Today's Headlines - click on date for full story
El Toro Info Site report, May 31, 2002
Navy and Irvine still working on plan

LA Times, May 30, 2002
"Bill Urges O.C. to Fly Its Share"
"Assembly measure tries to ensure low-income areas don't shoulder a disproportionate burden of noise, traffic and pollution."

Daily Pilot, May 29, 2002
"Alternative airport supporters set hopes on March election"

LA Times, May 28, 2002
"Second Airport Proposal Hits a Downdraft"
"Little grass-roots support and political lethargy hinder V-plan, which calls for parks as well as runways. Backers concede they won't get it on the November ballot."

El Toro Info Site commentary, May 26, 2002, original of letter in the LA Times
Airport colonialism

OC Register, May 24, 2002 - updated
Navy won't give El Toro to Irvine

Daily Pilot, May 23, 2002
"Air travel bill worries Newport officials"
"State assemblyman [Nakano] proposes legislation that could put pressure on John Wayne expansion plans, they say."

El Toro Info Site report, May 22, 2002
SCAG forecast is way off the mark

El Toro Info Site report, May 21, 2002 - updated May 22
Marines will not return to El Toro

El Toro Info Site report, May 21, 2002
Plane lands at El Toro

Sacramento Bee, May 21, 2002
Orange County closes chapter on failed effort to build airport

El Toro Info Site report, May 20, 2002
FAX messages to Sacramento

LA Times, May 20, 2002
"Planners Take El Toro Out of Travel Picture"
" Study will look at how increased numbers of Orange County fliers can be accommodated despite the lack of an airport at the former Marine base."

Los Angeles Times, May 18, 2002
"El Segundo Wants In on El Toro Fight "
"Land use: The city, which lobbied heavily for an airport at the base, is considering employing law firm to bolster suit over Measure W."

El Toro Info Site Report, May 17, 2002
Nakano in O.C. today;
His bill goes to Appropriations Committee next week

OC Weekly, May 17 - 23, 2002
"The Great Surplus El Toro for sale"

El Toro Info Site Report, May 16, 2002
Correa issues media advisory about Friday hearing

Daily Pilot, May 16, 2002
"V-plan supporters, opponents exchange accusations"
"Millennium Group charges Committee for Safe and Healthy Communities with election violations, but committee says it's freedom of speech."

OC Register, May 16, 2002
Villa Park councilman quits

LA Times, May 15, 2002
"Should Base Manager Get Praise as Well as Severance? Board Asks"

LA Times, May 14, 2002
"Coad Extends Irvine Deadline for Park Plan"
"Supervisor gives city until June 4 to decide how to use El Toro funds for North County improvements. Her annexation vote hangs in the balance."

LA Times, May 13, 2002
"Air War's Next Likely Target: John Wayne"
"County leaders who want to renew curbs on the airport's capacity can expect a fight from regional interests demanding the opposite."

El Toro Info Site Report, May 12, 2002
Correa hearing is Friday

LA Times editorial, May 12, 2002
"How to Clean Up El Toro"

Daily Pilot, May 11, 2002
"V-plan backers want supervisor's help"

OC Register, May 10, 2002
"Issa wants El Toro provision in defense bill"

Daily Pilot, May 10, 2002
"Anti-El Toro group attacks alternative airport plan"

El Toro Info Site report, May 9, 2002
V-Plan Initiative violates election code

El Toro Info Site report, May 8, 2002 - late
OCRAA imploding. Bloomer leaving.

Daily Pilot, May 8, 2002
"City, groups to target possible JWA lawsuit"
"Newport Beach officials to work with anti-expansion forces to ensure restrictions remain at the airport."

Ontario Daily Bulletin, May 7, 2002
"Regional authority's role under dispute"

El Toro Info Site viewer's report, May 7, 2002
"It's time to get out of this stupid process"

El Toro Info Site report, May 6, 2002
Correction on litigation status

El Toro Info Site report, May 6, 2002
Five years ago this week

El Toro Info Site report, May 5, 2002
Norby reassuring on Coad-Irvine deal

LA Times, May 4, 2002
"Irvine Hits Coad's Park Plan Deadline"
"City delivers blueprint to fund North County improvements to keep her vote on El Toro. She's reviewing it."

El Toro Info Site report, May 2, 2002 updated
SCAG takes a "go slow" approach

LA Times, May 2, 2002
"SCAG a 'High-Risk' Funds Recipient, Auditors Report"

OC Register, May 2, 2002
"Little fallout is expected for John Wayne because officials predict the FAA will extend limits on passengers, flights"

LA Times, May 1, 2002
"Feinstein Tells Navy to Clean Up Mess at Base"

Click here for earlier news.

Today is the self-imposed date by which the Navy and the City of Irvine had hoped to have agreement on a future plan for the former El Toro base.  Joint work on the plan continues and a source close to the discussions says that it will be ready in June.

Supervisor Cynthia Coad previously extended her deadline for a deal to be consummated that would provide funding for North County parks from revenue at El Toro. The item is on next Tuesday's Board of Supervisors agenda and may have to be continued again.

52. Chair Coad - Reconsideration of Board action taken on 4/16/02 supporting annexing MCAS El Toro Base to the City of Irvine, excluding areas designated for County regional facilities (Continued from 5/14/02, Item 40)

"A bill that would strengthen regional efforts to pressure Orange County to provide more airport capacity passed the Assembly on Wednesday."

"The bill by Assemblyman George Nakano (D-Torrance) calls for Southern California's regional planning agency for transportation projects to distribute future airline passengers and cargo based on a 'fair-share' basis among Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties."

"The bill, AB 2333, also would require the Southern California Assn. of Governments to create its five-year regional transportation plan so that low-income and minority neighborhoods would not shoulder a disproportionate burden of noise, traffic and pollution from aviation. The bill, which passed 42 to 24, now goes to the Senate."

"As worded now, the bill would forbid bundling future air travel at only one or two airports, or concentrating the growth of aviation facilities in minority neighborhoods, said Becki Ames, Nakano's chief of staff."

"Orange County's Assembly delegation opposed the bill, including former El Toro airport proponent Lou Correa (D-Santa Ana)." 

"SANTA ANA HEIGHTS -- Efforts to get an alternative [V-plan] El Toro airport on the November ballot are in a holding pattern, but supporters hope they will have enough fuel to launch it in the March election instead."

"Although they have been trying to get signatures for the past few months, they now say it's premature to sell another airport plan when the fate of Measure W hangs in the balance. The Airport Working Group filed a lawsuit against the measure soon after it passed."

"Don't hold your breath, airport opponents say. 'I think [the lawsuit] is a major uphill stroke for them,' said Bill Kogerman. 'I think we did our homework and our legal process appropriately.'"

"While V-plan supporters have bombarded the three pro-airport supervisors with requests to put the initiative on the November ballot, so far the supervisors have not acquiesced."

"Even if support for the V-plan is totally extinguished, supporters say they will still press for other options to enable Orange County to meet its fair share of the region's aviation demands. Russell Niewiarowski, president of the New Millennium Group, is floating the ideas of building an international airport at Seal Beach or dramatically expanding passenger capacity at John Wayne Airport."

"Niewiarowski said John Wayne has the potential to handle as many as 14 million annual passengers -- double its current load -- by extending the runway by 1,000 feet to the north and south and using the Global Positioning System to fly heavier planes."  Click here for a corroborating study of the JWA runways by activist Nicolas Dzepina.

"A last-ditch effort to sell a different airport design for El Toro has stalled . . . [V-Plan] Organizers concede they won't meet a June 17 deadline to collect the 71,206 signatures needed to qualify the measure for the November ballot."

"The effort has fallen prey to a collective resignation among airport backers who believe that after eight years of fighting, most county residents would reject any commercial airfield at El Toro. 'Even the pro-airport [elected officials] say it's done, it's over and lie down and play dead,' said Robert E. McGowan."

". . . the Navy slowed the proposal's momentum last month when it labeled the V-plan unreasonable and its environmental review ended a role for the Federal Aviation Administration in El Toro's fate."

"Attorney Rich Jacobs, who represents the 10-city El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, said the . . . proposal violates at least five state laws regulating the form and content of initiative petitions and could be struck down in court on any one of them."

"At the same time, [OCRAA] a pro-airport coalition of cities that endorsed the V-plan initiative has been hampered by a lack of money and the resignation of its executive director. Retired Gen. Art Bloomer stepped down this month from the Orange County Regional Airport Authority, which is a plaintiff in the lawsuit challenging Measure W."

"In an e-mail distributed last week, New Millennium president Russell Niewiarowski suggested another option: for the federal government to close the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station and the Los Alamitos Armed Forces Reserve Center and build an international airport in Seal Beach. . . . 'Seal Beach is, in fact, an ideal location for an international airport.'" 

Opponents of LAX expansion are pushing for Los Angeles World Airways to take over El Toro in order to relieve the load at LAX.  LAWA already operates LAX, Ontario, Van Nuys and Palmdale airports.  If this scheme succeeds, Los Angeles bureaucrats would allocate air traffic between those airports and El Toro.

Politicians such as El Segundo Mayor Mike Gordon are leading the campaign of airport colonialism.

The plan would give LA control over future land use, road traffic, and noise and air pollution in Orange County. This reeks of classical colonialism, whereby the larger powers of Europe sought to occupy, rule and exploit the populations of Africa, Asia and the "New World".

Most repulsive is the fact that some pro-El Toro airport groups in Orange County are allying themselves with those who would turn this county into LA's colony. This treacherous effort also could drag John Wayne Airport into Los Angeles' sphere of influence.

The Orange County Board of Supervisors and local legislators must speak out in opposition to any loss of local control over the former Marine base. A Los Angeles grab for power over Orange County is unacceptable. 

"Irvine won't get El Toro land directly from the Navy, according to a new letter from Assistant Navy Secretary H.T. Johnson."

"The Navy and the city are working together on plans for the former El Toro Marine base. Johnson said in a letter to the county Wednesday that the Navy plans to sell off the base."

"'At this time, we do not plan to give any property directly to the City of Irvine,' Johnson writes. 'Most likely, if it receives any property, it will be from the developer or developers who buy the property from the Navy.'"

"Irvine's influence over the base's future will be by annexation and zoning, and Johnson indicated that the Navy will work toward that annexation."

Website Editor: Secretary Johnson also writes, "Since our visit on April 25, 2002, we have established a mutually beneficial dialogue with the City of Irvine on the future development of El Toro.  We are working closely with its key leadership personnel as they develop zoning restrictions and future use plans in the spirit of Measure W."  Click here for the entire text of the May 22 letter.

"NEWPORT BEACH -- State legislation designed to relieve some of the burden from Los Angeles International Airport has drawn opposition from city leaders, who fear it could fuel expansion at John Wayne Airport."

"Assembly Bill 2333, introduced by Assemblyman George Nakano (D-Torrance), would require the Southern California Assn. of Governments to ensure its transportation plan 'provides a fair share distribution of the burdens and benefits among specified urban counties in Southern California' for the anticipated increases in air travel demand. This, in turn, would become a criteria for receiving federal transportation dollars."

"The Assembly Appropriations Committee approved the bill Wednesday, which will next be heard in the Assembly."

"'What we're trying to do with this legislation is protect Assemblyman Nakano's constituents from having to bear entire growth and demand for the entire area,' said Becki Ames, Nakano's chief of staff. Nakano's district includes El Segundo and other South Bay cities affected by LAX."

"'There are many, many other steps that have to be taken before El Toro can be ruled out,' Ames said. 'We're very hopeful that El Toro is still an option.'"

"'We're afraid the bill takes the wrong approach to looking at air service needs in California," [Newport Beach] City Manager Homer Bludau said. 'It tries to make it a county-by-county issue, and we feel it's a regional issue.'  The city's lobbyist in Sacramento is actively opposing the bill." 

Data assembled by anti-airport activist Nicolas Dzepina shows that the Southern California Association of Government's forecast of aviation demand in the region is way off the mark.

In the organization's recent Regional Transportation Plan, SCAG estimated that demand would grow by 2.91 percent per year compounded - from a base of 88.5 million annual passengers (MAP) in 2000 to 157 MAP in 2020.  At that growth rate, the demand would have reached 91.7 MAP for the region's six airports at the end of March.

Instead, the actual demand reported by all airports was down to 79.1 MAP. This was the result of the September 11 attacks and a slowing economy. The difference between the forecasted demand of 91.7 MAP and the actual of 79.1 MAP is 12.6 MAP.

To put the magnitude of the forecasting shortfall into perspective, it is approximately equal to the total number of passengers at John Wayne Airport (7.3 MAP) and Ontario (6.6 MAP) combined, or John Wayne (7.3 MAP), Burbank (4.4 MAP) and Long Beach (0.6 MAP) combined.

Dzepina states that the shortfall gap will increase before there is an upturn and that demand probably will never catch up sufficiently to achieve the volume forecasted by SCAG. The organization has a history of making unrealistic aviation projections.

In a letter today from General J. L. Jones, Commandant of the Marine Corps, to local and congressional officials, the General wrote, "I have concluded that it is infeasible to establish the significant weapons training range footprint within the urban setting of MCAS El Toro."

Consequently, he wrote, "the Marine Corps will not pursue the potential relocation of MCRD San Diego to the former MCAS El Toro, and has advised the Navy Secretariat of my concurrence in their efforts to rapidly dispose of this property."

Reaction was mixed.  The Los Angeles Times reports that "Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Cynthia P. Coad called the decision a blow to the county."

According to the Register, "Irvine Mayor Larry Agran said. 'At the same time, it does make things a lot easier now.'"

The Union Tribune reports, "San Diego City Councilman Byron Wear, whose district includes the training center, said, 'No one could be more pleased than I.' Now, he said, the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority can concentrate on relocating the airport, instead of expanding Lindbergh."

This afternoon, a small (single engine) propeller driven bi-wing airplane landed at El Toro due to an engine emergency after departing John Wayne Airport. The plane will be removed via truck trailer. 

"An eight-year effort to build an airport at the shuttered El Toro Marine Corps Air Station came to a symbolic end Monday when county supervisors approved a severance package for the project's executive director. Gary Simon will leave his position as head of the El Toro Local Redevelopment Authority on June 6."

"The board eliminated Simon's position last month after Orange County voters approved a measure requiring a park be created at the former military base."

"'Gary's departure signifies the final chapter to the El Toro story from the county's perspective,' said Supervisor Todd Spitzer. 'There is now no pro-airport figurehead to be identified with this losing battle.'"

"The severance package gives Simon about $106,000, the equivalent of seven months salary. The agency, which Simon oversaw, employed 29 employees and had an operating budget of $11.8 million."

Click here for more local coverage of the story.

Assembly Bill AB2333 will be heard in the State Assembly's Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. Please fax your opposition to the Nakano bill.  The committee does not want to receive e-mail:

Darrell Steinberg, Chairman
Assembly Appropriations Committee
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
Attention: Steve Archibald
FAX 916-319-2109

Subject: No on AB2333

Urge a No vote on AB2333, which seeks to impose discriminatory rules on only four counties in Southern California and not elsewhere in the state.

AB2333 will allocate transportation funding in accordance with a county's action to build airport capacity.  Each of the four counties would be measured against a "fair share" formula developed by the Southern California Association of Governments. SCAG has been notoriously inaccurate at projecting airport demand.

The "fair share" concept is used no place else in California or in the nation.  It makes little sense to build airports in heavily populated areas.  Modern airports belong where there is open space.

The Southern California Regional Airport Authority, SCRAA, "A regional aviation group will begin studying how to move Orange County passengers and cargo to inland airports as it becomes increasingly unlikely an airfield will be built at the former El Toro Marine base."

"Authority members representing three of the group's four counties stopped short, however, of declaring El Toro dead. They said a lawsuit over the vote rezoning the base could prevail and revive airport planning efforts. 'I don't want it perceived that we've thrown in the towel to give the anti-El Toro [airport] folks any ammunition,' Riverside County Supervisor James Venable said at the group's meeting last week."

"Still, the authority asked Executive Director Peggy Ducey to begin talking to airports and cities in Riverside and San Bernardino counties about the impact of handling more Orange County passengers and cargo…. Ducey suggested the authority focus on how passengers and cargo would get to airports in the Inland Empire. High-speed and conventional rail might play a role."

Meg Waters, "A spokeswoman for anti-El Toro airport forces opposes any role for the authority in transportation planning and called SCAG's demand forecasts 'laughable.'"

"Most of the region's growth will be in the Inland Empire, she said, which has four major airports--Ontario International, and three former military bases--and room to grow." 

“El Segundo is considering entering the legal fight over the Orange County ballot measure that scuttled plans for an airport at the closed El Toro Marine base.”

“Meanwhile, an Assembly committee met Friday in Santa Ana to discuss redevelopment of the 4,700-acre El Toro base in the wake of the March vote. A bill signed in 1999 allows the state to monitor plans for closed bases.”

“Much of the hearing, organized by Assemblyman Lou Correa (D-Anaheim), touched on plans for about 800 houses on the northern portion of El Toro.... Irvine, which wants to annex the land, proposes turning over the homes to UC Irvine for faculty housing.”

“Orange County Supervisor Chuck Smith said he wants the houses available to anyone whose income qualifies.”

“ ‘I would love to see the Marines back in Orange County,’ Correa said.”

“The local groups suing over Measure W contend that the fate of surplus federal property is an issue beyond the control of local voters.”

“The law firm that El Segundo is considering hiring has worked for decades with Newport Beach on noise and size restrictions at John Wayne Airport.”

“Should the expansion of John Wayne Airport become El Segundo's official position, one of the two cities would have to find another law firm, Burnham (Bob Burnham, NPB City Attorney)  said Friday.”

For the complete story see the Early Bird section of the news.

Assemblyman George Nakano will be one of the members of Assemblyman Lou Correa's select committee conducting a public hearing on El Toro reuse today in Santa Ana.   Nakano represents a district that includes LAX.

Nakano's bill AB2333, which passed the Assembly Transportation Committee on a strictly party line vote, moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee on May 22nd. The bill assumes that Orange County must provide its "fair share" of regional airport capacity with that share being calculated by the Southern California Association of Governments, SCAG.  SCAG has a poor record at forecasting aviation demand.

The bill applies to only four counties in the entire state. It seeks to impose state control and a concept of "environmental justice" over the local issue of land use control. Read the amended bill here.

"Sources close to talks between the City of Irvine… and the Navy Department say …the Navy is close to carving El Toro into six to eight parcels and then selling each in a public sale to the highest bidder.

"Auctioning off El Toro in such a piecemeal fashion imperils the Great Park…It also effectively kills Irvine’s counterproposal to sell 440 acres of current strawberry fields south of El Toro’s main north-south runways to residential and commercial developers."

"But Irvine planning insiders speculated the city still has options. After annexing the base next year, Irvine could use its zoning power to significantly restrict all parcels, requiring each developer to surrender land for the park in exchange for any development."

"Last month, Assistant Secretary of the Navy H.T. Johnson told the federal General Services Agency (GSA) that his department was ready to go Century 21 on base closures. 'The successful negotiated sale of the former Department of Defense Housing Facility, Novato, California, and more recently, the former Naval Regional Medical Center, Oakland, California (Oak Knoll), has made great strides in the area of public sales for the Department,' he wrote. 'We were very pleased to see the ‘For Sale’ signs go up on 240 acres of valuable residential-quality property at the former Marine Corps Air Station, Tustin, California.'"

"The Navy wants a deal ready to go by the end of May." 

ASSEMBLY SELECT COMMITTEE ON EL TORO REUSE HEARING TO DISCUSS PUBLIC BENEFIT NEEDS AT THE CLOSED BASE

Who: Assemblymember Lou Correa, Chair
Assemblymember Patricia Bates, Vice Chair
Assemblymember Bill Campbell
Assemblymember Gloria Negrete McLeod
Assemblymember George Nakano
Lt. Col. Thomas Lasser, California Base Closure and Retention Office
Supervisor Charles Smith
Mayor Larry Agran, City of Irvine

What: Assembly Select Committee on El Toro Reuse will meet to discuss the current status of MCAS El Toro.  The purpose of the meeting is to focus on the public benefit needs of Orange County that may be fulfilled at the closed marine base and how the state may assist in that effort. These benefits will be discussed within the framework of Measure W as well as the current fiscal situation.

When: May 17th, 1:30pm to 5:00 pm.

Where: Santa Ana City Council Chambers, 20 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana

We are told that the public may comment.

"Members of the New Millennium Group, which supports the V-plan, charge it's illegal for the Committee for Safe and Healthy Communities to try to stop their petition drive. The group is trying to obtain 72,000 signatures by June 17, but it will not disclose how many have been collected so far."

"The New Millennium Group has already sent the committee a letter threatening legal action unless it stops making 'damning and false statements.'"

"'They're both fine and jailable offenses,' said Bob McGowan, a group member and former United Airlines pilot. 'You can't just say anything you want.'"

"Nonsense, said Bill Kogerman, the committee's chairman. 'I didn't go to Vietnam and expose myself to enemy fire fighting for freedom of speech to come back and be muzzled by silliness,' Kogerman said."

"While McGowan said the [TNMG] group's attorney was going to fire off another letter informing the committee of its illegal action, attorney Deborah Rosenthal said she could not confirm the committee was doing anything illegal. Rosenthal said she has not had a chance to look into the allegations since hearing about them Wednesday morning."

An attorney for … the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, said the New Millennium Group is misinformed … 'The group doesn't know anything more about election law than they do about initiative petitions," Richard Jacobs said. 'That is as wrong as wrong could be.'"

"Rosalyn Lever, the county's registrar of voters, said Wednesday that airport opponents do not appear to be breaking any election codes."

Click here to see the e-mail from Russell Niewiarowski, President TNMG, Inc. and to post your comments.

Villa Park Councilman [and OCRAA rep] Robert McGowan has sold his home of 32 years and plans to move to San Diego County in August, leaving his seat vacant until his term expires in November.

"This isn't a good time to move, I guess, but I want to do it while I'm still healthy," McGowan said.

"The collapse of Orange County's quest to build an airport at El Toro took the flavor of a nasty divorce Tuesday when supervisors met behind closed doors to debate whether to reward the performance of outgoing program manager Gary Simon."

Editor: Simon is the fourth occupant of that hotseat, following after Rob Richardson, Michael Lapin and Courtney Wiercioch..

"Last month, supervisors eliminated the El Toro office and Simon's position, effective June 4. Under Simon's contract, he would be paid a six-month severance plus another month of pay upon termination. But the money evaporates if he resigns--a clause Simon wants amended to allow him to resign and get the extra pay, more than $102,000."

"Supervisor Todd Spitzer, Simon's most vocal critic, said Tuesday that Simon appears to have the votes to get his severance … [but] there was dissention over a portion of the board resolution that praises Simon's job performance."

"Spitzer said he has no problem paying Simon but does not want the county to praise his work. 'His performance, in my mind, triggered termination for cause,' Spitzer said. 'We don't even owe him his severance because of his lack of performance and lack of veracity. But I'm willing to live by the severance provision.'"

"Board Chairwoman Cynthia P. Coad, an airport supporter, said Simon's work is something the county can be proud of, despite the combative political environment."

"Simon said he was confident that he and supervisors would be able to come to terms Monday. He has earned $182,000 a year overseeing an agency of 29 employees, most of whom have found jobs elsewhere in county government. Last year, the office's budget was $11.8 million." 

Supervisor Cynthia Coad, "threatening to reverse last month's pivotal vote handing control of the El Toro Marine base to Irvine will give the city three more weeks to comply with her demand that money generated there go toward north Orange County parks."

"Coad said in a memo Monday that Irvine has until June 4 to find a way to provide $800,000 a year for 100 years from the development of the closed 4,700-acre base... Her memo said the money cannot come from county general funds or property taxes, and must be adjusted for inflation."

"Coad voted April 16 to allow Irvine to annex the base, contingent on the creation of an annual stream of money for North County parks. Since the vote, Irvine has wrestled with how to fulfill that pledge, with Coad threatening to reverse her vote if the money isn't guaranteed."

"Coad is raising the ante for her critical support of Irvine's base annexation, said Fred Smoller, who heads the Henley Social Sciences Research Laboratory at Chapman University. 'She's kind of holding it hostage, but these types of deals are made all the time.'" 

"With plans for an El Toro airport dead, Orange County's John Wayne Airport looks like the next battleground in Southern California's airport wars."

The Orange County Board of Supervisors and officials of Newport Beach, whose city is the most affected by noise from John Wayne flights, plan to approve extended--though slightly softened--restrictions next month."

"A spokesman for the Air Transport Assn., which represents the nation's major airlines, says the trade group will fight attempts to keep restrictions in place. 'Our position is that once the agreement expires, it expires, and everything referred to in it expires,' said ATA spokesman Roger Cohen in Washington."

"About 7 million passengers used John Wayne Airport in 2000… Five million more Orange County passengers began or ended their trips at LAX or Ontario International Airport, according to SCAG, the Southern California Assn. of Governments."

"'If Orange County is going to opt out of El Toro, the immediate answer is John Wayne Airport,' said El Segundo Mayor Mike Gordon.  'We're not going to let [Orange County's] demand wind itself back to LAX. We'll be doing everything we can with the FAA to make sure John Wayne Airport can expand.'"

"Newport Beach officials say the restrictions at John Wayne can be amended and extended without approval by the FAA."

"Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), who last year tried unsuccessfully to attach an amendment to an aviation security bill that would have eased the way for an extension of the John Wayne agreement … said he hopes to add to a future aviation bill."

"A fight to impose similar restrictions at Burbank airport has dragged on for years… Burbank voters last year approved an airport capacity-limiting measure that is now challenged in court."

Website Editor: One could be left wondering whether the appearance of this story at this time, only in the Times and on the AWG website, signals real opposition to extension of the caps - or another AWG  manufactured effort to scare Newport Beach residents back into the fight for El Toro Airport.  Read the entire article and post your comments by clicking here. 

Assemblyman Lou Correa's public hearing on El Toro reuse will be held on Friday, May 19 from 1:30 to 5:30 PM.  The hearing will be in the Santa Ana City Council Chambers at 20 Civic Center Plaza.

Public comments are welcome. More details will be provided, as they become available.

"It is essential that the U.S. Navy use proceeds from the sale of land at El Toro to pay for cleanup costs…  The Navy argues that about $300 million previously set aside will cover environmental remediation costs. Truth be told, no one yet knows how extensive and expensive the job will be."

"The Navy will glean a small fortune from land sales. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) was right to demand that the money be used to ensure that land being transferred for parkland and related uses is safe."

"Feinstein's proposal, made last month in a letter to Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England, won't sit well with the Defense Department. The Armed Forces understandably want to use funds generated by land sales to bridge military funding shortfalls. Feinstein doesn't have the authority to tell the Navy what to do, but she sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, which can apply significant pressure on the Navy."

Click here for the full editorial.

"Supporters of an alternative El Toro airport with revised runways launched an e-mail campaign on Thursday to try to get their initiative on the fast track for the November ballot", by asking three supervisors to put it on for them.

"The group has been gathering petitions to get the initiative on the ballot themselves, but members would not disclose how many signatures they have obtained so far. El Toro airport opponents scoff at the e-mail campaign, charging it's just a desperate attempt to compensate for a lukewarm reception to the group's petition drive."

Len Kranser said, "'I see no reason why, after we've had four [El Toro] initiatives through petitions, that these guys should get a free ride because they've been unable to get enough public support to get on through the petitioning route.'"

"V-plan supporters, though, say getting the supervisors to do it instead … would allow the group to save the money it is expending during the petition drive and use it instead during the informational phase of the campaign.  'We won't have enough money for a campaign at the rate we're going,' said Bob McGowan."

"McGowan said it's incumbent upon the three pro-airport supervisors -- Cynthia Coad, Jim Silva and Charles Smith -- to rally to the New Millennium Group's cause and give voters yet another chance to approve an airport."

"'It doesn't cost them anything to put it on the ballot,' McGowan said. 'After spending $55 million on the wrong plan, they could at least say, 'let's give it a shot for the right plan."'

"The supervisors have until August to decide whether to put the initiative on the ballot."  A recent legal analysis of the initiative shows that it has serious legal flaws.

"The controversy that surrounds El Toro found its way to the nation's Capitol on Thursday when one member of the Orange County delegation tried to slip a matter related to the closed Marine base into a defense bill unbeknownst to his colleagues."

"Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, has long said he would like to see El Toro play a role in the military-housing shortage plaguing bases in San Diego County… Issa proposed a land swap -- the secretary of the Navy would be allowed to provide land for a developer to use at El Toro in exchange for that developer building housing at either Camp Pendleton, the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego or at Miramar."

Issa… withdrew the measure Thursday at the request of Rep. Christopher Cox, R-Newport Beach, in whose district El Toro sits."

"Irvine Mayor Larry Agran said now is not the time for such a complication… "Any ideas, no matter how meritorious, should await the unfolding of the transfer of the property as contemplated by the Department of the Navy." 

"An attorney representing the member cities of the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority said the petition being circulated that would realign the runways at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in an alternative airport plan doesn't have a 'notice of intention.'"

"State law requires all potential ballot measure to have the notice, which summarizes why the petition is being circulated and lists the supporters. Without the notice, Orange County Registrar of Voters Rosalyn Lever would be legally required to reject it."

"V-plan supporter Russell Niewiarowski acknowledged that the group had not included the notices on the petitions. However, he said all the information is included on the group's Web site, where people can download petitions to sign."

"'It's all on the Web site,' Niewiarowski said. 'If you were to log on to the Web site and not know what you're signing, you're a complete idiot.'"

Website Editor: That's an interesting legal theory Russ, but not likely to fly with those who tend to follow the law. During the Measure F campaign, airport opponents discovered that their proponent's name was included on petitions but not his address.  The petition drive was started over.

A press release from the Committee for Safe and Healthy Communities reports that the new V-plan initiative faces major legal problems, according to a review by lawyers for the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority (ETRPA).

Bill Kogerman, Chairman of CSHC said that the airport initiative is so flawed that it will never reach the ballot and only raises false hopes in the pro-airport camp.

Kogerman said, "This legal analysis shows that this new airport initiative is unconstitutional on numerous grounds.  It is probably too late for it to be salvaged.  Signatures gathered so far will have to be thrown out, and the effort might as well be abandoned before anyone gets any false hopes. El Toro airport is dead and for airport boosters to think otherwise is daydreaming."

TNMG, the proponents of the new "Reasonable Airport, Park and Nature Preserve Initiative" failed to collect enough signatures to place their airport plan on the March 2002 ballot. They also had to withdraw and fix initial attempts to qualify for the November ballot. If they heed the legal analysis released today, the group must either correct serious defects and start over again or give up. They need at least 71,206 valid signatures by June 12 to qualify for the November ballot.

In his May 9th letter, Richard Jacobs, an attorney for the ETRPA, warned an attorney for the group circulating the new initiative regarding its numerous major flaws that would prevent the county Registrar of Voters from accepting it. Jacobs wrote, "If the initiative is not withdrawn, the proponents will spend an enormous amount of wholly wasted time and money, only to find that it cannot legally be accepted by the Registrar and put on the ballot."

Website Editor: This fifth El Toro initiative's proponents are also trying to get three pro-airport supervisors to put it on the ballot for them - but first it must be fixed. Jacob's letter deals with repairs needed to the form of the initiative and petition. Defects in its substance, which could be the basis of post-election challenges, do not appear to be addressed at this time.

The pro-airport Orange County Regional Airport Authority appears to be collapsing.  Tonight, at the group's regular meeting, OCRAA Executive Director General Art Bloomer announced his resignation. His deputy, Jack Wagner will continue as interim head.

Bob McGowan, the Villa Park Councilman and a key OCRAA representative privately indicated his intentions to relocate to the San Diego area.  McGowan was a strong opponent of the County's airport plan with its takeoffs towards the mountains. He played a major role in the development of the V-plan. He is also credited with determining that the County used improperly measured wind data when planning the airport.

Delegates began discussing the organization's mission statement and will study its possible future role. OCRAA is a plaintiff in the lawsuit against Measure W.

"NEWPORT BEACH -- City officials are optimistic that a meeting with representatives of the Airport Working Group and Stop Polluting Our Newport will create an alliance to extend flight restrictions at John Wayne Airport."

"Since Measure W's success at the polls March 5 dealt a blow to plans to build an airport at El Toro, Newport Beach officials have pinned most of their hopes on extending the settlement agreement as a way to insulate residents from noise, pollution and the other nuisances posed by a growing commercial airport at John Wayne."

"However, the Airline Transport Assn. has threatened to sue to stop the extension of the settlement agreement. In hopes of deflating such a lawsuit before it's even filed, the members of the new alliance are considering approaching the Federal Aviation Administration to get its input on details of the settlement agreement extension. The administration governs many airport-related decisions and could be the determining factor in whether a lawsuit by the airlines would be successful." 

"[A] Riverside County supervisor, [and] one of four members of the Southern California Regional Airport Authority, is one of the growing number of critics questioning the role of the beleaguered group."

"The panel technically has five members - the city of Los Angeles and the counties of San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange and Los Angeles - but the city of Los Angeles has not had a voice in the authority since Councilman Alex Padilla stepped down a few months ago."

SCRAA "was formed in the 1980s to help spread air traffic among Southern California's airports, but the group fell dormant until it was revitalized last year. A dearth of funding and lack of participation among some members has prevented the group from making much of an impact since its rebirth, however."

"Members say they would like to mold the region's airport use to prevent overcrowding and ground-transportation woes, but the group has ruffled feathers in Orange County in particular, where residents voted against allowing a large new airport… ''I think (the authority members) probably have a role of adviser or consultant to the region, but I don't see them having the authority they assume they have,' said [Tom] Wilson. 'I just don't like to see any kind of local control taken over by a larger group.'''

Click here for the complete article.

Monday night, at 12:00 midnight, the Costa Mesa City Council voted 3 to 2 NOT to join OCRAA as a plaintiff in the lawsuit to overturn W.  During the contentious discussions, Mayor Linda Dixon made it clear that, rather than join the lawsuit, she wants to focus the city's time and efforts on keeping the restrictions on JWA.

The driving force and opening remarks in favor of joining came from Councilmember Chris Steel. Shortly after, Councilmember Libby Cowan fired back that "it's time to get out of this stupid process and put it to rest". Even after the "no" vote, Steel continued to push to get it on the agenda again so "new information" could be considered. At that point Mayor Pro Tem Monahan (who also voted "yes") told Steel that there's no point in doing so because the Council has already voted no and it's time to move on. Councilmember Karen Robinson was the third "no" vote.

During the public comments before the vote, OCRAA's Jack Warner and Art Bloomer repeated numerous times that it wouldn't cost the city a dime to join the lawsuit and all they really want from Costa Mesa and the other cities is to "make a political statement" in court.

Side note: It was mentioned during the meeting that the council members were given a confidential legal evaluation of Measure W in advance. From the outcome of this vote, it appears the majority of the Council concluded that W is on solid legal ground and they didn't want to be associated with the lawsuit.

We previously reported - relying on a May 1, LA Times story - that the Measure W litigation had been assigned to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs.  We ae informed today that the case rests with the Los Angeles Presiding Judge awaiting assignment. Follow the case on our Litigation page.

The website posted this from a Los Angeles Times Editorial of May 7, 1997 "The Air Show as a Symbol"

"The final El Toro Air Show...was a good reminder of the important role the Marine Corps base has played in Orange County for decades. It also should help keep attention focused on what will become of the base..."

"There has been no shortage of suggested alternatives to and international airport... Unfortunately, many have been rejected out of hand as attitudes increasingly become set... South County is overwhelmingly against an airport. Most of Newport Beach residents favor one on the assumption it would mean an end to John Wayne Airport. Otherwise, support for a massive airport at El Toro appears soft, aside from some in the business and development community." 

In the full text of the Times report summarized below, reporter Jean Pasco wrote, "When it became clear that Irvine's plan to use El Toro property taxes for North County parks wasn't feasible under state law, Coad asked for an alternative plan."

The Times also reported that, "Supervisor-elect Chris Norby, who will replace Coad in January, said he supports her demand for park money."

That left some wondering whether Norby would pull his support for Irvine annexation "if it wasn't feasible, under state law" to use El Toro development to build parks in North County. We put the question to Norby and received this prompt reply:

"Pasco's assertion that state law prevents Irvine from passing through revenues for North County parks has made Cynthia a little cautious about proceeding. But Pasco's reading of state law is not really accurate. There are any number of ways the pass-through can be done, and I'm sure they will reach an agreement on doing so. I am supportive of both sides in reaching such an agreement. - Chris Norby"

"Irvine officials met a Friday deadline for telling Orange County Supervisor Cynthia P. Coad how they propose to find money for North County parks from the development of the former El Toro Marine base, but no details of their plan were released."

"Coad cast the swing vote [with Tom Wilson and Todd Spitzer] last month for Irvine's bid before the Board of Supervisors to annex most of the 4,700-acre base. She said her vote was predicated on assurances that North County would get yearly funding from property taxes paid on the development of the base, plus a one-time allotment of about $2 million for parks in her district."

"If she isn't satisfied, she said, she'll put Irvine's annexation bid on the May 14 Board of Supervisors agenda and change her vote."

"Supervisor-elect Chris Norby, who will replace Coad in January, said he supports her demand for park money." However, the Times reporter stops short of saying that Norby would vote against annexation.

Website Editor: If Coad withdraws her support for annexation, it removes Irvine's park development plan from the table and increases the likelihood that the Navy will sell off the base piecemeal in accordance with Measure W.  That outcome is likely to produce less public benefit for Orange County residents. If they can't have their airport, the pro-airport supervisors seem not to care what happens at El Toro.

At its meeting today, the Southern California Association of Governments, a planning body comprised of elected officials from six counties opted not to redo its regional airport plan at this time. El Toro opponents asked the group to start recalculating and reallocating airport capacity without El Toro, which is in the SCAG plan at 30 million annual passengers.

The group voted to take no action at this time and wait to see how litigation and other El Toro issues proceed.  Work on a new 2004 plan will begin in July. They will revisit the matter next month. See more details in the Times article.

"The Southern California Assn. of Governments, the regional planning agency for a vast, six-county area with 17 million residents, has been designated a 'high-risk' recipient of state and federal funds after government auditors found a history of financial and other internal problems…  Caltrans officials assigned the high-risk rating in December and reaffirmed it in February after a team of auditors examined the association's use of state and federal grants during the years 1998 to 2000."

"The audit, finished in June of last year, found 'material weaknesses' in the association's accounting system, purchasing processes and internal controls."

"The association develops transportation, air quality, aviation, housing and other plans to guide future growth in a sprawling region that includes Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Imperial counties."

"In recent years, the association has been at the center of Southern California's airport debate. The agency assigned Orange County a major share of the region's future air travel demand by backing an airport at the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, only to have voters reject the idea."

"Sandra Balmir, a planner with the Federal Highway Administration in Los Angeles… said SCAG has a history of unsatisfactory performance, is not financially stable, has a management system that does not meet standards, has not conformed to the terms and conditions of previous grants and otherwise is 'not responsible.'"

"Legal expenses are consuming a large share of the agency's budget. A series of lawsuits have been filed challenging the association's projections of future population growth and its allocation of future air traffic in Southern California."

Website Editor: SCAG officials meet today and will discuss erasing the late El Toro airport - and the 30 million passengers it was slated to serve by 2025 - from its transportation plan. The Register reports that San Bernardino County Supervisor Jon D. Mikels; chairman of both SCAG and the Southern California Regional Airport Authority is urging a go-slow approach. "There's no immediate reason for a knee-jerk reaction," he said.

"In the post-Measure W era of Orange County air travel, the unanswered question is this: If no El Toro, then what of John Wayne Airport?"

"Many backers of the now dead El Toro airport argued - and feared - that without it, John Wayne Airport would explode to an unbearable size, with flights around the clock and increases in noise and pollution."

"Those dire fears are viewed by many as unlikely. John Wayne Airport operates under limits on its operations - no noisy commercial flights at night and no more than 8.4 million annual passengers - that are in force through 2005. Efforts are under way to extend that pact to allow growth to 9.8 million passengers a year, but still without nighttime flights."

"While various regional governments and officials may call more loudly for John Wayne Airport to grow to handle more of Orange County's needs, none of them has any real ability to force the county to make that happen."

"'Right now I don't think there are any agencies that have any authority to do that,' said Homer Bludau, Newport Beach city manager, of the possibility that outside pressure could force John Wayne to grow."

"He and other local leaders, such as U.S. Rep. Chris Cox, R-Newport Beach, say they think the FAA will honor the extension [of the flight caps]. 'That is my understanding from talking to the lawyers and talking to the FAA,' said Cox, who added that he would introduce legislation to ensure that, if necessary."

For example, "The Southern California Association of Governments is strictly a group that makes planning policy decisions. 'In terms of direct enforcement authority, SCAG doesn't currently have much of any,' said Jeff Lustgarten, a spokesman for the group. 'Airport-planning decisions have pretty much always been made at the local level.'" 

"Money raised from the sale of property at the closed El Toro Marine base should be used to cover the cost of environmental cleanup there, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said this week in a letter to Secretary of the Navy Gordon R. England."

"Irvine Mayor Larry Agran said Feinstein's letter confirms the city's expectations that the land will be cleaned--or that a cleanup plan will be in place--before it is sold."

"According to Navy documents, military activities at El Toro generated waste oil, paint residue, hydraulic fluid, used batteries and other wastes. Before the 1970s, environmental rules and regulations were few and material was simply discarded on the ground or in base landfills. Soil and groundwater contamination identified at El Toro centered around aviation. For example, toxic solvents were used for degreasing aircraft." 

Click here for previous news stories