starts. There will likely be no warning for a quake that starts within Los Angeles basin (say, Puente Hills thrust or another Whittier quake). The quake everyone talks about is one starting down near Salton Sea and rupturing northwest through the San Gorgonio pass. One might get as much as a minute's warning for arrival of the S waves. If a quake starts at, say, Palmdale and ruptures the other way, there will be less warning, but also less damage in Los Angeles. Or, there could be a repeat of the 1857 quake. Then there might be M7 quakes on parts of the San Jacinto fault.....

So, might be worth doing the system, but the warnings should be specific and the public should be educated to understand what will be warned and what will not be warned.

Chris