Click here for previous news stories

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El Toro Info Site report, May 31, 2006 - updated
Regional aviation demand still below pre-911 levels

The six airports in the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) region -  LAX, John Wayne, Ontario, Bob Hope, Long Beach and Palm Springs – served 27,824,423 passengers in the first four months of the year. This is up slightly from 2005 traffic but the total still hung stubbornly below the 27,906,135 record set in 2001.

Regional airports continue to compete for shares of what has been a market with no growth since the pre-911 period. Predictions of a strong summer travel season, if correct, could change the picture.

Bob Hope (BUR) showed the best performance, up 7.6 percent over last year. BUR continued its run of record months and may continue to do so, buoyed by new service. In May, JetBlue's fifth NY flight will show up in the airport’s stats. In June Delta resumes nonstop service to Atlanta. Late in June, JetBlue will start daily nonstop service from Burbank to Orlando.

LAX lost a little ground compared to last year as did John Wayne and Long Beach. Ontario was flat compared to 2005. The reasons are several.

John Wayne's growth has stalled as Orange County continues to restrict airlines from adding seats, even with the airport operating below its allowed 10.3 million passenger cap. So far this year, JWA had 2 percent fewer commercial flight operations than in 2005.

 Long Beach has not found a carrier to fill its available slots for regional jets.

Ontario has no current passenger or flight restrictions - and the greatest potential - but has been slow to entice more flights to the Inland Empire location.

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El Toro Info Site report, May 30, 2006
Memorial Day Weekend - JWA 

I'm just back from visiting family in Texas, after braving the airport crowds predicted for the holiday weekend. My experience is a small sample of what the statistics lead one to expect - airline service is the bottleneck, not airport capacity. 

Friday afternoon there was ample parking at John Wayne Airport's Main Street Lot. 

The security screening line took ten minutes including retying my shoelaces.  It took longer to buy food at JWA's sandwich counter - because the airport's restaurant is closed for remodeling. 

At our gate, and the one next to it, American Airlines was seeking volunteers to give up their seats on overbooked planes. It was no surprise that plane seats are in short supply since American recently abandoned flying from Long Beach to Dallas-Ft. Worth and did not replace the lost service. 

We departed right on time.

I would like to have returned to Orange County on Monday night but could not get a seat. Anyone who has ever been in the John Wayne terminal in the evening knows that it is nearly empty and could physically accommodate many more of the travelers who want to come here, if the airlines would carry them.  

My Tuesday return flight also was overbooked, just like the outbound flight I took on Friday afternoon. Again, the plane left on time with no apparent airport related delays at either end.  When we arrived at John Wayne, all was serene. There were planes parked at about half of the gates. The monitor showed a handful of flights were scheduled to arrive in the next hour.  There was no sense of a holiday crush.

If the number of air travelers is going to increase in the future, I hope that the industry organizes to efficiently use the airport capacity that exists before embarking on any hugely expensive building programs. If the major airlines can't utilize John Wayne and Long Beach, what would they have done with El Toro thrown into the mix?

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El Toro Info Site report, May 26, 2006
Long Beach grassroots group seeks support for online petition

LBHUSH2 has launched an "Online Petition" that will be presented to the Long Beach City Council on Tuesday, June 13th. The grassroots organization is challenging an airport expansion environmental impact report and asks that citizens who oppose any growth at LGB follow this link to sign their petition.

Posting this notice does not mean that the El Toro Info Site has decided to support LBHUSH2's position. Generally, we back utilization of existing civilian airport runway capacity before new airports are constructed. The LBHUSH2 request is published for informational purposes and as a courtesy to another volunteer group.
 
Long Beach opinions on El Toro were divided. Many residents favored converting El Toro to commercial aviation in hopes that a big Orange County airport would divert flights from their community.

The Southern California Association of Governments, SCAG fueled this NIMBY sentiment by threatening Long Beach with expansion if El Toro was not used for an airport.

However, the city's newspaper supported both Orange County anti-airport Measures F and W.

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LA Times, May 24, 2006 - updated May 25
"Summer at LAX Likely to Heat Up as Travelers Test Airlines' Capacity"

"Full airplanes will be more the pattern at Los Angeles International Airport this summer than at any time in decades as officials prepare for the busiest travel season here since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks."

"About 200,000 more travelers are expected to use LAX from Memorial Day through Labor Day compared with a similar period last year, even as the number of seats to U.S. destinations remains flat."

"Aviation experts warn that the mismatch could force passengers to be denied boarding even if they have tickets, or lengthen waits when flights are delayed by weather or mechanical problems because no other planes are available."

"Regional airports in Burbank, Ontario and Santa Ana are expecting a record number of travelers."

Click for more . . .

Website Editor: While the airlines - and passengers - will be stressed compared to last year, the physical capacity of LAX is far from being tested. While these published estimates put this summer's 3 month June, July and August passenger count at between 17.6 and 17.7 million passengers, it still lags the 19.0 million who used the airport in the same three months of 2001.

A press release gives this estimate for the longer "summer period" including Memorial Day in May and Labor Day in September: "Airport officials forecast this summer airlines will serve approximately 18.7 million passengers at LAX and about 2 million at ONT, an increase of 200,000 passengers at LAX and 50,000 at ONT."

Comparable data for the same longer period in 2001 was not provided. We estimate the number of passengers to have been approximately 20 million at LAX in the pre-911 summer.

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El Toro Info Site report, May 23, 2006
Its Miramar

Click for several reports on the decision of a San Diego committee to recommend joint use of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar to replace Lindbergh Field.

“The Pentagon has vehemently objected to sharing land at the base, and a 1996 federal law prohibits commercial aircraft from using it. And to date, none of San Diego's congressional representatives have shown any support for a commercial airport at Miramar.”

The recommendation goes to the full commission next month and to voters in November. (See article below for the draft ballot language.) “The ballot proposition would mark the second time in less than 13 years that county voters have been asked about a civilian airport at Miramar. In 1994, when the installation was a Navy base, an advisory measure asked whether Miramar should be used for an international airport if the military ever moved out. It passed 52 percent to 48 percent.”

In making their selection, the San Diego Regional Airport Authority used very different criteria than those employed by the Los Angeles-based Southern California Association of Governments. SCAG spurns development of LAX near downtown in favor of building in remote locations such as Palmdale.  The San Diego planners rejected remote sites in favor of short commutes to the airport.

A commission member said of Miramar, "It is at the center of our transportation system. It is at the center of our economic growth. It is near the center geographically. It is ideally suited."

SCAG favors regionalization with multiple airports. San Diego rejected a two airport approach as too costly.

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San Diego Regional Airport Authority media release, May 22, 2006
San Diego committee recommends Miramar, if . . .

"At a meeting today of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority's Strategic Planning Committee, Airport Authority Board Members on the committee voted 3-1 to forward  the following motion to the full Board for its consideration at its June 5 public meeting:

"Based upon the comprehensive and exhaustive studies conducted by the Authority staff and its consultants over a 3-1/2 year period. . . [move] to select MCAS Miramar for the November ballot and [place] the following question in a ballot measure for November 7, 2006: 

"Shall San Diego County government officials make every effort to persuade Congress and the military to make available, by 2020, approximately 3,000 of over 23,000 acres at MCAS Miramar for a commercial airport, provided: (1) military readiness and safety are maintained with no cost to the military for relocating or modifying operations; (2) necessary traffic and transportation improvements are made; and (3) no local tax dollars are used on the airport."

Click for more . . .

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El Toro Info Site report, May 20, 2006 - updated May 21
A Great Final Tour

A nostalgic crowd of former Marines and their families returned to El Toro today for a final tour. The emphasis was on the former base's tremendous military role and its place in the lives of the thousands who lived and worked there. The land's future as a Great Park took a secondary but important place in the spotlight.

Great Park Designer Ken Smith told the visitors "We want to retain part of the history. We will take good care of the base."

In the day's only note of disharmony, Major General John K. Davis (Ret.) , a former base commander and the keynote speaker, stated bluntly, "If I had my way, El Toro and Tustin would still be active military bases. Closing the bases was "an obscene waste of taxpayer dollars." He castigated politicians in San Diego for not taking over Miramar when they had the opportunity years ago when "it was available." He said the Marine response to converting Miramar to commercial aviation today would be "Not now. Not never." 

Click here for Len Kranser's photos of the day's events.

More from the OC Register.

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Long Beach Press Telegram, May 20, 2006,  posted May 21
“Airport project set at $158M “

“LONG BEACH — The city estimates that a proposed terminal improvements project and new parking garage at Long Beach Airport would cost about $158.4 million, primarily funded by airport enterprise funds.”

“But the cost estimates and detailed ways to pay for the project are ‘rough’ tallies designed more to be parameters for City Council members to study, city director of public works Christine Andersen said.”

“The report, from Andersen to City Manager Jerry Miller, is in response to continued requests from members of the Council.” More. . .

Website Editor: Last December, this website posted a report What Things Cost.  At the time, no one seemed to have information as to what it would take to build the expansion project alternatives that were being debated. This is the first cost estimate we have seen.

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LA Times, May 20, 2006
"Last Salute at O.C. Base"

"El Toro will be given a final farewell today with speeches, remembrances and tours. Thousands of Marines served at the facility from '43 to '99."

"It will be taps for El Toro Marine Corps Air Station when the curious and the sentimental gather today for a final salute to the base that was closely identified with Orange County for more than half a century."

"Tours will be available between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. for those who want to take a last look before the base is demolished."

Click for the Times' survey of the former base's history.

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El Toro Info Site report, May 19, 2006
John Wayne statistics through April: passengers and air carrier operations off slightly from 2005

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OC Register opinions, May 19, 2006
“The Long View of the Great Park”

TGIF . . . It’s the day of the week noted for mellowness and a day warmed by the coming of springtime.

Today’s Register editorial is uncharacteristically mild. It is almost hopeful in tone.

And Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor politely challenges Irvine to keep its word and make the Great Park’s 20 soccer fields available to leagues from all the surrounding cities. His letter in the Register says, “Irvine, here's your chance to show O.C. voters that this is truly going to be a regional park to be shared by all of the citizens of the county.”

The acrimony seems to be softening - at least for today, and for tomorrow’s open house at the former base.

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Irvine World News, May 18, 2006
"The $1 billion park"

The Irvine newspaper revisits last weeks start of runway demolition, adding a few new details. See "Breaking up is hard to do".

A second IWN article reports that "The Great Park will likely cost about $1 billion to build."
 
"That’s what the Great Park Corp.’s chief financing officer, Colleen Clark, told the city Finance Commission Monday night. The commission was reviewing the park’s 2006-2007 proposed budget." 

"Without knowing what the final plan will include, Clark said similar large-scale projects average $750,000 to $1 million in construction costs per acre – the Great Park’s public portion is 1,347 acres."
 
"As the Great Park staff presented the proposed $30 million budget, commissioners wanted to know about longterm plans for financing the Great Park. 'We’re spending $30 million and we don’t even know what we’re doing yet?' [Finance Chairman] Dressler asked. 'We’re getting the cart before the horse.'”

"Great Park staff maintained that the $30-million budget, $10 million of which will pay Ken Smith’s design team for creating a master plan, is needed to plan the park."
 
"Clark said a five-year business plan is due June 30, a 35-year plan is due in the fall."

In 2001, the anti-park Airport Working Group estimated the cost would be $2.1 billion including $418 million for the land. Irvine received the land free of cost by a transfer from Lennar.

Click here for the latest park time line.

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[SD] North County Times, May 17, 2006 - updated
"Miramar, Pendleton best choices for airport"
 
"Local airport authorities say Miramar and Camp Pendleton Marine Corps bases are the most feasible options for building a new international airport in the county, according to a report released Tuesday by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.
 
"The authority has been charged with finding a new or expanded site to replace Lindbergh Field, the downtown airport that planners say will soon become overcrowded."

"The airport authority board will decide next month on a recommended airport site. That recommendation is scheduled to go to voters in November." 

"Military officials have repeatedly said no local base is fit for an airport, and that the military would fight any airport proposal that involves taking land from --- or sharing it with --- local bases." 

Click for this and several related news reports. Miramar appears to be the airport authority's #1 choice. The Voice of San Diego website report provides the most details on what authority consultants think can be built at Miramar and Pendleton.

Website Editor: The November vote will be non binding. If the Regional Airport Authority puts a military base on the ballot as its recommendation, and voters accept it, the military is not obliged to yield. If they do not, the site selection process will amount to a 3-year, $8 million unproductive exercise.

If the military would yield some land, it has been suggested that an airport at Pendleton could serve O.C. and S.D. counties.  Is it is time for Orange County to join the discussion?

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El Toro Info Site report, May 16, 2006
Reminder: Final Salute to MCAS El Toro this Saturday

The "final salute" to MCAS El Toro and open house will be on Saturday May 20 from 10AM to 2 PM. An estimated 2,000 visitors are expected to take a last look at part of the former base before demolition work begins in earnest.

May 20 is Armed Services Day. Hundreds of veterans are expected to attend including six former generals.

Open trams will be ferrying visitors onto a portion of the runways. Bring your cameras, hats, and sunscreen.

Directions to the Marine Way entrance, at the south side of the property, are posted on the Great Park Corp website. If you have not already done so, please RSVP through that website.

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El Toro Info Site report, May 15, 2006
San Diego ponders O.C.'s question

The Times observes "A consensus appears to be coalescing around the idea that, if San Diego is to replace Lindbergh Field, the new airport will have to be at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, North Island Naval Air Station or Camp Pendleton."

The [San Diego Regional Airport] authority has set a June 5 deadline to pick a site that could be submitted to voters in November."

"Through nearly all of its history, San Diego has depended on the infrastructure kindness of strangers. Without Los Angeles International Airport, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, San Diego County would not be nearly as populous or prosperous," says Steve Erie, a professor of political science at UC San Diego Erie.

The Voice of San Diego asks "'Overgrown Suburb' or Major American City? The Broader Airport Question"

"San Diegans should ask a larger question: What do residents want this region to be when it grows up?"

"Characterizing the broader debate as being about residents' quality of life . . .  will make the multi-billion-dollar [airport] project a tough sell for proponents, said Erie."

"If San Diego County had high unemployment rates and low job growth . . . the argument for a new airport would be easier to make. But San Diego's unemployment rate in March 2006 was almost a full percentage point below the national average."

Website Editor: San Diegans seem to face the question that Orange County voters answered in 2002 when they passed Measure W, the Orange County Central Park and Nature Preserve Initiative and rejected a major commercial airport at El Toro.

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El Toro Info Site report, May12, 2006 - updated May 14
Concrete busting began today

The multi-year process to remove the runways at the former El Toro Marine Base officially commenced this morning during a small ceremony designed - as a Lennar spokesperson said - to "break old ground" in preparation to "break new ground".  A small group of Lennar executives, Irvine political leaders and staffers, Great Park directors and media personnel were on hand at the base's main runway for the much-anticipated event. Lennar's Bob Santos praised the "public - private partnership" that will develop the Great Park and Heritage Fields. He noted that today was the start of the "largest recycling effort in the world."

GPC Chairman Larry Agran reminded the group of the "great civic struggle" that led to this moment.

County, neighboring cities, ETRPA and grass roots representatives will have their opportunity to celebrate at an event this summer that will be organized by Irvine.

Recycled Materials Company's equipment began breaking concrete this morning although there will be a lull while tests are conducted. A guillotine concrete breaker previously shown on this website was not on hand and is being refurbished for the hard work ahead.

Video of this mornings activity will be on TV channels 2, 9 and 50 (KOCE).

Click here for on-site photos by your website editor.

Newspaper coverage of the event is on the Early Bird thread beginning with an OC Register report, "Crews rip into runway at El Toro"

See also the Register report Demolition begins on El Toro runways.

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El Toro Info Site report, May 12, 2006
"TAKE THAT, AIRPORT WORKING GROUP"

"El Toro airport proponents, get ready to lie down in front of the bulldozers."

This all all-caps headline and lead sentence are from Thursday's Daily Pilot. The Pilot said it, not us. We are too sportsmanlike to gloat.

Today, Friday May 12  is the day that demolition begins on the old El Toro airbase runways. As we reported earlier in the week, it's not an open event.  A good viewing spot, for all but a lucky few who will be allowed on base, will be from the Irvine train station.

I plan to take photos of concrete being broken. Hopefully, no one from AWG will sneak in and get broken up too. If they do, I'll get the picture. Come back later for an updated report.
 

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Voice of San Diego, May 11, 2006
"Navy Chief Pans Airport Search"

"Speaking Wednesday morning to a meeting of defense contractors at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter called the [San Diego Regional] airport authority's site-selection process 'illogical' and said the search is passing over reasonable alternatives in favor of pursuing Marine Corps Air Station Miramar."

"'It's not a productive path to insist on an option that's not going anywhere,' Winter said."

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Irvine World News, May 11, 2006
“Park it here”

“The number of fields, courts and parking spaces for the Great Park sports park will be decided soon, maybe even today.”

“In the sports park discussion, the Great Park Board has tough decisions to make. The answers will set the stage for the rest of the Great Park – how the contents will be decided, how public and private partnerships will work, how construction is phased and how money will be made.”

 “The map shows the proposal for the sports park. The board is being asked to either approve this preliminary plan . . . created by a consultant, Griffin Structures Inc.”

“Great Park board members criticized the plan at their April 27 meeting, saying it is not big enough. ‘I think it’s woefully too few sports fields,’ said board member Bill Kogerman.”

Click for more . . .

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El Toro Info Site report, May 10, 2006
Runway demolition starts Friday

The long awaited break up of the old MCAS El Toro runways will commence with a small ceremony on Friday morning at 9:00 AM.
 
A concrete breaker will begin cracking the pavement at the south end of the former airbase's main runway. The guillotine unit pictured has a 2" by 8' striker bar which can break 25,000 square feet of concrete a day.

The demolition is contracted to Recycled Material Company by Lennar. RMCI recycled the former Stapleton Airport in Colorado.

Runway demolition is the physically symbolic conclusion to the 12-year long $150 million fight over the reuse of the base. Work will continue for several years as portions of the old base infrastructure are recycled into building material for what will be created at Heritage Fields and the Great Park.

The project will start on a portion of the base owned by Lennar. While access to the work site is restricted and by invitation only, it can be observed from the Irvine train station on Barranca Parkway. Click here for a Google Maps view of the area.

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Voice of San Diego, May 9, 2006 - revised
"Congress Talks Back"

"Deep down in a voluminous bill outlining next year's Pentagon spending, U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, has fired a warning shot across the bow of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. . . On page 518 of the 552-page bill is a provision banning commercial use of the three local military bases the airport authority is studying as possible homes for a new airport."

"The spending package was approved Friday by a 60-1 vote of the House Armed Services Committee, which Hunter leads as chairman. The bill moves this week to the House floor, just as the airport authority prepares to release in-depth studies May 15 outlining the costs of building commercial airports at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Naval Air Station North Island and Marine Corps Air Station Miramar."

"If approved, Hunter's language would broaden a similar provision that Congress approved in 1996, which prohibited the civilian use of Miramar."

Click for more. . .

Website Editor: This congressional action is a reminder of a 1989 provision that then Orange County Congressman Christopher Cox inserted into a defense bill successfully preventing joint military-civilian use of MCAS El Toro. The Cox amendment thwarted pro-airport county efforts to start commercial aviation use of El Toro.

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El Toro Info Site report, May 7, 2006
Bates and DeYoung on air transportation

Last month, we posed several questions about air transportation to 5th District supervisorial candidates, Cathryn DeYoung and Patricia Pates.
 
Both candidates helped kill El Toro airport. What we wanted to know is what they will do, if elected, to insure that as demand grows Orange County residents and visitors still will be able to get to an airport and find a plane seat.

It is a subject of considerable interest to our website viewers. Supervisors should be right on top of this issue.

We appreciate the time that the candidates and their busy staff took to respond. Click here for our questions and the side-by-side answers that we received.

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Voice of San Diego, May 5, 2006
San Diego comment on John Wayne Airport

In a wide-ranging letter about San Diego's airport expansion plans, Thella F. Bowens, president and CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority observes:

“Airline fares are market-based, airlines often charge more where air service is at a premium - namely, at airports where passenger demand exceeds seat capacity. One only needs to look north to John Wayne International Airport in Orange County, which operates under a legal cap of 10.8 million annual passengers. Far more passengers would like to use that airport, but legally it can't accommodate them. The result? It is one of the most expensive major airports in California to fly into or out of.”

Click for the latest Bureau of Transportation Air Travel Price Index data.

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El Toro Info Site report, May 5, 2006
On time departure data published

Yesterday, the Department of Transportation published on time departure data for the month of March at all major airports in the nation.

The national average percentage for on time departures – defined as the percent of planes leaving less than 15 minutes behind schedule - was 77.4 percent. Southern California airports performed average or better.

The percentage of flights departing on time from local airports is summarized below along with a sampling of other major airports. The results at New York and Boston illustrate that weather is not the sole determinant.

California		Other regions
Long Beach	87.7	Boston	85.1
John Wayne	80.2	Miami	82.4
San Diego	79.9	New York (JFK)	82.2
Ontario	78.0	Atlanta	77.6
LAX	77.3	Las Vegas	72.2
Burbank	77.3	O’Hare	66.3
San Francisco	66.7	National Average	77.4

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LA Times, May 4, 2006
"Lot Full: Burbank Looks for Help"
"A parking shortage has Bob Hope Airport asking for permission to use a Van Nuys facility."

"Passengers at Burbank's Bob Hope Airport this summer may have to park in Van Nuys. With a record number of travelers expected through September, officials expect they will run out of parking and have asked Los Angeles if they can use its Van Nuys park-and-ride lot."

"The parking problem is a symptom of the crowding forecast for the region's four mid-size airports this summer as they continue to siphon flights and passengers away from aging Los Angeles International Airport." See the website report below.

"Southern California's regional airports are victims of their own success. Passengers flocked to the smaller airfields after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to avoid long lines at LAX. Then low-cost carriers chose to place more flights at the suburban outposts."

"Taken together, these factors helped regional facilities serve 30.4% of the region's passengers in 2005, compared to 24% in 2001. LAX, meanwhile, handled 69.6% of the Southland's travelers last year, down from 76% in 2001."

"Parking is already scarce at Burbank . . . Carriers have added more long-haul flights at Burbank, leading passengers to occupy the airport's 6,500 parking spots for longer periods."

"Even though vacant property rings the airport, officials cannot develop parking on it because they signed an agreement with the city of Burbank last year promising not to build anything for several years."

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El Toro Info Site report, May 4, 2006
Regional aviation demand remains soft

The six airports in the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) region, as a group, experienced a slight decline in passenger use in the three months ending March 31. The combined numbers for LAX, John Wayne, Ontario, Burbank, Long Beach and Palm Springs totaled 20.4 million. This was just under the number of air travelers in the first quarter of last year and about at the level of the first quarter of 2001, pre-911.

LAX continued its long slump with domestic and international traffic lagging behind 2005 numbers by 1.5 and 1.8 percent respectively.

The numbers suggest that many of LAX’s lost passengers switched to Burbank which had a record setting three month period. Additional flights by JetBlue accommodated most of the increase.

Palm Springs airport is regularly experiencing record months and has expansion plans.

However, John Wayne, Long Beach and Ontario airports each operated just below their 2005 levels during the January-March 2006 quarter.

Other observations made last month continue to apply.  Airports and airlines in the SCAG region - centered on Los Angeles - are competing amongst themselves for shares of what has been a static market.

San Diego’s Lindberg Field, which is not part of the L.A. region, finished its first quarter 2.8 percent ahead of last year.

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OC Register, May 3, 2006
“County asks Irvine to rethink who controls Great Park plan”

“Orange County supervisors asked the Irvine City Council on Tuesday to reconsider its vote to assert ultimate control over the Great Park, soon to begin rising at the old El Toro air base.”

“The resolution says the Irvine council's April 25 vote regarding the Great Park Corporation board's authority ‘has undone the safeguards put in place to protect the public investment in the park, jeopardized the consensus-building efforts that have surrounded the redevelopment process, and threatened that the park will no longer be the regional asset promised to voters.’"

The Times reports “Irvine is criticized on park takeover”.

"Irvine council members and supervisors have squabbled for years over the vision of the park and who should control it."

"The supervisors' protest Tuesday was merely symbolic. The county gave up authority over the land when supervisors allowed the city to annex the El Toro property in 2003."

Website Editor: See the historical note in yesterday’s website report below.

"Irvine Mayor Beth Krom told supervisors that the city always was legally responsible for decisions about land use, zoning and budgets for the park, although she conceded that that control was 'somewhat invisible.'"

"Supervisor Chris Norby said the airport plan was killed 'with the certain promise that the Great Park would be administered by a collective body and not just a particular city.'"

Click for more from both newspapers . . .

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El Toro Info Site report, May 2, 2006 - revised
BOS vs. Boss

The Board of Supervisors continues to wrestle with Great Park boss Larry Agran for some measure of control over the development of the park.

The Irvine Council has taken heat for its 3-2 vote of April 25 taking greater control of the decision making for the park and reducing whatever independent authority the Irvine-created GPC board may have had.

Today, Supervisors Campbell and Wilson aired their position in an op-ed piece in the Register.

Chairman Campbell also introduced a BOS resolution calling for a return of authority from the Irvine City Council to the Great Park Corp board. The advisory measure passed unanimously this morning.

It remains to be seen how Irvine will respond.

As an historical footnote, the county considered developing and controlling the park after passage of Measure W – The Orange County Great Park and Nature Preserve Initiative.  The former airbase could have been added to the 37,000 acres under the management of the County of Orange Harbor, Beaches and Parks Division.  However, Supervisors Smith, Silva and Coad did not want anything to do with a non-aviation development of El Toro and a divided Board of Supervisors handed off the project, through annexation, to Irvine.

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Voice of San Diego, May 2, 2006
North San Diego County Airport

"By a 6-3 vote the [San Diego Regional Airport] authority rejected building a North County airport to supplement Lindbergh Field. The supplemental airport had been rejected in February, but resurfaced after three board members . . . said the initial look at an airport near Escondido was dismissed prematurely."

"The reason [given] is that an airport site 38 miles away would be too far from downtown. An airport consultant predicted a supplemental airport would cost as much as a major metropolitan airport, but serve just a fraction of the travelers."

Website Editor: That apparently ends consideration of an airport sited to serve SD and OC. Orange County officials apparently never stepped forward to promote the concept.

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El Toro Info Site report, May 1, 2006
A Final Salute to El Toro Marine Corps Air Station

The Orange County Great Park Corporation and the City of Irvine invite everyone to join in bidding farewell to Marine Corps Air Station El Toro on Saturday, May 20 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. A farewell ceremony presentation will be held at noon.

The event is sponsored by Heritage Fields, Lennar/LNR.

The “Final Salute” will feature a farewell ceremony, guided base tours, exhibits, and a Friends and Memories board.

Your reply is requested, no later than May 5, by calling (949) 724-7420 or email finalsalute@ocgp.org to confirm your attendance and number of guests.

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San Diego North County Times, April 30, 2006 website posted May 1
"China driving aviation opportunity for San Diego" 

"If San Diego can find a way to build a large airport, perhaps at one of its military bases, it could become a bustling, prosperous international hub, federal aviation officials and regional planners say."

"International air traffic through Southern California is expected to nearly triple between now and 2030, according to the Southern California Association of Governments."

"And because Los Angeles International Airport is approaching a growth cap, and few airports are stepping forward to pick up the slack, San Diego is in position to snare a large share of the increase, Marion C. Blakey, administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, said in a visit to the area last week. '

"About 17 percent of today's total [air triffic] is international traffic, and the international share of the region's passenger count is forecast to reach 27 percent by 2030, Hasan Ikhrata [planning and policy director for SCAG] said. He said that surge will be driven in large part by a more than tripling of Asian traffic, from 5 million passengers to
16.5 million."

"Much of the Asian surge will be driven by China."

"The Boeing Co. is projecting that China will buy more than 2,500 new (jet) airplanes over the next 20 years."

"In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and growing complaints about noise, Los Angeles politicians decided to substantially upgrade security there and establish a ceiling on LAX's future growth. As a result, Ikhrata said, LAX traffic will stop growing once it reaches 78 million passengers."

"'They're going to reach the cap by 2015, if not earlier,' he said."

"The only airport that seems prepared for the anticipated spike in traffic is Ontario International that handles 7 million passengers, and is projected to reach 30 million in 2030."

"The opportunity to plant a second major airport in Orange County evaporated a few years ago when residents there rejected using the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station for that purpose."

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