NEWS - May 2003
Today's Headlines
- click on date for story
Long Beach Press Telegram, May 31, 2003
"More people fly out of L.B."
El Toro Info Site report, May 29, 2003
Elections to watch
El Toro Info Site report, May 28, 2003
The divergent paths ahead for El Toro
El Toro Info Site report, May 27, 2003
Upcoming California elections
OC Register, May 25, 2003
"Home project begins on former base land"
El Toro Info Site report, May 24, 2003
Annexation moving along - recap
Daily Pilot, May 21, 2003
"Pro-El Toro leader off county airport commission"
El Toro Info Site report, May 20, 2003 - updated
Expected quiet passing takes place
El Toro Info Site report, May 19, 2003
Quiet passing
OC Register, May 17, 2003
"El Toro case near resolution"
El Toro Info Site report, May 16,
2003
Two commissions respond differently.
Daily Breeze, May 15, 2003
"Study knocks Hahn’s LAX"
Press Enterprise, May 14, 2003
"Boeing to conduct tests of new airliner at base"
El Toro Info Site report, May 13, 2003
Wilson moves to drop AWG President from ALUC
LA Times, May 12, 2003
"Ontario's Airport Ready, and Willing, to Grow"
El Toro Info Site report, May 10, 2003
ALUC continues stalling the Board of Supervisors
El Toro Info Site report, May 9,
2003
Ken Maddox, Candidate for State Senate
El Toro Info Site report, May 9, 2003
Newport Beach keeps two seats on ALUC
El Toro Info Site report, May 8, 2003
Navy repeats that they will clean El Toro
LA Times, May 7, 2003
"Supervisors OK El Toro Traffic Study"
El Toro Info Site report, May 6, 2003 - updated
Irvine annexation agreement on the Board
agenda - approved
Daily Pilot, May 6, 2003 - updated
"Assembly run is next move for supervisor."
El Toro Info Site report, May 5, 2003
Two anti-airport supervisors also anti-light
rail
LA Times, May 3, 2003
"FAA Leaves Long Beach Limits Intact"
"The decision on airport noise restrictions and
flight caps, coupled with an earlier deal at John Wayne Airport,
puts more pressure on LAX."
Click here for previous
news stories
Long Beach
Press Telegram, May 31, 2003
"More people fly out of L.B."
"The number of passengers using Long Beach Airport continues to spiral upward,
according to the latest activity report released by officials."
"Led by a more than 425-percent increase in passengers flying on JetBlue
Airways compared with the same four-month period from January through April
in 2002, the airport saw 380,501 travelers fly into and out of the facility
as of the end of April 2003."
"The primary driving force behind the continued growth is the airport's march
toward full use of its 41 allotted commercial daily departures and landings,
or flight slots . . .. As of Friday, 40 of 41 daily flight slots were
being used, with the last spot scheduled to go into use in late June when
JetBlue starts up another nonstop daily run to New York City."
"The airport projects 2.5 million passengers could fly into and out of Long
Beach by the end of 2003, compared with 1.5 million in 2002."
Website Editor: For the same four-month period, passenger service is up
0.5% at Ontario, and 5.9% at John Wayne airport. LAX passengers are down
1.8%.
A new capacity cap went into effect at JWA as of January 1, 2003 but administrative
steps to implement the increase and use the allowed slots are moving slowly.
Frontier Airlines announced it will begin operating at Orange County in July.
Plans for construction of additional gates will come later.
El Toro Info Site report,
May 29, 2003
Elections to watch
We recently reported on a couple of
California legislature elections coming up next year. The 70th Assembly District
Republican primary also will be contested with the party's candidate likely
to win the election. The district is comprised of Newport Beach, Irvine,
Tustin, Lake Forest, Laguna Woods, Laguna Beach, most of Aliso Viejo and
a small portion of Laguna Hills.
When Newport Beach is lumped with South County in a district, we can expect
an interest split on the airport issue. This time Chuck DeVore of Irvine,
an outspoken opponent of El Toro airport, is running against Cristi Cristich
of Newport Beach.
Where does the Newport Beach resident stand on El Toro? In 1996 when airport
opponents were trying to overturn Measure A, Cristich was quoted an the Orange
County Register article Businesswomen show support for El Toro airport:
Cristich, president of Anaheim-based Cristek Interconnects Inc.,
said the lack of access to a nearby international airport means she must send
out her high-tech airplane components to Los Angeles International Airport
by 2:30 p.m. to ensure overnight delivery to customers.
"There are no flights from Orange County. We have to go to LAX," Cristich
said. "Sometimes we might as well be driving to Arizona for certain time periods."
El Toro Info Site report,
May 28, 2003
The divergent paths ahead for El Toro
Today's OC Register reports "Tuesday night the Irvine City Council took
some steps in moving forward. The council unanimously approved the [El Toro]
environmental impact report, the general plan amendment, the zone change and
the application to annex the base at its meeting." Now the Great Park will
move forward on one of several paths.
The
city's current timetable is the best case scenario. The much-publicized
schedule has the sale process beginning this year and the land transferred
to private hands in early 2004.
That February 2003 timeline is already about six months behind an earlier
April 2002 schedule delayed by Supervisors Smith, Silva, and Coad,
with the latter performing her famous flip-flop vote first for and then
against a pre-annexation agreement.
Now it is the Airport Working Group's turn to delay the reuse process.
If the AWG files a lawsuit against the Irvine EIR and annexation, much will
depend upon their case and the luck of the draw as to which court hears it.
AWG filed objections to the EIR during its preparation process that can provide
basis for a lawsuit.
A delay of annexation and the land sale into 2004 raises worse case scenarios.
Some center around the fact that Supervisor Charles Smith is next in line
to become President of the Southern California Association of Governments,
SCAG, in the Spring of 2004. Thanks to his reappointment to SCAG by Board
Chairman Tom Wilson, Smith will be in a strong position to invite the state
government to overrule local authority on El Toro reuse.
As SCAG President, Smith and his pro-El Toro staff can delay release of
SCAG's 2004 Regional Transportation Plan. It is the 2004 plan that removes
El Toro from the regional airport mix. Until then, the 2001 plan with a 30
MAP El Toro airport remains the official plan.
SCAG - in its capacity as the official state-sanctioned transportation-planning
agency - can promote a state-mandated regional airport authority with implementation
powers in the California legislature. SCAG recently evidenced a desire to
create a Regional
Airport Authority.
A similar state-created airport agency in San Diego has the power to overrule
local control. It is not over until it is over.
El Toro Info Site
report, May 27, 2003
Upcoming California elections
This
website has a policy of not taking sides in election campaigns between
anti-airport candidates. Therefore, we will sit out the fight between Supervisor
Tom Wilson and ETRPA Chairwoman Mimi Walters for the 73rd Assembly seat
on the Republican slate. Both are solidly anti-El Toro.
Wilson sent us a press release reporting that he has the endorsement
of all four of his fellow supervisors. Today we received a Walters' press
release announcing that she also has the endorsements of Supervisors Campbell,
Norby and Silva, but apparently not of Chuck Smith.
It looks like a lot of Republican money and energy and anti-airport
good will is going to be spent on an internal party fight in a district
where winning the Republican nomination usually equates to being elected.
We do take a position favoring Assemblyman John Campbell over Ken Maddox
in the race for the Republican nomination for the 35th District Senate seat.
Campbell opposed the El Toro airport. His
said so in unambiguous terms and repeats the position on his campaign
website.
Maddox was solidly pro-airport in the past and maintains ties to airport
proponents. He recently sent us a press release headlined "Orange County
Supervisor Chuck Smith Endorses Ken Maddox for State Senate." "Supervisor
Smith's endorsement means a lot to our campaign," said Maddox spokesman Jimmy
Camp in the release. It also means a lot to us, given Maddox's past position
supporting El Toro airport.
OC Register, May 25, 2003
"Home project begins on former base land"
"After 11 years of planning, haggling and lawsuits, the U.S. Navy handed
over more than half of the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station to Tustin on
May 14, 2002. The 1,600-acre base officially closed in 1999 [when the nearby
El Toro closed.]
But the hand-over and development plans were delayed because of an
eight-year land spat with the Santa Ana Unified School District . . .
The dispute escalated into five lawsuits."
"John Laing Homes will break ground Thursday on the first component
of . . . a 376-home, 30-acre development called Tustin Field at Edinger
and Harvard avenues."
"'This is a tremendous milestone for the Tustin Legacy project,' Mayor
Wills Worley said in a prepared statement. 'After more than a 10-year
planning effort and numerous challenges, implementation of the Base Reuse
Plan is finally becoming a reality.'"
Website Editor: The Tustin
auction raised expectations for the Navy sale of El Toro. Heritage
Fields at El Toro soon will follow suit. See story below.
El Toro Info Site report,
May 24, 2003
Annexation moving along - recap
The Irvine City Council will meet on Tuesday, May 27 at 4:00 PM to
officially approve the environmental impact report for the Great Park development.
This step forward for the project is necessary under California's Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA).
The City Council then officially will submit an annexation request
to the Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO). LAFCO is expected to review the project over the
summer in an expeditious manner and approve annexation.
The Navy has said that it will begin the land sale once annexation
occurs. Incorporating the base property into the City of Irvine will increase
its market value. An Airport Working Group lawsuit
appears to have failed to block the sale and likely will be settled.
Daily Pilot, May
21, 2003
"Pro-El Toro leader off county airport commission"
"County Chairman Tom Wilson successfully swept the Airport Working
Group's president from his seat on a county airport planning commission
Tuesday . . His fellow supervisors joined
him in unanimously agreeing to remove [Tom] Naughton from the Airport
Land Use Commission.
"Wilson said. 'County policy has changed with regard to El Toro.
Therefore, I felt that a change in representation was appropriate.'"
"Supervisor Jim Silva, who represents Costa Mesa and Newport Beach,
said he supported the move. 'I just felt that, as the chairman of the board,
that Tom Wilson would be allowed to do that,' Silva said. 'The airport
is behind us.'"
"However, James Campbell, the chief of staff for Supervisor Chuck
Smith, said his boss had not given up the ghost for an El Toro Airport
. . . 'There are still 3,600 feet [?] of runway out there,' Campbell said."
El Toro Info Site report,
May 20, 2003 - updated
Expected quiet passing takes place
The Board of Supervisors removed pro-El Toro diehard Tom Naughton
from the Airport Land Use Commission today. There was no reason expressed
publicly and no discussion. See the story immediately below. It remains
to be seen whether the ALUC staff comes to terms
with the reality that there is no airport at El Toro and that there
will not be one.
Funds from the Local Redevelopment Authority were redistributed
by a 5-0 vote approving agenda item 39.
El Toro Info Site report,
May 19, 2003
Quiet passing
Two items of El Toro interest are on the Board of Supervisors'
Consent Calendar tomorrow, where they could be acted upon quietly with
no discussion. Consent items are passed as a group unless one or more
is singled out for comment.
Item 2 calls for the early removal
of AWG President Tom Naughton from the Airport Land Use Commission.
With the item on the Consent Calendar, Supervisor Smith could be spared
from defending his 2001 appointment of Naughton.
Item 39 calls for the folding of the El Toro Local Redevelopment
Authority's remaining funds back into John Wayne Airport and the County
General Fund from whence its reported $50-60 million dollars came. For
auld lang syne, we have published the
last LRA report that we had from Gary Simon at the end of November
2001 when the agency still had $11 million of 13K (General Fund) and $10
million of 14M (JWA) money left in its budget to play with.
OC Register, May 17, 2003
"El Toro case near resolution"
"A lawsuit
that seeks to force the Navy to do more pollution testing at the old
El Toro air base [in an Environmental Impact Study] could soon be resolved."
"The Airport Working Group said 'intensive settlement discussions'
during the past two months have led to an agreement in principle that
calls for the Navy to provide regulators with more information on pollution
sites noted on the Navy's environmental review of the base."
"Also, the tentative agreement calls for the Navy to perform
more analysis of how removal of the old runways might affect air quality.
Some 900 acres of the old base are paved with runways, taxiways, aircraft
parking areas, roads and slabs for buildings."
"Breaking up and crushing the concrete for recycling would raise
dust from trucks hauling off the concrete."
"Under terms of the proposal, the Navy also said it would pay
the group's attorney fees."
"The Navy is expected to complete the transfer of the base land
to Irvine sometime this summer; resolution
of the lawsuit would help ensure that that process is not delayed."
Website Editor: The AWG has abandoned efforts to get the Navy
to retain the runways for possible future use by covering them with
dirt.
AWG also is negotiating with ETRPA to resolve the group's lawsuit
against Measure W.
El Toro Info Site
report, May 16, 2003
Two commissions respond differently.
The Local Area Formation Commission, LAFCO, and the Airport
Land Use Commission, ALUC, both operate under state charter but the
similarity ends there. LAFCO is responsible for approving the Irvine
annexation of El Toro and is moving the process along quickly. ALUC is
responsible for setting rules for land development in "airport environs"
and is stalling the removal of restrictions around El Toro.
On March 4, the Board of Supervisors approved a pre-annexation
tax agreement with Irvine. On March 7, 2003, LAFCO staff released a
Request for Proposal (RFP) seeking a consultant to perform a legally
required fiscal impact analyses of the city's funding plan. The staff report
said, "Staff will make every effort to keep the process moving forward
as expeditiously as possible while cognizant of the depth of analysis
required for this complex project."
On Wednesday May 14, LAFCO staff recommended the selection of
Economic & Planning Systems, Inc., to perform the work and LAFCO
commissioners approved the contract.
Meanwhile, at ALUC, a February 25 Board of Supervisors' resolution
seeking removal of airport restrictions around El Toro has made no progress.
Joan Golden, the John Wayne Airport employee who functions as ALUC
Executive Director, came to Thursday's meeting with no recommendation
for action. Instead, she requested that the largely
pro-airport commission provide such "direction to staff, as the Commission
deems appropriate."
Despite pressure to get moving from Board Chairman Tom Wilson's
office, the Commissioners, with the support of county attorneys, opted
to take no action. They noted that EIR's 563 and 573 for El Toro Airport
have not been withdrawn and used that as their argument for retaining
the development controls.
Daily Breeze, May 15,
2003
"Study knocks Hahn’s LAX"
"Harman says she won’t back proposed airport changes
because of security risks. Report angers mayor’s staff."
"Mayor James Hahn’s proposed $9 billion Los Angeles International
Airport renovation would do little to improve security and could create
new vulnerabilities to terrorism at the sprawling facility, according
to a new study [by the Santa Monica-based RAND research firm] commissioned
by Rep. Jane Harman."
"Harman . . . took aim at the plan’s centerpiece: moving all
passenger check-in, pick-up and baggage-check facilities to the Manchester
Square neighborhood more than a mile east of LAX and using a tram to
shuttle passengers to the terminal."
"The study, said scattering the airport facilities would require
more security personnel to protect a larger area, and that the tram
could become a tempting terror target and impede evacuation of the terminal
in case of an attack or other emergency."
"Harman has called for dispersing more air traffic to other
airports in the region, a move Hahn supports and that the RAND study
speculated could make LAX a less tempting target for terrorists."
Press Enterprise, May 14,
2003
"Boeing to conduct tests of new airliner at base"
" The fledgling March Inland Port,
which still hasn't landed a cargo carrier, has a paying customer for
the next two weeks. Boeing Co., the aircraft manufacturer, has returned
with its newest 777-300 Extended Range airliner to conduct a series of
flight tests at the cargo port."
"The 777-300 ER will carry 365 passengers up to 7,420 miles
or 301 passengers up to 9,170 miles, and can cruise at 557 miles per
hour."
El Toro Info Site report,
May 13, 2003
Wilson moves to drop AWG President from ALUC
Board of Supervisors Chairman Tom Wilson filed notice with
his Board colleagues that he wants to remove Tom Naughton,
President of the Airport Working Group, from a seat on the
Airport Land Use Commission. The matter will be voted upon at the
May 20th Board meeting. Wilson wrote:
I propose to remove Mr. Tom Naughton from the Airport Land Use
Commission effective immediately.
I have confirmed with County Counsel that this is an appropriate
action. In regard to Board of Supervisors’ appointees, who serve
a four-year term: “Any Member may be removed at anytime by the body
appointing that member”.
The previous pro-airport Board appointed Naughton to the
ALUC, after
Supervisor Chuck Smith torpedoed Wilson's reappointment of a Laguna
Woods resident. Naughton, other pro-El Toro members, and the
ALUC staff have stubbornly stalled removal
of the airport land use restrictions around El Toro.
LA Times, May 12, 2003
"Ontario's Airport Ready, and Willing, to Grow"
"The roomy facility is seen as the Southland's best hope
of relieving airport crowding."
"Ontario offers a rare double windfall for Southern California's
transportation plans: an airport with room to grow nestled in a region
that welcomes more airplanes . . . Ontario is seen as Southern California's
best hope to relieve crowding at aging Los Angeles International Airport
and to accept travelers from Orange County, where a proposal to build
an airfield at the former El Toro Marine base was defeated."
"Regional transportation planners say they will allocate
about one-fifth
of the 154 million annual passengers expected to use Southern
California airports by 2030 to Ontario International - which would
represent nearly a fivefold increase over the 6.5 million it served last
year."
"The proposition has been met with enthusiasm at Ontario
City Hall."
"Ontario International operates 24 hours a day without the
noise curfews or capacity limits that airports in Burbank, Santa Ana
and Long Beach operate under." Click
here for the entire article.
El Toro Info Site report,
May 10, 2003
ALUC continues stalling the Board of Supervisors
Readers of this website are familiar with the Airport Land
Use Commission. It is a state-mandated Newport
Beach, and John Wayne-dominated commission that refuses to accept
that El Toro is not an airport.
Fourteen months after voters amended the County General
Plan to eliminate El Toro airport and nearly three months after the
Board of Supervisors (voting 3-1, with Supervisor Smith opposed) instructed
ALUC to change its Airport Environs Land Use Plan to reflect the facts
of life, ALUC staff released the commission's agenda for the May 15 meeting:
3. Discussion of Board of Supervisors Resolution No. 03-056
repealing Resolutions No. 01-361 and No. 01-362 Relating to the
MCAS El Toro Site and John Wayne Airport: A discussion of the
recent Board of Supervisors resolution repealing the previous Resolutions
for the ASMP (Airport System Master Plan) and ALP (Airport Layout Plan)
for the MCAS El Toro site and for John Wayne Airport;
Recommendation: 1) Receive and file Board Resolution
03-056 and the February 25, 2003 Minute Order of the Orange County
Board of Supervisors acting as the Board of Supervisors and MCAS El
Toro Local Redevelopment Authority and this ALUC staff report for Agenda
Item 3; and/or 2) Provide other direction to staff as the Commission deems
appropriate.
In other words, ALUC staff, which frequently recommends
action for the commissioners to vote upon, has not done so in this
case. The Supervisors' February resolution, telling the commission
what to do, is thereby stalled by pro-airporters for at least another
month.
El Toro Info Site report,
May 9, 2003
Ken Maddox, Candidate for State Senate
A recent fax from candidate Ken Maddox came headlined
as follows:
"Orange County Supervisor Chuck Smith Endorses Ken
Maddox for State Senate"
"Supervisor Smith's endorsement means a lot to our campaign,"
said a Maddox spokesman.
Maddox
sought to take a conciliatory position on El Toro reuse in
a letter to the Irvine World News. However, we came across the following
quote in an Airport Working Group mailer put out just prior to the
Measure W vote.
"The brochures for Great Park paint a pretty picture. But look
at the numbers. Great Park will cost Orange County taxpayers a fortune
in higher taxes. There's no way around it."
- Orange County Assemblyman Ken Maddox
Sounds like Supervisor Smith, doesn't it?
El Toro Info Site report,
May 9, 2003
Newport Beach keeps two seats on ALUC
Thursday, the League of Cities elected Newport Beach
City Councilman Don Webb to fill the seat on the Airport Land Use
Commission being vacated by fellow Newporter Gary Adams.
The ALUC is responsible for decisions on the development
of land in airport environs. ALUC staff and board members have stubbornly
balked at lifting airport-related regulations on the land surrounding
El Toro. Thus far they have ignored recommendations from Congressmen
Cox and Calvert and the Department of Defense to remove the restrictions.
They
have yet to act on a February 25th resolution of the Board of Supervisors
to that effect.
Two of the seven members of ALUC are from Newport Beach.
ALUC
staff, which recommends commission action or inaction, operates
out of John Wayne Airport.
If the commission does not change their Airport Environs
Land Use Plan at this month's meeting, it seems like time to change
the makeup of the commission. Newport Beach member, Tom Naughton of
the Airport Working Group, was appointed by the Board of Supervisors
when
Chuck Smith was in charge and presumably can be removed
by the same body with Tom Wilson in charge. The ALUC's paid staff
members are county employees and should be held responsive to Board
resolutions.
El Toro Info Site report,
May 8, 2003
Navy repeats that they will clean El Toro
An April 25 letter from the
Director, Base Realignment and Closure Department, repeats
assurances "of the Navy's commitment to complete all necessary remedial
actions before title to the property is transferred… and even after
the title is transferred, the federal government is required to conduct
further remediation, if additional contamination . . . is discovered."
LA Times, May 7, 2003
"Supervisors OK El Toro Traffic Study"
"Irvine's annexation of the former El Toro Marine Corps
Air Station inched forward Tuesday as the Orange County Board of
Supervisors agreed on plans for developing 200 acres of county property
there. The county intends to build government offices on the property."
"The board's decision on how much traffic its acreage
might generate was needed before Irvine can ask [LAFCO] a state
panel this month to allow its takeover of 3,700 acres — by far the
largest chunk of base. A separate 1,000-acre parcel will remain in
federal hands as a wildlife habitat."
"Until last year, county officials had spent $60 million
planning for an airport at the former base."
"The county will get about 82% of the property taxes
generated by the base's development. But once the city creates a
redevelopment zone, the county's share can be spent only on developing
or improving the 200 acres that it owns."
"That provision caused Supervisor Chuck Smith to provide
the lone 'no' vote to the agreement, calling it a 'massive giveaway.'
The property tax money, Smith argued, should go into the county's
general fund and be available for expenses elsewhere."
See yesterday's website report below.
El Toro Info Site report,
May 6, 2003 - updated
Irvine annexation agreement on the Board
agenda - approved
The tax allocation agreement reached
two months ago between the county and the City of Irvine
was ratified this morning, 3-1, with Supervisor Jim Silva absent
and Chuck Smith opposing the measure. The agreement, which is necessary
for annexation of the former El Toro base, was delayed last week
at the request of Supervisor Bill Campbell.
Campbell sought to resolve disagreements between the
City and county staffers who seek a higher traffic count and greater
intensity of use for that portion of the property that will be
transferred to the county. Irvine planners agreed to address county
comments in the final Environment Impact Report.
Under the agreement, the city will receive 18 percent
of future tax revenue from the property and the county will get
82 percent. The county's share of any increase due to redevelopment
will be used for infrastructure on the land deeded to the county.
As pointed out by Supervisor Norby this will avoid the need to tap
the general fund for these improvements.
Daily Pilot, May 6, 2003
- updated
"Assembly run is next move for supervisor."
"In an e-mail, Newport Coast's Tom Wilson tells supporters
he will go after Bates' 73rd District seat."
"A few months after taking over as chairman of the
Board of Supervisors, Tom Wilson now says he's ready to take a
bigger step up the political ladder. He'll seek a chair in the state
Assembly."
"In the March primary, Wilson is expected to face
Laguna Niguel Councilwoman Mimi Walters, who
has also announced she will run for the seat."
"Wilson said he won't need to relinquish his seat
on the board to run for the Assembly."
"Tom Wilson will seek the nomination of the Republican
Party to replace Assemblywoman Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel),
who has endorsed Walters."
"Tom Wilson is well-suited to run for the state post.
[said] Dave Ellis, a consultant with the Airport Working Group who
often found himself on the opposite side of Wilson on airport issues,
[and] lauded the decision."
Website Editor: Pro-airport Supervisor Jim Silva
currently is Vice-Chairman of the Board of Supervisors but that
could change next year before the new Assembly is sworn in. Wilson's
departure could also leave his appointee, Supervisor Chuck Smith,
as President of SCAG in 2004. SCAG is scheduled to produce a new 2004
regional transportation plan that excludes El Toro airport.
Wilson's official
announcement of his candidacy was released this afternoon.
El Toro Info Site
report, May 5, 2003
Two anti-airport supervisors also anti-light
rail
Throughout the war over El Toro airport, most county
residents evidenced little passion on the issue. Feelings ran
strong in South County and Newport Beach but were tepid (though primarily
anti-airport) elsewhere. The debate over CenterLine light rail has
some of the same characteristics, even raising questions regarding
the
spending of taxpayer money to influence an upcoming vote on
the project. This website takes no position on the CenterLine..
In an
op-ed contribution in today's OC Register, "The
non-existent case for CenterLine", two anti-El Toro supervisors,
Chris Norby and Bill Campbell, present their position with arguments
reminiscent of the airport fight.
They write, "The real question is not the availability
of public money, but whether there is a public need for CenterLine.
Who would actually ride it?"
"Would luggage-toting travelers really use CenterLine
to access John Wayne airport? Would you?"
Instead, Norby and Campbell say, "Let's look at
ARTIC (Anaheim Regional Transit Intermodal Center), where air
travelers could actually check their luggage as they board high-speed
rail direct from Anaheim to Ontario airport."
Norby and Campbell conclude, "Let us build something
because we must, not just because we can."
LA Times, May 3, 2003
"FAA Leaves Long Beach Limits Intact"
"The decision on airport noise restrictions and
flight caps, coupled with an earlier deal at John Wayne Airport,
puts more pressure on LAX."
"The Federal Aviation Administration has endorsed
a deal between Long Beach officials and several airlines that leaves
flight limits in place at the city's tiny Art Deco airport, effectively
eliminating the facility's ability to relieve overcrowding at Los Angeles
International."
"In a letter to Long Beach Airport Manager Chris
Kunze, federal regulators said that a 1995 federal court settlement
capping the number of commercial takeoffs there at 41 per day
is legal."
"Airport operators in Long Beach and Santa Ana
[John Wayne] had feared the FAA might put an end to noise limits
enacted at both facilities in the mid-1980s, citing a 1990 law that restricts
how airports can institute flight caps."
"The FAA's reaffirmation of noise restrictions
at the two facilities puts more pressure on Los Angeles city
officials to accommodate a projected doubling of passengers in
the region by 2025. LAX will be forced to accept a majority of the
167 million
passengers expected to use 10 Southern California airports, unless
officials can persuade travelers — and airlines — to go elsewhere."
"City officials were ecstatic about the agreement,
saying that it will go a long way toward ameliorating residents'
concerns about airport expansion." Website Editor: Airport Working
Group members have been trying to stir up pro-El Toro airport sentiment
amongst Long Beach residents and officials by playing on fears of
LGB expansion.
Click here for previous
news stories