Click here for previous news stories

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El Toro Info Site report, March 30, 2006 - updated
San Diegans eye LAX

Those engaged in the debate over the future of airport service in San Diego seem to break into a few factions with no clear winner.

There are those who dream about civilian use of a military base, principally Miramar, even though the military has said “no”.

There is one congressman and a few citizens who want to ride 100 miles out into Imperial County desert on a $20 billion dollar Maglev train to a new airport.

Then there are those who want to not build but squeeze maximum use out of Lindbergh Field (and other existing airports).  Richard Carson, Chairman of the Department of Economics at the University of California San Diego is one of them. He writes today that "We can keep Lindbergh Field and make it work."

Opponents of a new San Diego airport eye LAX as a partial solution to San Diego’s overflow. Letter writers to the San Diego Union Tribune and North County Times yesterday sounded this chord: 

“We have an airport– in Los Angeles”, writes one.

“Turn the Imperial Valley maglev 90 degrees north and run it up the California coast. At the other end of the line is an operating international airport ---- LAX”, says another.

The Union-Tribune gets its facts wrong about the capacity of LAX - which is 78 MAP only if the airport goes forward with a plan to eliminate 10 passenger gates -  but still editorializes that "LAX would be closer for most San Diego air passengers" than an Imperial County site.

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Irvine World News, March 30, 2006
"Building the park's backbone"

The Irvine local paper contains several Great Park articles starting with a piece on fundraising and the Great Park Conservancy.

"Conservancy members see the jewel in the Great Park before the first shovel has dug into the old El Toro air base." The Conservancy's first big event, the $250 per plate “Jewel of Orange County” is scheduled for April 7.

"The Conservancy was started in 2001 – before the airport was fully defeated. . . The conservancy now is continuing to raise money for public outreach. Next, volunteers want to start raising money and researching botanical gardens for the Great Park. Conservancy Executive Director Carol Simon said a proposal will be made to the Great Park Corp. for the project."

"Lydia Thomas from the Central Park Conservancy spoke at the first planning meeting for the Jewel event. She shared with the crowd how the Conservancy raises funds and community interest."

"[Thomas manages] a division of the Development Department called the Women’s Committee. This division works with a group of high profile volunteer women who are very influential in New York society. Through their friends and contacts, they raise nearly a quarter of the Conservancy’s annual budget."

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OC Register, March 29, 2006
"Old El Toro gate to move; access will be unrestricted at Trabuco"

"A portion of the old El Toro airbase will open for unrestricted access beginning Saturday when the security guard station is moved from the base's old main entrance off Trabuco Road to the Marine Way entrance off Sand Canyon Road close to the Santa Ana (I-5) Freeway."

" RV owners will use the Marine Way entrance beginning Saturday to access vehicles stored at the future Great Park."

"Fencing around a three-block area adjacent to the Trabuco gate will include the California State University, Fullerton, campus; Irvine Redevelopment Agency; the Christian Montessori Academy of Irvine; and the offices of the Great Park Corp. and Lennar Corp."

"The gate at the Trabuco Road entrance will be closed from midnight to 6 a.m."

At the left: the Cal State U campus at El Toro.

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LA Times, March 28, 2006
"Tunnel Study Money Coveted"

"To the frustration of some Orange County transportation officials [on the OCTA], a group of regional water boards is trying to get $15 million in federal money to study a proposed 11-mile road and water pipeline tunnel through the Santa Ana Mountains to Riverside County."

"The Riverside Orange Corridor Authority . . . was formed to take advantage of federal money that Caltrans will allocate for study of such a tunnel as an alternative to the congested Riverside Freeway."

"The water boards want the tunnel because otherwise they would have to run a pipeline 32 miles around the mountains."

OCTA board member and Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle said "'They wanted it, and we may miss out on transportation dollars.'"  More . . .

Website Editor: Transportation officials want the money for a study of the tunnel as a possible aid to commuters living in inland areas and working in Orange County. It also would facilitate access from O.C. to an airport at the former March Air Force Base in Riverside.

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El Toro Info Site report, March 26, 2006
Great Park Conservancy financials posted

The financial report for The Foundation for the Great Park (Great Park Conservancy) fiscal year ending September 30, 2005 can be viewed online.

The Conservancy raised $1,287,055 during its five years of existence, 2001-05. It spent $1,196,738 during that period. $90,317 remained on hand at the end of September.

The Conservancy engages in public education, conducts meetings and forums, and performs other program activities regarding the Orange County Great Park.

The non-profit is throwing a “Jewel of Orange County” major gala event at the former base on April 7. Click for information about the program and tickets.

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San Diego Union-Tribune, March 25, 2006
"Airport impact on military sites studied"

"A new look at the potential impacts of a civilian airport at Miramar, North Island or Camp Pendleton on each base's own population has been completed, and it's a mixed bag."

Thousands of base residences would have to be relocated and thousands of residents would be exposed to excessive noise.

"But the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority report also says that none of the numbers automatically disqualify the installations as potential airport locales. The figures still fall below thresholds used to weed out other proposed airport locations in the four-year, site-selection project."

Click for the full article.

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Orange County Register, March 24, 2006
“Great Park project manager hired”

“ Bovis Lend Lease Inc. was picked today by the Great Park Corp. board to manage the construction of Ken Smith’s Great Park design.”

“The firm will be paid $3.5 million for the next year and a half.”

Click for more . . . 

Website Editor: In other business Thursday, the Great Park Corp Board approved an agreement with Heritage Fields (Lennar) for runway demolition. The demolition of hardscape – runways, aprons, parking areas and associated utilities, but not buildings – will be directed by the developer for the entire former base including the Great Park portion.

The demolition work will be done at no cost to the city or GPC but these entities will purchase reusable material from the recycling project. 

Runway demolition originally was expected to commence in “Fall 2005” but is now scheduled for this Spring.

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Irvine World News, March 23, 2006 - revised
“Define Relationship”

“City staff members are working to redefine the relationship between [Irvine] City Hall and the Great Park Corp. The City Council voted unanimously on March 14 to have the city staff shape an agreement outlining who is responsible for planning and building the Great Park. The agreement will also ensure the Great Park Corp. has sufficient resources to operate effectively.”

“The questions relate to what the Great Park Corp. can do, and which actions need city approval. Other questions center on the sharing of resources and responsibilities between the city and the corporation.”

“For example, when the Great Park Corp. was created in December 2003 it was given a staff of city employees considered to be ‘on loan.’ The employees are paid by the city out of Great Park funds.”

“’I think it’s time to answer some of these questions,’ said Wally Kreutzen, Great Park Corp. CEO and assistant city manager.”

The Orange County Business Journal cites speculation that the Grand Jury favors a reduction in the City of Irvine's influence over the park.

Click here for more on this report and other coverage of park-related topics from the Irvine World News.

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San Diego Daily Transcript, March 21, 2006 - updated March 22
"Airport relocation roundtable provides chance to discuss challenges"

"Tuesday, representatives from several areas of the San Diego community sat down to discuss the region's search for a new airport. The officials - including politicians, military officials and business leaders - were part of a roundtable hosted by U.S. Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation, at the San Diego Convention Center.

"San Diego Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., another member of the aviation subcommittee, continued to voice his support for a high-speed rail between downtown and the desert, which would enable an airport to be built in Imperial County. He questioned [a] suggestion that an airport be within 60 miles of downtown."

"The board of the San Diego Association of Governments will be discussing the feasibility of a Maglev (high-speed rail) at its Friday meeting and will present the airport authority with its findings next week.  According to a SANDAG representative Tuesday, the group believes a Maglev can be done although the price tag would be in the $15 billion to $25 billion range. The mountainous route is the biggest challenge in such a project."

"After the meeting, Mica said the likelihood of a high-speed rail between San Diego and Imperial County is doubtful because there is no other model to follow in the United States."

"'I'd be a strong advocate of putting Maglev between Washington, Baltimore, New York and Boston first ... if I were picking priorities.'"

On Monday, Mica met with Los Angeles area officials who also expressed interest in high speed trains to connect their downtown with remote airports. See story below.

Click for the full San Diego report.

Additional March 22 coverage of the San Diego roundtable.

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Daily Breeze, March 21, 2006
“Fast-forward to 2030: How will you get to the airport?”
“Regional planners describe a suburban network buoyed by high-speed railways. But a House panel raises red flag on the pricetag.”

“An ambitious plan to break the region's reliance on Los Angeles International Airport will require billions of dollars in roadwork and rail lines, transportation officials told a congressional panel Monday.”

“Regional planners acknowledged that the plan's success depends in large part on how quickly travelers can get to those other airports. They estimated that it could cost up to $18 billion to develop the kind of high-speed transportation needed to make those airports real alternatives to LAX.”

“The three congressmen who were there warned that federal funds for such a project will be difficult to find.”

"’Delays in the region will worsen over time,’ said Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., and the chairman of the subcommittee. ‘It's just inevitable. ... The crunch will be here sooner than we expect.’"

“Planners have long touted super-high-speed magnetic-levitation trains as a way to knit together the sprawling and gridlocked region. But Mark Pisano, executive director of [SCAG]  has backed away from specifics in recent months and now prescribes only a ‘high-speed system.’"

“For the next decade, that might require nothing more elaborate than a fleet of airport buses slipping past traffic in the carpool lanes, Pisano told the congressional hearing . . . But that won't do enough in the long term to shift demand away from LAX and toward those smaller airports, he said.”

“The region needs that high-speed link that would make it possible -- and sensible -- for a traveler in Orange County to catch a flight in Ontario, he said.”

The Press-Enterprise headlines its report “Traffic tears at air travel's web . . . Clogged highways complicate easy solutions to congestion, lawmakers told.”

“While Riverside and San Bernardino counties routinely lead the state in population growth, the most frequent fliers in the region still live in the coastal counties. Their jobs in the high-tech, tourism and entertainment fields are far more likely to require extensive travel.  ‘The propensity to fly is still in the western part of our region,’ Pisano said.”

 “Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, who hosted the meeting, said he hears more about transportation from his constituents than anything else. He said Los Angeles International is returning to pre-Sept. 11 levels of flying activity more slowly than other area airports because ‘you can't get there.’"

“Los Angeles World Airports, [LAWA] which owns and operates LAX, Ontario and Palmdale airports, is willing to lead a regional approach to aviation planning, said Jim Ritchie, the agency's deputy executive director for planning and development. But, he noted that the agency has no control over John Wayne Airport in Orange County or smaller airports in Burbank and Long Beach.”

“The Southern California Regional Airport Authority, failed about four years ago, largely because the city of Los Angeles was not an active player in the discussions.”

Website Editor: That may change with LAWA's backing and SCAG's support for creating a regional authority with some teeth.

Click for both reports.

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Irvine World News, March 19, 2006
Bordering on greatness

"Today it is simply a closed military base. Developers, however, see what the Great Park can become - and they are developing the park's future neighbors."

Click for a group of articles examining what is coming around the Great Park:

LA Daily News, March 16, 2006, website posted  and comments added March 18
“FlyAway to Sylmar is stalled”
“Union Station-LAX shuttle launched”

“The city launched a FlyAway bus service Wednesday between Union Station and LAX while plans for another route in Sylmar remained stalled by negotiations for a terminal site.”

“Los Angeles World Airport officials hope to someday run six additional FlyAway lines, based on the wildly popular shuttle service that has been operating for 30 years between Van Nuys and Los Angeles International Airport. But the Sylmar leg announced 18 months ago has failed to materialize.”

“The Van Nuys FlyAway carried 753,345 passengers from the San Fernando Valley to LAX in 2004, the most recent figure available.”

“The city plans to start FlyAway service to Long Beach in 2007-08, and at six new sites between 2008 and 2013, according to a report to the Board of Airport Commissioners in December. Sylmar is mentioned in the report, but there is no time line for its implementation.”

Website Editor: Direct access to the LAX terminal area will be restricted to busses from approved stations. None of the approximately 30 FlyAway sites considered by Los Angeles links to Orange County. There is a “lingering attitude by some Los Angeles political leaders” towards O.C., Bruce Nestande said in a report on FlyAway possibilities from Irvine.

"Orange County needs to address its own airport demand," is how the matter was put by Nancy Suey Castles, an official spokeswoman for LAX.

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El Toro Info Site report, March 17, 2006 - updated
Congressman Mica to hold hearings on SoCal aviation

Congressman John L. Mica (R-FL), Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation will conduct a Congressional field hearing Monday, March 20th in Corona on "Meeting Future Aviation Capacity Needs in Southern California".  A media release says the subcommittee will consider "Southern California's pending airport capacity crisis."

A second media release from the Chair of the full committee lays out some of the assumptions of the hearing:  "Local political leaders and SCAG have assumed an existing maximum practical capacity at LAX of 78 million annual passengers (MAP).  . . . The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) believes that increasing LAX to 86.5 MAP [it] would be possible to relieve some of the basin’s capacity constraints."

Mica will meet on Tuesday with the San Diego Regional Airport Authority to discuss plans for addressing airport capacity needs in the greater S.D. region.

Among the witnesses testifying at the Corona hearing will be SCAG Executive Director, Mark Pisano; FAA Regional Administrator, William C. Withycombe; Will Kempton, Director, California Department of Transportation; and Lydia Kennard, Executive Director, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) or her deputy Jim Ritchie. There are no Orange County witnesses.

Most of these participants supported a commercial airport at El Toro when it was an option. Rep. Mica toured the former base in 2001 with then Supervisor Cynthia Coad and said “I am convinced there is no better choice for an airport than this site. This project is a national asset.” 
 
Members of Congress who have confirmed their attendance at the Monday hearing include Ken Calvert and John Campbell, both of whom opposed a commercial airport at El Toro.

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Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, March 16, 2006
"Domestic [Airline] Traffic Up 4.1 Percent From 2004"

“Thursday, March 16, 2006 - U.S. airlines carried 4.1 percent more domestic passengers in 2005 on almost the same number of domestic flights as they operated in 2004, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) today reported in a release of preliminary data.”

“BTS, a part of DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA), reported that the airlines carried 660 million domestic passengers during 2005, up from the 635 million carried in 2004.  The rise in passengers slowed during the final three months of 2005 when only 379,000 more passengers flew than during the same three months of 2004, an increase of 0.2 percent (Table 2). The passengers were carried on 10 million flights in each year.”

Website Editor: The data does not include international passenger traffic.

Los Angeles International, LAX, was the fourth busiest domestic service provider in the country with Las Vegas moving up from sixth place to fifth.

2005 Rank	Airport Name	2005 Passengers	2004 Rank	2004 Passengers
1	Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta	39	1	38
2	Chicago O'Hare	31	2	31
3	Dallas-Ft. Worth	26	3	26
4	Los Angeles Int'l	21	4	21
5	Las Vegas McCarran	20	6	19
6	Denver	20	5	20
7	Phoenix Sky Harbor	19	7	19
8	Minneapolis-St.Paul	17	8	16
9	Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County	16	9	15
10	Houston Bush Intercontinental	16	11	14

Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, T-100 Domestic Market

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  North County Times, March 16, 2006
"Palomar Airport to offer nonstop flights to Vegas"

"CARLSBAD ---- North [San Diego] County travelers bound for Las Vegas will be able to catch a nonstop flight from McClellan-Palomar Airport later this spring, airport officials announced Wednesday."

"When the new service, offered by Vision Airlines of Las Vegas, begins making flights in April or May, it will mark the first time a commuter line has offered nonstop flights from Palomar Airport to Las Vegas."

"The service will transport up to 30 passengers between Carlsbad and Las Vegas four days a week . . . on turboprop Dornier 328 aircraft, according to Warren Kaplan, Vision Airlines' manager of business development."

Click for more including schedule and fare information.

Website Editor: Similar service to Las Vegas from Palmdale recently failed..

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Daily Pilot, March 15, 2006
On capping JWA

Columnist Steve Smith writes "that there is still plenty of work left to do to maintain or reduce the number of flights out of John Wayne."

"I know there is a small, bitter group of people who are going to think or write, 'Gee, Steve, if you don't want so many flights out of John Wayne, you should have supported an airport in El Toro.'"

"There's nothing I or anyone else can do for those people other than to suggest they put their energy into another cause. For those who have moved on and are serious about caps at John Wayne - which should be anyone in Newport Beach or Costa Mesa - there are some things you can do."

"One group that organized after El Toro is AirFair. AirFair wants caps at John Wayne and has organized to promote its cause. Your first step should be to visit the website."

"The notion of less, not more, flights out of John Wayne is something that will appeal to many Orange County residents outside of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa."

"There is a quality-of-life issue at stake. In December, for example, the Santa Ana City Council voted, 6-0, to sign a resolution supporting AirFair's goals of flight caps."

Website Editor: Most of us in the anti-El Toro camp agree that airports don't properly belong in residential areas. I'll sign a resolution too, once county and regional planners determine which out-of-county airport we should use when a capped John Wayne can't accomodate our future air commerce needs.  Our elected leaders have to offer solutions in the form of adequate roads or economical shuttles and FlyAway service that we can use to get there.

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El Toro Info Site report, March 15, 2006
El Toro escrow opened a year ago

A year ago today, Lennar opened escrow with the Navy after winning the bidding contest for El Toro in February as "Hrtgfld". Conspiracy theorists and pro-airport spinners speculated that one of the bidders was Los Angeles World Airports seeking to get a piece of El Toro.

The second bidder, "grtpark", was identified post-auction as Standard Pacific Homes.

The identity of the third bidder, “OCHOPE”, remained a mystery for some time. Our source advises that the third bidder was Suncal Company, a firm that calls itself “the state’s leading master developer, specializing in large scale mixed-use and re-use development projects.”

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El Toro Info Site report, March 14, 2006
John Wayne reports slight decline in year to date traffic

February airport statistics show that passenger traffic for the first two months of 2006 was 0.4 percent lower than in 2005. The number of air carrier operations declined by 2.2 percent from the prior year.

The slow start for 2006, if continued, will result in Plan Year 2006-07 traffic well below the allowed 10.3 million annual passengers. This suggests that the county could have allowed airlines to fly more of the seats that they had requested but were denied.

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KESQ-TV Ch 3, Palm Springs, March 14, 2006
"Palm Springs Airport expanding"
 
"Palm Springs International Airport is expanding again. Workers are pouring five-and-a-half acres of foot-deep concrete out on the tarmac around what will be the airport's new regional terminal."

"The new six-million dollar, 15,000 square foot facility will replace the airport's four current low level gates with eight new ones."

"Construction on the new terminal building should begin in May and take a year to finish."

"Airport administrators say 95-percent of the bill will be paid for by the Federal Aviation Administration."

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Long Beach Press Telegram, March 13, 2006
"Airport late noise penalties sought"

"LONG BEACH — Two City Council members say fines and penalties in place at Long Beach Airport aren't doing the job to preventing what they maintain is a continuing problem with late night flight violations."

"At Tuesday's regular City Council meeting, councilwomen Rae Gabelich and Tonia Reyes Uranga will propose that the city attorney draft an amendment to the city's noise ordinance for a new fine and penalty structure, and that only limited excuses for some late flights be allowed."

"According to full year 2005 data, there were 292 noise violations, with 69 involving commercial passenger jets or cargo operations. For the year, there were 352,371 total aircraft flight operations involving commercial jets, general aviation planes, charter flights and military aircraft."

"That means less than 1 percent of the total flights at the airport resulted in noise violations".

Click for the entire article.

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The Press-Enterprise, March 12, 2006
"Scheduled for takeoff: Ontario International to benefit from LAX growth cap"

"Left unfettered, Los Angeles International Airport's expansion might never stop, absorbing airline investment and business that might otherwise grow Ontario International and the clutch of relative hatchling airports scattered around Southern California."

"However, if commitments from new LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa stand up through coming years - as they are legally bound to do - Ontario International Airport could begin filling overdue expectations for growth."

"Villaraigosa brokered a January agreement [with] residents near the LA airport [that caps LAX] at 20 million passengers below a plan once supported by former Mayor Richard Riordan."

"Mary Jane Olhasso, economic development director for the city of Ontario, said she's more concerned about preparing for the impact of a 30 million-passenger airport than whether it will happen. Olhasso said the [Ontario] airport will demand expansion of local roads and the freeway system. Transportation planners say it will need a more robust public transport system to ferry passengers in and out of the city."

"However, with about $35 billion in transportation needs already on the region's wish list, Olhasso said she's concerned the airport's needs may be pushed to the back of a long line."

Click for more . . .

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Burbank Leader, March 8, posted March 10, 2006 - updated
"JetBlue adds flights from Burbank"
[What about us?]

"To accommodate heightened demand in Burbank, JetBlue Airlines is adding two destinations and another daily flight to New York out of Bob Hope Airport."

"On June 30, JetBlue will add Orlando, Fla., and Las Vegas to its Burbank flight roster, bringing the total number of its daily flight destinations out of Burbank to three. The new destinations come in response to developing interest in JetBlue's service, said Bryan Baldwin, JetBlue's coordinator of corporate communication."

"JetBlue customers can get to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., out of Ontario and Long Beach airports, but if they want non-stop service to Orlando they'll have to fly out of Burbank."

Website Editor: Meanwhile, Orange County has no non-stop service to Florida or to any east coast destination other than Newark which can be reached on Continental Airlines.

The Board of Supervisors agreed with Newport Beach to limit John Wayne Airport service to 10.3 million passengers.

The airport manager then recommended to the board that a smaller number of passengers be allowed, as a "safety factor" to stay under the limit. For the current Plan Year 2005-6 that ends this month on March 31, airlines were denied authorization to fly 371,524 seats for which they requested approval.  JWA was projected to serve 9.5 million passengers with the limited allocation of seats. Through February, the projection looks accurate.

On February 7, 2006 the supervisors approved seat allocations for the upcoming Plan Year 2006-07. They held the authorization to the prior year's level. The county denied authorization of 554,530 additional seats requested by Southwest Airlines. The airport manager forecasted that JWA will complete the new year with a service level of approximately 10.0 million passengers.

John Wayne airport has the ability - physically and under the negotiated agreement with Newport Beach - to add more passengers, flights and destinations. JWA is  uncrowded for most of the day. The county should allow and encourage airlines to add several flights during slow times to serve all of the 10.3 million authorized passengers.

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OC Register, March 9, 2006
"City drops fight to annex land"

"The Costa Mesa City Council late Tuesday dropped its efforts to incorporate the 64-acre western Santa Ana Heights."

"Newport Beach took over eastern Santa Ana Heights in 2003 and the City Council voted last month to move forward with adding the western portion despite objections from Costa Mesa, which applied to incorporate the property in 2002."

Website Editor: Newport Beach continues its efforts to gain additional control of land around John Wayne Airport to block future expansion. City council members and the NPB city manager met recently with Supervisors Silva and Wilson and CEO Mauk to pursue the topic.

Santa Ana Heights, to the south of the airport, is in the direction that the runway could be extended and is under the takeoff path.

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El Toro Info Site report, March 8, 2006
FAA and SCAG forecasts of SoCal airport demand

The FAA recently released estimates of aviation demand by airport for 2025. The FAA Terminal Area Forecast assumes no constraints on airport service.

The FAA's forecasted demand is summarized and compared on this website with the most recent forecast by the Southern California Association of Governments incorporated in SCAG's 2004 Regional Transportation Plan.

SCAG assumes that passenger demand can be diverted to airports other than the urban-area ones that travelers would choose if there were no restrictions. It remains to be seen whether this vision of a widely dispersed decentralized system will be acceptable to the flying public and airlines. A 2001 Los Angeles World Airports study suggests that there will be passenger resistance.
 
SCAG also assumes that the negotiated limits imposed at Los Angeles International, Long Beach and John Wayne airports will continue indefinitely. The cap on JWA expires in 2015.
 
SCAG plans that large numbers of passengers will connect by magnetic levitation trains (Maglev) to less accessible airports in Palmdale, March, San Bernardino, Victorville and Ontario.

If Maglev comes into general use, an alternate role for the high-speed trains could be to divert tens of millions of passengers from the airports to ground-only trips to destinations such as Las Vegas and the Bay area.

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San Diego Union-Tribune, March 7, 2006
"Military bases stay on [SD] airport site list"

"Military sites will remain on the list for further study as possible joint civilian/military airport locations, a regional agency decided yesterday."

"The 5-3 vote [of the San Diego Regional Airport Authority] found a majority willing to devote as much as $3 million for a technical analysis of Camp Pendleton, North Island Naval Air Station and the Marines' Miramar Air Station, despite opposition from military leaders on issues ranging from national security to airline passenger safety."

"The board hopes that by May it can come up with a site recommendation for the Nov. 7 ballot. Besides the military bases, the Airport Authority is considering civilian sites in Boulevard and the Yuha Desert of Imperial County. It also is studying an expansion plan for Lindbergh Field, but that idea requires land occupied by the Marine Corps Recruit Depot."

"The board dismissed any further analysis of a one-runway 'supplemental' airport in North County. Analysts said Rancho Guejito and a site near Valley Center were physically suitable for an airport, but consultants said a two-airport idea would be financially risky." 

Website Editor: San Diego and Orange County seemingly did not work together to evaluate whether the two could share a North San Diego runway and therebye increase its economic viability.

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El Toro Info Site report, March 7, 2006
The importance of Measure F

Celebration of the passage of Measure W four years ago has diverted attention from the importance of Measure F which voters passed six years ago on March 7, 2000.

Measure F was part of a two-pronged initiative strategy developed by anti-airport leaders. Even though F was eventually overturned by the courts, it did its job. Viewers are referred to this website’s editorial, Overview of the initiatives, posted in 2001 during a time when some questioned the wisdom of drafting and promoting Measure F.

In a history of the Grounding of El Toro, Measure F is credited with derailing airport plans. It was law from March 2000 until the final appeal in January 2002. During that time, the county was barred from airport planning and lobbying other than to complete an environmental impact report. The pro-airport momentum was broken.

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Long Beach Press Telegram, March 6, 2006
"Delta in, American on way out at L.B. Airport"

"Long Beach Airport [change] begins today with the startup of daily flights by a new tenant, Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines."

"And on April 2, American Airlines officially disappears again from Long Beach runways as it ends its final two daily commercial flights as part of a shift of resources to new operations at Love Field in Dallas."

"Delta is using three of the airport's regional commuter flight slots for the service. The airline's SkyWest Airlines subsidiary will operate the flights."

"The Long Beach nonstop flights to American's hub at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport just weren't profitable enough to continue operating, said Tim Smith, an American spokesman.
'The decision was driven by business conditions . . . The flights have not been economically profitable or rewarding from a financial standpoint.'"

Website Editor: The American Airlines decision, and Long Beach Airport's inability to hold carriers, should be a message to those who expect air service to thrive at much less accessible airports such as Palmdale, San Bernardino and March.

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El Toro Info Site report, March 5, 2006 - updated
This week in history

Six years ago this week, Orange County voters were poised to pass Measure F by an overwhelming 67.3 percent of the vote. While Measure F was eventually overturned, it was law for well over a year and stopped the forward momentum of the El Toro airport effort.

Four years ago today, Measure W was passed and killed the airport project by designating the former airbase property for non-aviation reuse. The vote led the Navy to sell the property rather than give it to the county for an airport as pro-El Toro leaders had hoped. The March 5, 2002 election also gave anit-airport citizens control of the Board of Supervisors.

Click here for photos from today's Measure W anniversary party that honored the work of the volunteers and gave tribute to the memory of Jim Davy.

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El Toro Info Site report, March 3, 2006
This weekend

On Saturday, many anti-airport activists will attend the funeral for our good friend and No Jets leader, Jim Davy.

On Sunday, a previously planned celebration on the 4th anniversary of the passage of Measure W will include a celebration of Jim and his great contributuon to the initiative campaigns and the community. Hope to see you at both events.

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Daily Breeze, March 1, 2006, posted March 3
"FAA forecast calls for crowded skies at LAX"

"More than 112 million travelers a year may want to fly through Los Angeles International Airport by 2025, according to a federal forecast that largely ignores the region’s political realities."

"The forecast, released Tuesday by the Federal Aviation Administration, attempts to measure only the economic demand for air travel.  It does not take into account how the airport would handle that demand, or whether it physically could."

"Planners and politicians want to siphon the additional demand toward the smaller airports scattered throughout the suburbs. That won’t be easy. The forecast suggests that none of the region’s other airports will attract even a fraction of the demand at LAX on their own."

"The forecast indicates that more than 16 million travelers would use John Wayne Airport in Orange County, despite an artificial limit on how many flights that airport can handle."

See the website February 12 report on regional capacity and the conflicts between airports' physical capacities and the desires of those who live near them to restrict their use.

Click here for the Daily Breeze story.

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