News - January 2001
Website Direct, January 30, 2001 - updated January 31 

‘Million Dollar Lawyer’ case settled

Newport Beach Daily Pilot, January 29, 2001
“[JWA] Pushing For More Restictions”

LA Times, January 29, 2001
“O.C. Putting LAX Plans in Jeopardy”

OC Register, January 28, 2001
“Pendleton airport may be people’s choice”

Website Direct, January 27, 2001
Appeal filed to reinstate Measure F

Newport Beach Pilot, January 26, 2001
“Appeal of Measure F expected”
“Newport Beach mayor says he does not think countywide initiative will be reinstated.”

OC Register, January 25, 2001
“Ex-El Toro general to push for airport”
“A coalition of cities hires Art Bloomer, a former base commander.”

Saddleback Valley News, January 24, 2001
Today's Cartoon

OC Register, January 24, 2001
“Cal State OKs El Toro campus”

Website Direct, January 23, 2001
Coad on El Toro

Orange County Business Journal, January 21, 2000 posted January 23
“El Toro to Vietnam, Departing Soon?”

OC Register, January 23, 2001
“Airport foes elect officers”

LA Times, January 22, 2001
“El Toro Airport Backers See Bush as an Ally”

LA Times, January 21, 2001
“FAA Builds a Stone Wall Around El Toro”
“The aviation agency is an ally of airport supporters, and it helps by withholding public information.”

Website Direct, January 19, 2001
County’s 1996 EIR finally clears the courts, for whatever that’s worth.

Website Direct, January 18, 2001 - updated January 19
Los Angeles World Airports Pushes OC Aviation Expansion

Miami Herald, January 17, 2001
Airport plan for Homestead appears dead

Website Direct, January 17, 2001
FAA Office of System Capacity update

Website Direct, January 16, 2001
John Wayne Flight Path Reversed Today

Website Direct, January 15, 2001
John Wayne Airport Passenger Data Updated

LA Times, January 14, 2001
“For a Political Latecomer, Coad Quickly Moved on Up”

OC Register, January 11, 2001, website posted January 14
“Ex-consultant Simon is O.C. supervisors' choice to direct reuse program.”

Website Direct, January 11, 2001
Anti-Airport Campaign Committee Gearing Up

Website Direct, January 10, 2001
FAA tests include simulated landings over Irvine and Leisure World

LA Times, January 10, 2001
“Board Subs Airport Backer for Foe on Land Use Panel”

OCN, January 9, 2001
Coad, Silva ticket at BOS

Website Direct, January 9, 2001
Environmental Impact Report back in court

LA Times, Newport Beach Local, January 9, 2001
“If American Airlines and TWA merge, airport officials must decide what to do with TWA flights.”

Website Direct, January 8, 2001- updated
More FAA flights planned

OC Register, January 8, 2001
“Who gets the gavel?  Vote could be dicey.”

OC Register, January 7, 2001
“Is Pendleton option back on the table?”
“Remarks by Coad and Silva suggest the time may be ripe to reconsider southern airport option to El Toro”

LA Times, January 6, 2001
"Madame Chairwoman Coad?"

Various Sources, January 5, 2001
More on Smith, Silva and Coad’s lobbying expenditure

Website Direct, January 4, 2001
Board shells out for Washington lobbyists

Website Direct, January 3 -FLASH
FAA conducting test flights at El Toro

Website Direct, January 2, 2001
Board to consider huge Washington lobbying budget

Website Direct, January 2, 2001
Poll shows strong opposition to extending JWA caps
Public taking hard line against Newport Beach request

Click for earlier news briefs


Website Direct, January 30, 2001 - updated January 31
‘Million Dollar Lawyer’ case settled

ETRPA, the County and Special County Counsel Michael Gatzke settled a lawsuit brought by ETRPA in 1998.  ETRPA charged that the county had illegally hired Gatzke to handle El Toro related litigation. His contract had not received the four votes required, under California law, to approve the hiring of outside counsel.

The hiring of Gatzke, without the necessary four votes, was an embarrassment to the Board of Supervisors, who rely on their three-vote majority to get their way.  In the settlement agreement, the county agrees not to hire Gatzke for new cases without the required vote.  ETRPA retains the right to recover its legal fees of approximately $250,000 for bringing the successful suit on behalf of the public.

Supervisor Todd Spitzer dubbed Gatzke the “Million Dollar Lawyer” because of fees paid to him by the county to handle El Toro litigation.  He is a nationally recognized expert in aviation law. Limitations on his services will hurt the County in future legal cases regarding El Toro.

The Daily Pilot reports the reaction of "Newport Beach Councilman Gary Proctor, who said he hadn't seen the settlement, [but] blasted the suit as a 'purely political' move. 'I believe it's nothing more than South County using trench warfare and terrorist activity to challenge any kind of development at El Toro of any kind,' Proctor said. 'It's just mean-spirited.'"

The parties have agreed not to comment on the settlement agreement.  However, the language of the settlement is published here in Adobe Acrobat format. For additional background, see several articles in the website news coverage for April 1998. 



Newport Beach Daily Pilot, January 29, 2001
“[JWA] Pushing For More Restictions”

“JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT -- Though the drive to extend flight restrictions at John Wayne Airport has yet to gather much political steam, those who would be most affected by the expiration of the caps in 2005 have already begun readying themselves for the campaign. From Newport Beach to Santa Ana to Irvine, the communities of Orange County will have one eye on John Wayne -- with the other firmly fixed on the former El Toro Marine base.” Complete article is posted on the website’s Early Bird News.

 “Clearly, extending the caps at John Wayne isn't likely to generate the same kind of political furor that greeted county backers of the proposed El Toro airport. Even South County leaders are on record as backing continued flight limits for John Wayne. The El Toro Reuse Planning Authority passed several resolutions last year supporting the effort, group spokeswoman Meg Waters said.” – Editor: One resolution by my count, against physical expansion of the airport.

“But with Newport Beach keeping up the pro-El Toro airport fight, the coalition of South County cities … has rethought its position. ‘South County is getting angry that Newport Beach is forcing a much worse airport down our throats,’ Waters said. ‘We think it will be impossible to get those caps extended without our support.’”

Taken aback by Waters' remark, Airport Working Group's [Barbara] Lichman vehemently disagreed. ‘South County has not one thing to say about it,’ Lichman said. ‘We don't need their support on the settlement extension. Talking with them or trying to get their support doesn't matter.’”

“While the supervisors are divided on El Toro, they unanimously support extending the restrictions at John Wayne.” - Editor: Not the passenger caps, says Tom Wilson.

‘The focus is accommodating the demand we generate in Orange County with reasonable protections for the citizens around John Wayne and El Toro,’ said James Campbell, a spokesman for Supervisor Chuck Smith. ‘We just can't follow this 'BANANA' mantra that South County espouses that's 'Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone."' 


LA Times, January 29, 2001
“O.C. Putting LAX Plans in Jeopardy”
“Ideas for expanding the hub airport assume that other fields will share the load. But John Wayne can't grow easily; El Toro's future is disputed. And the airlines like Los Angeles."

http://www.latimes.com/editions/orange/20010129/t000008550.html
Also posted on the website’s Early Bird message board thread.

“A recently unveiled plan to expand Los Angeles International Airport assumes that other airports in the region--especially in Orange County, with its plans for a sprawling new airport at El Toro--will meet Los Angeles halfway in picking up the increased demand for air service. That may prove to be a precarious assumption.  The LAX expansion calls on these smaller airports to triple their current levels of service. But some face a multitude of political and legal obstacles, while others generate little interest from the airlines because of their remote locations.”

United spokesman Alan Wayne said, “’L.A. is the action, plain and simple. This is where the business is; this is where the passengers are.’”



OC Register, January 28, 2001
“Pendleton airport may be people’s choice”

The debate continues over the suitability of a portion of Camp Pendleton for an airport serving Orange County and San Diego.  In today’s editorial piece, John Graham, UCI professor of international business – and an advocate for using part of Pendleton – responds to the base’s commanding officer, Gen. Edward Hanlon, Jr.

“Perhaps Pendleton is the panacea for one of the most divisive issues facing the people of Southern California—where to locate new airport capacity. The argument is really part of a larger set of issues presently facing the entire country: How big should the military be? What missions should the military prepare for?”

“Readers should ask their congressional representatives about their positions on this matter. Congressman Darrell Issa, whose district surrounds Camp Pendleton, reports that it is “not in his interests” to respond at this time. My congressman, Christopher Cox of Newport Beach, supports considering Camp Pendleton.”

“The general and I agree [that]… ‘What makes Camp Pendleton truly irreplaceable is having the Pacific Ocean on our western boundary, as this affords Marine units direct access from the sea for the conduct of realistic amphibious training operations, including beach landings.’” Professor Graham goes on to argue that, “Beach landings are an obsolete military tactic. The Korean War was the last time American lives were spent on such bloody assaults… Beach landings, the military tactic creating the ‘essential uniqueness’ of Camp Pendleton as a defense infrastructure asset, are even more obsolete in the 21st Century than are the blimp hangars at Tustin.”

“The decision about dedicating part of Camp Pendleton as an international commercial airport is ultimately a choice between defense infrastructure and trade infrastructure. I am confident that our congressional representatives and President George W. Bush understand that the highest value use of a few of the 15 miles of California coast comprising Camp Pendleton is a new international trade gateway. We will all be better served by landing 747s there rather than marines.”

Editor: If beach landing exercises are occasionally needed, why doesn’t the Department of Defense does not turn its eyes towards the 98,400 acres – 154 square miles - at Vandenburgh Air Force Base.  Vandenburgh has over 20 miles of shoreline and was originally used for infantry and armored training. 



Website Direct, January 27, 2001
Appeal filed to reinstate Measure F

Yesterday, attorneys for ETRPA filed an appeal to overturn Judge Otero’s ruling and to reinstate Measure F as law.  The matter was brought to the Orange County Court of Appeals.

Subscribers to this website’s e-mail list received a special bulletin to that effect.  If you are not on the e-mail list, click here.

The newspapers each carried a small story about the appeal. The Newport Beach Daily Pilot had the most to say.  Newport Beach, the Newport Beach Airport Working Group and George Argyros’ Citizens for Jobs and the Economy brought the main lawsuit to overturn the popular initiative.  Supervisors Smith, Silva and Coad directed the County to jump in with its own suit, opposing the spending limits imposed by Measure F.

Today, the Pilot asks: “What will it take to end the debate on an airport at El Toro? Call our Readers Hotline at (949) 642-6086 or send e-mail to dailypilot@latimes.com. Please spell your name and include your hometown and phone number, for verification purposes only.”  A thread on this website’s message board asks the same question, though we hope viewers will inundate the Pilot with good ideas.



Newport Beach Pilot, January 26, 2001 - updated
“Appeal of Measure F expected”
“Newport Beach mayor says he does not think countywide initiative will be reinstated.”

Supporters of “Measure F say they will appeal today a Los Angeles Superior Court judge's ruling invalidating the countywide initiative. Lawyers for the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority [ETRPA] are expected to file the appeal in … the 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana.”

Judge S. James Otero ruled against the initiative on December 1 but did not finalize his ruling until this week. This delayed the appeal process. For details see the website's Litigation page.

“’We just think [the judge] was dead, flat wrong,’ said [ETRPA’s] Meg Waters. ‘We think the ruling was so off base. We saw what happened in Florida.’”  ETRPA legal counsel, Richard C. Jacobs said, “In my thirty years of practice, I have never seen a trial court’s decision as wrong as Judge Otero’s.  We fully expect the Court of Appeal to reverse his decision.”

Newport Beach Mayor Gary Adams said he was disappointed by the [appeal] move. ‘I'd like to think it will be upheld,’ Adams said of the December ruling.”

“Even though Otero tossed out Measure F, South County leaders have said the measure's March passage -- with 67% approval -- signals the erosion of support for an El Toro airport. Recent polls have put support for an airport at the closed base at about 35% countywide.”

“In addition to the appeal, the group also intends to draft another initiative -- expected to reach voters as early as 2002 -- to appeal 1994's Measure A, which permits an airport to be built at the 4,700-acre base.”

“Waters said the appeal of Measure F would halt county lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., to secure a transfer of the base from the Department of Defense into county hands. Measure F banned county lobbying. On Jan. 4, the county's Board of Supervisors approved $1.16 million in contracts for five Washington, D.C. firms to speed up the base transfer.”

"The county is out spending money like drunken sailors," Waters said.

Post your comments.



OC Register, January 25, 2001
“Ex-El Toro general to push for airport”
“A coalition of cities hires Art Bloomer, a former base commander.”

Orange County Regional Airport Authority (OCRAA), “a coalition of cities that backs an El Toro airport turned to an old El Toro hand - retired Brig. Gen. Art Bloomer, a former base commander - as its new executive director.”

“Bloomer, a former Irvine councilman, lives in Virginia but plans to rent a residence in Irvine…. One of the first tasks for Bloomer, who will be paid $10,000 a month, will be to find funding for the airport authority. The group has about $45,000 in hand and a previous commitment from the county for an additional $88,000. The group has largely been funded by the city of Newport Beach and the county.”

“He replaces Perry Ducey, who resigned last year but has stayed on as a consultant.”



OC Register, January 24, 2001
“Cal State OKs El Toro campus”

“A proposal to use buildings at the El Toro Marine base for a satellite campus serving California State University, Fullerton, was approved in concept Tuesday by California State University trustees.”

“The county is leasing the base from the federal government and has twice rejected lease attempts by the university, but officials say they believe a deal is more likely now.”

Editor:  Pro-airport forces in the County, including former CEO Jan Mittermeier, have been perceived as trying to minimize non-aviation uses and revenue from the property.



Website Direct, January 23, 2001
Coad on El Toro

Board of Supervisor Chair Cynthia Coad is reported to have made the following comments about El Toro in her State of the County address this morning:

1. She will advocate for a regional airport authority (SCRAA) and include San Diego County in that group,
2. She will advocate for a smaller airport at El Toro with “community friendly” restrictions,
3. If the FAA deems the airport unsafe, it will not be built.


Orange County Business Journal, January 21, 2000 posted January 23
“El Toro to Vietnam, Departing Soon?”

“The push is on for direct flights linking the U.S. and Vietnam, with Orange County touting the prospects of a flight out of the proposed El Toro airport.  In December, an OC trade mission that included Supervisor Charles Smith engaged in informal talks with Vietnamese officials about a flight between the two areas.”

Editor:  Sounds to me like the push is on to court votes for El Toro in the local Vietnamese community, centered around Smith’s city of Westminster.  Anyone want to bet that the first flights to Vietnam will be out of LAX or San Francisco, where the airports exist, where the terrain allows for departures by fully loaded 747’s and where there are enough connecting flights from other cities to help fill the aircraft?



OC Register, January 23, 2001 - updated January 24
“Airport foes elect officers”

“A coalition of [nine] anti-airport cities elected new leaders Monday to oversee their efforts to stop an El Toro airport. Laguna Hills Councilman Allan Songstad was elected chairman of the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority. Laguna Niguel Councilwoman Mimi Walters is vice chairwoman.”

“Songstad had served as vice chairman last year to the former chairwoman, Mission Viejo Councilwoman Susan Withrow.”

Editor: Bill Vardoulis of BV Engineering gave a presentation on plans for a tunnel from Orange County to Riverside County near the former March Air Force Base.  The project would relieve congestion on the busy 91 Freeway. The project would be economically viable for private development because it would also serve as a conduit for a water pipeline, high-voltage electric transmission lines and a light rail link.

Several members of the ETRPA board and the audience discussed the group’s policy towards Newport Beach and the extension of John Wayne Airport caps.  Councilmember Garry Thompson, from Rancho Santa Margarita, noted that ETRPA previously had supported requests for no expansion of John Wayne.  However, in the absence of reciprocity from Newport officials regarding El Toro, Thompson predicted that constituents might soon say that “enough is enough” and that the policy needed to be reexamined.


LA Times, January 22, 2001
“El Toro Airport Backers See Bush as an Ally”
“Developer Argyros and others are key political conduits, with meetings already held in Washington. But opponents say the facts work in their favor instead.”

“With the federal government expected to make critical decisions this year on the fate of the closed El Toro Marine base, proponents of an airport on the vast acreage believe they now have an ally in President Bush.”

“Several prominent airport advocates were in Washington this past week during inaugural celebrations, including developer George Argyros of Newport Beach, a generous patron of the airport plan and a Bush family friend. Argyros helped raise $30 million for the Republican cause during the presidential election and was invited to attend Saturday's inaugural. Argyros' chief assistant, former state Assemblyman and county Supervisor Bruce Nestande, was named to Bush's transportation transition team.”

“County supervisors who favor an airport need the federal government to approve environmental documents for the operation, then hand over the land. It's a race against time, in a sense. Airport opponents intend to put a measure blocking the airport on the March 2002 ballot.”

“While wary, opponents of an airport said they are not overly worried about Argyros' connections with Washington heavyweights. The raging public controversy over an airport, they said, is enough to test the strongest of political ties. Meg Waters, a spokeswoman for the anti-airport effort, said there are plenty of well-heeled Republicans in South County who supported Bush and won't be shy about communicating their feelings on the airport.”

“In recent months, a request by county officials for an early transfer of the 4,700-acre base was rejected when Navy officials insisted that the county first finish it own environmental studies.”

“County officials wasted no time scrambling back to Washington. Two supervisors, nine staffers and two attorneys went there last week to meet with five lobbyists hired to help champion the swift conveyance of the base to the county… For airport plans to move forward, the Navy must approve environmental documents for it, then hand over the base. So motivated are supervisors that they have promised lobbyists nearly $500,000 in bonuses if they can get the land into the county's hands before March 2002--the month the new initiative would be on the ballot.”

Pro-airport forces say they're further buoyed by the probable return to Orange County of Art Bloomer, the former commanding general at El Toro, who served on the Irvine City Council. Bloomer is being considered to take over the Orange County Regional Airport Authority, a group of cities lined up behind the proposed airport.”

Editor: Whenever we discuss politics, we risk making one side or the other angry.  However, we hope there is agreement that the Bush administration is headed by political pros – experienced people who are not going to be forced into involvement in a highly charged local political war just to pay back one individual, George Argyros.  This is especially true because pro-airport supervisors are not just asking the Navy to expedite the project but to short-circuit environmental law.

Chris Cox is still the representative of the majority of the people affected by El Toro and his district (outside of Newport Beach) is solidly anti-airport. It would be unwise for the new administration to undercut a powerful congressional leader like Cox.

ETRPA has an excellent government relations team already in place in Washington. Evidence of that is that the county had to hire 5 firms to compete.

Although a few Republicans support El Toro, a large number of key supporters in South OC -- political and financial, would not be amused if Bush helped the pro airport effort. Getting involved in El Toro, when 67% of the voters have said they do not want an airport, is not a good move for a new crew getting organized in Washington.

The full article is on the Times website at http://www.latimes.com/editions/orange/20010122/t000006252.htm and also has been posted on our Early Bird Edition.

Your comments?



LA Times, Community Voices, January 21, 2001
“FAA Builds a Stone Wall Around El Toro”
“The aviation agency is an ally of airport supporters, and it helps by withholding public information.”

The op-ed piece, by this website’s Editor, is based on numerous requests for documents submitted to the FAA under the Freedom of Information Act. Some important information, obtained in this manner, has been published on the website. Most of the requests have been unfulfilled.

“Bureaucrats have stonewalled, and documents that could shed light on the plans for El Toro and John Wayne are systematically withheld… The FAA hides El Toro documents or claims that their exposure would ‘harm’ the free exchange of ideas between federal employees.”

“Experience shows that [Herman] Bliss and William Withycombe, the FAA western regional administrator, are allies of El Toro airport supporters in the county. They repeatedly refuse public access to vital data on the safety, efficiency and environmental impacts of their plans for the two airports. The information that has gotten out has served to turn majority opinion in Orange County against the El Toro project.”

Click here for the MITRE airspace report referred to in the article.

The FOIA law allows for appeals, when requested documents are not provided.  None of the several appeals filed with FAA headquarters has ever been acknowledged.



Website Direct, January 19, 2001
County’s 1996 EIR finally clears the courts, for whatever that’s worth.

Environmental Impact Report 563, certified by the Board of Supervisors in December 1996, finally limped past its last legal hurdle today.  Judge Judith McConnell accepted the multi-million dollar, patched up report, which has bounced back and forth between her court and county planners for 4 years.

EIR’s don’t have to eliminate negative impacts; they just have to describe them, so that the public is advised. The judge accepted the document only after the County admitted that an El Toro airport would have significant negative air quality impacts which could not be mitigated.  The County was ordered by the court to pay the legal fees of ETRPA and TRP, because they had performed a public service by forcing disclosure of the adverse impacts.

EIR 563 describes the original plan for El Toro.  A new EIR 573 is in the works at the County, and attempts to describe the airport plan that is still being massaged.  It is seriously behind schedule and is said to be due out in the open in September. Then it too will be headed to court.

The Navy has said that it will not be able to complete its environmental study (EIS), and transfer the property, until after the county finishes its work.



Website Direct, January 18, 2001- updated January 19
Los Angeles World Airports Pushes OC Aviation Expansion

Los Angeles World Airways released its draft Environmental Impact Report for LAX today, and recommends no new LAX runways and a shifting of domestic service to other airports. “In order to meet the demand and sustain the region's economic prosperity, the master plan assumes that there must be major increases in capacity at the region's airports, with LAX receiving the smallest percentage increase.”  The report shows Orange County service increasing from 8 million annual passengers to 29 million by 2020.  That means El Toro.

Citizens for Safe and Healthy Communities, the “Yes on F” committee, immediately issued a press release headed “Los Angeles Asks Orange County to Increase Airport Capacity to Help LAX”.  Click here to read it on the committee’s web pages maintained on the El Toro Airport website. CSHC and other grass-roots groups soon will launch an initiative to overturn Measure A in 2002 and remove any legal basis for an El Toro airport.

What people are saying in the newspapers:  ETRPA Executive Director Paul Eckels said, "I don't think it's a question of LAX or El Toro. We see airports at Ontario and (former Inland Empire Air Force bases) Norton, George and March that are anxious to expand that way." Click here for more of ETRPA's comments.

"The bottom line is that Orange County has got to step up to the plate and meet our own demands for air passengers and air cargo," said county Supervisor Charles V. Smith of Westminster.

"We have to meet that demand, and every county should look at their own problem and accommodate that," Newport Beach pro-El Toro leader Tom Naughton said.

"The county says it [John Wayne airport] has a capacity of 14 million without physical expansion," Citizens for Safe and Healthy Communities spokesman Len Kranser said. "If the pro-airport folks, many of whom live in the Newport Beach area, really feel there is an increase in demand, well, they've got an airport there, though frankly I'd rather see all of the airport growth in outlying areas."

Post your comments on the Message Board.



Miami Herald, January 17, 2001
Airport plan for Homestead appears dead

"The controversial Homestead [Florida] airport is dead -- barring what appear to be long-shot revivals by courts, the incoming presidential administration or a future round of military base closures."

"Branding a commercial airport ``inappropriate'' near two national parks, the U.S. Air Force reversed an earlier ruling and rejected Miami-Dade County's proposal to convert hurricane-ravaged Homestead Air Force Base into a bustling hub with more than 600 flights a day."

"In a move that ``strikes a balance'' between economic and environmental concerns, the Air Force gave the county 90 days to adopt an alternative ``mixed-use'' plan or lose the land to the U.S. Interior Department, U.S. Air Force Secretary F. Whitten Peters said."

"At a news conference, jubilant environmentalists and Miami-Dade Commissioner Katy Sorenson hailed the decision as the end of a bitter, years-long battle and a win for ``the people'' over politically connected interests." Editor:  We hope that we will someday see a similar article about El Toro. 



Website Direct, January 17, 2001
FAA Office of System Capacity update

The FAA has released its Year 2000 Airport Capacity Enhancement Plans.  The documents are available on line at http://www.faa.gov/ats/asc/Pubs.html

Of interest to Orange County residents is the continued inclusion of a lengthening of the John Wayne Airport main runway.  Appendix C of the Airport Capacity Enhancement Plan for the Top 100 Airports shows that “An extension of Runway 1L/19R is proposed but is not being considered at this time.”  Click for the runway layout plan, copied from the ACE report.

Lengthening of the runway would enable planes to climb more easily on takeoff, enable the airport to handle 767 aircraft, and would reduce the need to “turn the airport around” in light wind conditions such as occurred yesterday and today. (See story below.)



Website Direct, January 16, 2001 - updated
John Wayne Flight Path Reversed Today

Departures from John Wayne were reversed today, with aircraft taking off to the northeast, rather than towards the ocean.  Normally, the airport only does this when there are Santa Ana winds.  It allows aircraft to depart into the wind.  However, today’s 9:10 AM report from JWA is “wind variable at 3 mph”, which should be no impediment to normal operating procedures.

We telephoned the Noise Abatement Office at 949-252-5185. They could only say that the decision to reverse directions comes from the FAA and they assumed that it was due to wind direction. “It’s the FAA’s call.”  We left two messages on the FAA’s Noise Complaint line (310) 725-3638, seeking an explanation, but they did not call back.  Viewers should report their observations to the above numbers.



Website Direct, January 15, 2001
John Wayne Airport Passenger Data Updated

On December 27, the Newport Beach Daily Pilot trumpeted that JWA “Airport sees steady climb in passenger tally”.  For reasons that can only be guessed at, the article was released prematurely, prior to completion of the calendar year.  An airport spokesperson quoted by the newspaper sought to convey the impression that John Wayne passenger traffic is mounting.

In fact, December 2000 traffic at the airport declined from that of December 1999, and also slipped from October and November figures.  While the airport did set a narrow passenger record for the 2000 year, it was up by only 54,396 passengers or 0.7 percent from its previous record three years ago in 1997. Use of the airport is strictly limited by an agreement between Newport Beach and the County.

General aviation flights, and air cargo tonnage carried, were down for the year.

Click here for a clear graphical look at the absence of growth at John Wayne over the period 1996-2000. Month to month data is also presented.



LA Times, January 14, 2001
“For a Political Latecomer, Coad Quickly Moved on Up”
“Colleagues elect her to lead board after just two years.”

“To her critics, Cynthia P. Coad is an anomaly, a relative newcomer to the Board of Supervisors who has been hoisted to the top of the political heap by board allies. She lacks experience, they say. She isn't tough enough. She's shepherded along by her husband, a successful dentist-turned-investor who is constantly at her side, even at her fifth-floor county office.”

Last week, only midway through her first term in office, she was named board chairwoman, the person who will lead the county in what promises to be a white-water ride into the shoals of the county's most pressing issues, a confluence of vexing matters. Redistricting. Jail expansion. The future of the retired El Toro Marine base and the looming fight over tens of millions of dollars a year in tobacco settlement money.”

“’I think I've gotten a good track record in the two years I've been on the board,’ said Coad, 67. ‘I also think I'm qualified.’”

The entire story is on the website’s Early Bird Edition and comments are being posted on the Message Board.



OC Register, January 11, 2001, website posted January 14
“Ex-consultant Simon is O.C. supervisors' choice to direct reuse program.”

“Orange County supervisors hired a new El Toro director, turning to a familiar face and former consultant on the project.”  [Simon is the fourth individual in that job, following Courtney Wiercioch, Michael Lapin, and Rob Richardson.]

“Gary Simon, 43, was El Toro real estate manager from April 1997 to January 1999, when then-Chief Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier canceled his contract.  Supervisors on both sides of the debate over reuse of the former Marine base said they liked and respected Simon and expressed unhappiness with the decision to let him go.”

“The board voted 5-0 Thursday to appoint him to the $175,000-a-year job of running the El Toro program, a rare unanimous vote involving county government's most divisive issue.  Supervisors said they believe Simon - who will report directly to them - will be evenhanded and open in his work on the project.”

“Supervisors Tom Wilson of Laguna Hills and Todd Spitzer of Orange, who oppose an airport at El Toro, said they believe Simon will do a better job of making use of the base - and making money - under the lease the county signed with the Navy in September. ‘I remain confident that the airport is never going to be built, and we'll confirm that when we repeal Measure A,’ Wilson said, referring to a 1994 pro-airport election. ‘But I chose Gary Simon because I truly believe he will be fair- minded and he'll do a good job implementing nonaviation programs at El Toro.’”

The selection was not without its drama and insider politics.  “Several months ago, when Smith was board chairman, he thought the board would select [Stan] Oftelie, who previously had run the Orange County Transportation Authority. ‘My first choice originally was Stan Oftelie,’ [Supervisor] Smith said. ‘I thought I had three or four votes, but I only had two.’” Oftelie was rumored to be supported by George Argyros.



Website Direct, January 11, 2001
Anti-Airport Campaign Committee Gearing Up

In a series of meeting yesterday, volunteer leaders of Citizens for Safe and Healthy Communities, the “Yes on F” campaign organization, reviewed progress on the next El Toro ballot battle.

An appeal, by ETRPA, of Judge Otero’s unfavorable ruling on Measure F, is forthcoming.  The judge has yet to complete legal steps that must precede the filing of the appeal. Lawyers are confident that the popular Measure, which passed with a 67.3% mandate, will be reinstated.

Progress was reviewed, on an initiative to overturn Measure A and remove the Supervisors’ only legal basis for an airport at El Toro.  CSHC will be expanding its committee in preparation for a 2002 election campaign. Steps are underway to coordinate with all anti-airport grass roots organizations.

With the circulation of petitions approaching, fundraising plans were reviewed.  Chairman Bill Kogerman reported success in a recent mailing, soliciting funds for printing petitions, literature, for campaign professional staff, and for maintenance of the campaign headquarters.  Many supporters are using the credit card link on this website to provide their financial help to the effort.



Website Direct, January 10, 2001
FAA tests include simulated landings over Irvine and Leisure World

The following report came from ETRPA's Tom O'Malley, at the base today:

“Today's test seem to be directed towards the proposed arrivals.  The following is a recap of what I observed:

“The first approach was flown at 0938 into r/w 34 (will be renumbered 35) with a low flyby at about 200 feet and the pilot commenced a gradual left turn, taking him over Northwood with another left turn for an approach into r/w 7. He stayed at about 200 feet with gear up and then at mid field made a left turn towards the approach end of r/w 16 (heading north) and proceeded with a continued left turn to fly out towards Irvine.

“His next approach was again to r/w 7 with a right climb out and then turned north traveling along the ridge line towards Turtle Rock.  At about Culver, the aircraft turned east and proceeded back towards the base with an approach to r/w 16.  The aircraft flew down r/w 16 and climbed out straight west towards the coast.  The last approach was in towards r/w 34 with a left turn at about the Y for a circling approach to r/w 7. This time he had his gear down and crossed the field at about 20 feet. The aircraft climbed straight to about 1000 feet and then turned left and departed the area.

“Interesting events to see the left turns on r/w 34 departures and the approached over Irvine to r/w 7.  The most thrilling of all was watching what appeared to be the circling approaches to r/w 7 and r/w 16.”

Editor:  Runway 16 heads south, runway 34 heads north and runway 7 heads east.  Some of these approaches were over Leisure World, where the Marine Corp recently gave up its former military avigation easement rights to conduct overflights at below 1500 feet. 



LA Times, January 10, 2001
“Board Subs Airport Backer for Foe on Land Use Panel”

“Tom Naughton, chairman of the Airport Working Group and an ardent El Toro supporter, was appointed [by the Board of Supervisor] to the Airport Land Use Commission, an otherwise obscure commission that reviews what is built around airports. He replaces Charles Zoffer, a Laguna Woods resident who opposes county plans for an airport at the retired Marine base.”

“The moves reveals a hardening of the board's resolve to see the old Marine base turned into Southern California's second-largest airport. This is a critical period in the El Toro fight. The board is expected to approve a final airport plan in September and has promised its lobbyists a hefty bonus if the government turns the Marine base over to the county by March 2002--the same date airport opponents hope to put an anti-airport measure on the ballot.”

“The Airport Land Use Commission has an important role in the project's advancement. It has continued to restrict development around the 4,700-acre El Toro site--limits designed to protect the area from jet crashes and noise. Development near the base would hamper the airport effort. The cities of Lake Forest and Irvine sued the panel last year, arguing that with the military gone, building should be allowed.”

"’These supervisors or any elected officials are supposed to represent the people of that geographical area and we're not seeing that there,’ Zoffer said. ‘Forget about El Toro, these three supervisors aren't listening to the people of Orange County anywhere.’”

Website Editor: Zoffer was Supervisor Tom Wilson's choice to remain on the commission. Naughton was proposed to replace him by Chuck Smith. 



OCN, January 9, 2001
Coad, Silva ticket at BOS

Jim Silva was nominated to be Chairman of the Board of Supervisors but failed to be elected, by a 3-2 margin when he voted against himself. Cynthia Coad then was named Chairwoman, replacing Charles Smith.  Silva will remain as Vice-Chairman. Tom Wilson, the supervisor with most seniority, was shut out of a position because of his anti-El Toro stand.

Editor: It remains to be seen how her husband and advisor, Tom Coad, fares in taking over the role of liason with pro-airport leaders, currently played by Smith's assistant, James Campbell.  Your comments... Will they be impressed by the new team in Washington?



Website Direct, January 9, 2001
Environmental Impact Report back in court

More than four years ago, on December 6, 1996, the Board of Supervisors certified EIR 563 for El Toro. The badly flawed report was successfully challenged by ETRPA and Taxpayers for Responsible Planning (TRP).  In fact, the County was required to reimburse the two groups for their $410,756.74 in legal fees, since their action produced public benefit.

The EIR has been back and forth to court since then. On October 24, 2000, the Supervisors certified the latest repair job on the report. County officials delayed submitting it to the court - and told federal officials that it is all approved - which is untrue.

However, they could not avoid going back to Judge McConnell for approval of the revisions she ordered. Today, ETRPA filed a new motion in opposition. Click here for more.



LA Times, Newport Beach Local, January 9, 2001
“If American Airlines and TWA merge, airport officials must decide what to do with TWA flights.”

“JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT -- It won't happen until the ink is dry on the merger between American Airlines and Trans World Airlines, but another commercial carrier could begin flying out of John Wayne Airport, a spokeswoman said. A new carrier could replace TWA at the airport… John Wayne Director Alan Murphy [and the Board of Supervisors] is expected to decide how to allocate TWA's four daily arrivals and departures.”

“Murphy could either give the flights to one of the five carriers on the airport's waiting list [Canadian, Aloha, Western States Express, Frontier and People Airways] or hand them to one of the nine others that now use the 14-gate terminal.  Each of the airlines is allocated a specific number of monthly departures by the airport's access plan.”

Editor: One reason why John Wayne is still operating at a half million annual passengers a year below its negotiated 8.4 MAP limit is the airport’s additional caps on the number of daily commercial jet flights. Aloha, for example, has asked to fly from John Wayne to Hawaii. Just one daily flight in each direction would add only 1 percent more passengers to the airport traffic.  However, the strict limit on the number of aircraft prevents this new Orange County service from launching.



Website Direct, January 8, 2001 updated January 9
More FAA flights planned

The FAA regional office has notified us that there will be more flight tests at El Toro on Wednesday morning around 9 AM, weather permitting.  The aircraft will fly at higher altitudes than previously used.
According to the FAA, they again will be testing only north-south runways and not approaches on the east-west runway.  Approaches on the cross runways may be necessary if the airport is to operate in all wind conditions.

The tests are intended to certify the navigability of approaches - checking terrain features, the absence of obstacles, and the ability to receive navigation signals without “shadowing” from the terrain. The tests do not verify the usability of the approaches in bad weather, airspace interactions, or noise impacts.

The FAA tests the approaches requested by the County.  At this time, the County is reportedly not asking for tests on approaches from the west. However, after an airport is opened, the airport management can request that the FAA evaluate other approaches and departures.



OC Register, January 8, 2001
“Who gets the gavel?  Vote could be dicey.”

The Buzz column speculates that “Tuesday’s vote [for Chairman of the Board of Supervisors] could be an exception”… to the usual “ho-hum”.  “Supervisor Cynthia Coad wants to take over as chairwoman, and Jim Silva wants to remain vice-chairman.  But Silva admitted last week he wasn’t sure there was a third vote for a Coad-Silva slate.  And the Hall of Administration was abuzz over the possibility that Charles V. Smith might seek to be chairman for a third straight year – perhaps with an anti-airport supervisor as vice chairman…. Smith and Silva have had some sharp disagreements recently.”

Editor: Rumor has it that Silva went off on his own, skipping some of the meetings that he and Smith were to attend together in Washington. 



OC Register, January 7, 2001
“Is Pendleton option back on the table?”
“Remarks by Coad and Silva suggest the time may be ripe to reconsider southern airport option to El Toro”

UCI professor John Graham writes that, “An airport at Pendleton has been off the table for discussion since way back in June of 1990… This action was taken despite the fact that the Pendleton site had received positive reviews from three different Southern California Associations of Government [studies] in 1972, 1982 and 1990.  The decision to nix Pendleton, more than 10 years ago, was made with written consultation from the mayor of Newport Beach, but no other Orange County cities.”

Click here for the entire article and more information on Pendleton as a potential airport site. "The Marines won't give up the space? That's what they said about El Toro."



LA Times, January 6, 2001
"Madame Chairwoman Coad?"
"She's been a county supervisor just two years, but the pro-airport member says she's ready to lead the board."

"Relative newcomer Cynthia P. Coad appears to have the inside track to become the chairwoman of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, officials said Friday. If Coad is chosen Tuesday, it would indicate the board's pro-airport majority is intent on keeping a grip this year on planning for a commercial airport at the closed El Toro Marine Corps Air Station."

"Fred Smoller, director of the Henley Social Sciences Research Laboratory at Chapman University in Orange [said], 'They're in a fight to the finish on El Toro and don't want to give any quarter to the anti-airport people. The board will not choose anti-airport supervisors Tom Wilson or Todd Spitzer, he said, 'because they want to continue keeping them in minority status.' Smoller argued that the board majority may have been heavy-handed too many times. To 'defeat and vanquish' the enemy, he said, 'doesn't work in a democratic model. They just don't get it that they have to work with the opposition to get anything done,' Smoller said. 'A talented and committed minority, as is the anti-airport forces, will always find a way to stop the process.'"

"Coad, 67, has been on the board only two years but said she feels she is qualified to take the helm. The job is for one year. 'I would be willing to do it, and I'm qualified to do it,' Coad said Friday." Post comments on this subject on the Message Board.



Various sources, January 5, 2001
More on Smith, Silva and Coad’s lobbying expenditure

Today’s Register, Times and Daily Pilot full stories are in the Early Bird Edition of the website, thanks to ParrotPaul.  Also see our comments on this news, which we first announced on January 2.

The Register headlines, “$1.5 million Okd for El Toro effort”, counting the full 18 month tab for the lobbyists.  They then go on to report in a second story that one of the lobbyists hired for $10,000 a month had generously “worked for free” as a favor to Supervisor Smith while waiting for the gravy train to get back on track.  Fred DuVal was instrumental in setting up the November 29th White House “summit meeting on El Toro".

The Daily Pilot reports that Newport Beach Mayor Gary Adams praised the Supervisors’ action. "Anything the county can do to advance a second airport in Orange County is good," Adams said.

The Times also reported on the non-result of the Supervisors’ closed-door session yesterday, trying to select the next El Toro Program manager.  Reportedly, the front runner is Gary Simon, former real-estate manager for the El Toro project who was forced out of his job by Jan Mittermeier.



Website Direct, January 4, 2001
Board shells out for Washington lobbyists

The Board of Supervisors met in a special meeting this morning, to approve, by the usual 3-2 vote, up to $1,116,000 for the next calendar year of El Toro related lobbying effort in Washington.  The actual contracts will extend for 18 months and can cost more.

Nine speakers addressed the board on the subject. Professor John Graham asked that Washington lobbying include requests for an airport site at Camp Pendleton, a project that he said was supported by recently elected San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy.  The other eight speakers were all from Newport Beach and environs. They castigated South County for its anti-airport spending, diminished the significance of Measure F, and urged that the El Toro debate be moved to the national level, i.e. - out of the hands of local voters.

Supervisor Todd Spitzer led off the attack on the spending with questions to county council regarding the legality of co-mingling federal aviation funds with local JWA revenue and then using the co-mingled money to lobby the federal government. He did not get an answer.

Spitzer went on to stress that Base Reuse and Closing (BRAC) Law requires that local impacted communities be involved.  “We are going from an arena that involves local communities to an ‘inside the beltway’ mentality.  [El Toro reuse] should not be solved by caviar and champagne lobbying… in Washington you hire the people who wrote the laws to find the loopholes in the laws to circumvent local control.”   Tom Wilson said the 50 percent bonus to the lobbyists “smacks of open pocket book spending.”

See more of this story in January 2 news below.  Post message board comments here.



Website Direct, January 3 - updated January 4
FAA conducting test flights at El Toro

An FAA Learjet flew two potential takeoff and landing routes at El Toro.  John Wayne airport staff was involved in advance and was on hand at El Toro. Word of the test was not received by anti-airport officials until yesterday.

According to an observer, the pilot approached from the south, skimmed over the runway without touching down, and then departed towards the north on a steep climb over the path for incoming JWA traffic.  He later returned, approached again from the south but then turned left over Irvine, made a circling approach and simulated landing from the north.

No tests were conducted on the east-west runways nor did the aircraft approach from over Loma Ridge.
An FAA public affairs spokesman refused to say why the east-west runway was not tested and speculated that, "They will fly all the routes before the study is completed."  He declined to look into our inquiry as to why such tests were not done while the aircraft was in the area.

Weather conditions reported at Santa Ana at 9:53 AM were Temperature: 74 degrees, Wind:  from SSW at 7 mph, Visibility 10 miles. The weather was favorable for the flight paths tested.



Website Direct, January 2, 2001
Board to consider huge Washington lobbying budget

The Board of Supervisors has scheduled a hastily called, special meeting on Thursday morning, January 4 at 8:30 A.M. On the agenda will be a request for up to $1,116,000 for a year of El Toro related lobbying effort in Washington.  Five firms will be retained, including several previous lobbyists plus some new faces described as having “strong relationships with numerous members of Congress, the congressional leadership and their staff, and many top officials in the new Bush Administration.”

The agreements with each lobbyists will include a bonus “payment of fifty percent of the annual contract amount if the [Navy] Record of Decision is issued no later than thirty days after the County has certified its EIR 573.”  In other words, whether or not the EIR is subsequently challenged in court for deficiencies, the lobbyists’ job is to get the base transferred to the county as soon as the Supervisors sign off on it.

Based on past practice, expect Smith, Silva and Coad to go for the $1.1 million in additional El Toro spending.

This “advocacy” spending is not allowed under the terms of Measure F. Judge Otero’s decision to overturn the initiative is beginning to cost the public big time!

Also on the agenda is a modification to the base Master Lease, which relates to non-aviation uses only, and a closed session to try to appoint a new LRA Director – read as El Toro czar.

To send letters to the newspapers click here.

To e-mail the supervisors click here.



Website Direct, January 2, 2001
Poll shows strong opposition to extending JWA caps
Public taking hard line against Newport Beach request

A poll, conducted amongst viewers of the El Toro Airport website during December, found respondents opposed to continuing present operating restrictions on John Wayne Airport - by a margin of 5 to 1. Those supporting an increase in the passenger limits, while retaining the nighttime curfew, outnumbering opponents by about 10 to 1.

The poll asked participants how they would vote on the Newport Beach request to the County for help on extending the existing caps.

“SHOULD THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HELP NEWPORT BEACH TO EXTEND THE RESTRICTIONS ON JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT UNTIL 2025 AT THE CURRENT AUTHORIZED LEVEL OF OPERATIONS?”

A majority of Central and North County responses – which includes those from Newport, Costa Mesa, Tustin and cities to the north – also opposed extending the caps, but by a smaller margin.

Click here for a complete report including the questionnaires used.

Supervisor Tom Wilson, who agendized the Newport Beach request for Board of Supervisors' consideration and voted for it, e-mailed an explanation of his position, saying, “I will push for NO PHYSICAL EXPANSION of JWA … At the same time, I have advocated moving more passengers out of that airport.”  Click here for the entire December 21 message from Supervisor Wilson.

Click here to add your comment to this thread on the Message Board.



For more on the above, check the LA Times and Orange County Register websites.

Click here for previous news stories