Today's Headlines - click on date for story
El Toro Info Site report, July 30, 2003 - updated July 31
Chuck Smith derailed from SCAG presidency

LA Daily News, July 30, 2003
"Talks on LAX passenger cap taking flight"

OC Register, July 29, 2003
"O.C.-Ontario airport link sought for train proposal"

El Toro Info Site report, July 28, 2003
LAWA stalling release of LAX passenger study

LA Times, July 27, 2003
"LAX Too Big to Rush Fixes"

LATimes, July 26, 2003
"El Toro Battle Cry: Remember the Commissary"
"Retired military personnel protest at Rep. Cox's office in Newport Beach to persuade him to get the store reopened"

Los Angeles Daily News editorial, July 25, 2003
"Rush to misjudgment"

El Toro Info Site Report, July 23, 2003
OCRAA crumbling

Daily Pilot, July 23, 2003
"D.C. grounds L.A.'s El Toro airport proposal."

El Toro Info Site Report, July 22, 2003
Mineta to Cox: FAA won't mess with El Toro sale

OC Register, July 22, 2003
"Fixtures given new assignment"
"Also set for new duty at former [Tustin] base are trees fit for transfer to new-home site."

El Toro Info Site report, July 21, 2003
Wilson tells SCAG to give up on Smith

El Toro Info Site report, July 21, 2003
Inland Empire sees disadvantages in El Toro airport

LA Times, July 20, 2003
"Firms With LAX Ties Aid Hahn"

LA Times, Voices, July 19, 2003
An Airport Solution That Might Really Fly
Developing Palmdale with a rail link to LAX is a 'win-win' plan.

LA Times, July 19, 2003
Transit Leaders to Decide Fate of CenterLine Project Monday

El Toro Info Site report, July 17, 2003
Update on Airport Land Use Commission

El Toro Info Site report, July 16, 2003
Navy says OC voters decided El Toro reuse

El Toro Info Site report, July 16, 2003
LAX remodel EIR available for comment

El Toro Info Site report, July 15, 2003
Chuck Smith allies undeterred by rules

LA Times, July 15, 2003
"Hahn's LAX Plan Already Drawing Flak"
"The mayor, by limiting future passenger capacity, hoped to succeed where Riordan failed. But the obstacles are already piling up."

Chicago Tribune, July 13, website posted July 14, 2003
Los Angeles mayor pitches radical $9 billion airport rehab

LA Times, July 13, 2003
"Report Finds Pluses in LAX Plan"

El Toro Info Site report, July 11, 2003
LA-run El Toro would cannibalize John Wayne

OC Register, July 10, 2003
"LAX overhaul plan omits O.C."
"Lack of 'flyaway' stations prods county 'to address its own airport demand.'"

LA Times, July 10, 2003
"Security Eclipses Capacity in Plan for LAX"

LA Times, July 9, 2003
"No Benefit Found in Plan to Modernize LAX"
"Mayor's $9-billion renovation would not help economy over the long term, study finds."

El Toro Info Site report July 8, 2003
JWA flights down, passengers up

El Toro Info Site report July 8, 2003
Navy comments on Hurley editorial

LA Times, July 7, 2003
"Airlines Seek to Block Hahn Plan for LAX"

El Toro Info Site report, July 7, 2003
John Wayne - Lindbergh Field comparison updated

LA Times, Orange County Commentary, July 6, 2003
"El Toro Contamination: Developer, Insure Thyself"

San Diego Union-Tribune, Opinion, July 5, 2003
"Orange County has an airport, thank you"

El Toro Info Site report, July 3, 2003 - updated
On the counterattack against the LA plan

Daily Pilot, July 2, 2003
"El Toro lawsuit garners support"
Newport Beach leaders, however, aren't convinced the former base will ever fly as a commercial airport."

El Toro Info Site report, July 1, 2003
Avigation easements rescinded 3-2

El Toro Info Site report, July 1, 2003
Buena Park wants out of OCRAA

LA Times, July 1, 2003 - update
"Plan to Annex El Toro Base Is Challenged"

Click here for previous news stories

“Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn has allowed just 45 days for public comment on his plan to modernize Los Angeles International Airport because he doesn't want to lose momentum, his deputies say. Translation: By limiting public comment to the minimum required by federal law and scheduling hearings for the dog days of August, Hahn hopes to escape the kind of organized opposition that torpedoed former Mayor Richard Riordan's LAX dreams. It's an understandable goal but the wrong way to get there.”

“Hahn aims to keep neighborhood opponents happy by dropping Riordan's expansion and containing growth to the 78.9 million passengers a year that planners say LAX could accommodate now. He touts security and safety improvements instead in the ambitious overhaul.”

“Security is an obvious priority, as are much-needed safety improvements to LAX's runways. But Hahn's plan raises new concerns even as it attempts to answer old ones.”

“As for capacity, the proposed passenger cap assumes regional airports will pick up a huge share of the projected demand. But a viable regional system doesn't yet exist, and plans for one suffered a blow when Orange County voters defeated a commercial airport for the former El Toro Marine base. If the 30 million annual passengers that were slated for El Toro wind up at LAX, the redesigned airport will be as bottlenecked as it is now — assuming all those new passengers materialize. More study is needed of growth projections in light of terror concerns and the airlines' economic shakeout.”
 
Click here to read entire LA Times editorial in the "Early Bird News"

"The tug of war over what to do with the closed El Toro Marine base has managed to wind its way down yet another path, this time leading directly to Rep. Christopher Cox's office."

"Half a dozen retired military personnel and their supporters protested outside Cox's Newport Beach office Friday, hoping to persuade him to live up to what they said was a promise to reopen the base commissary."

""It's one of the few remaining benefits the military has left," said Ken Lee, spokesman for Keep the Commissary, organized in 1999."

"Cox, who was in Washington during the protest, countered that his support has been unwavering."

Click here to read the complete story in the "Early Bird News.

"After giving his consultants all the time and the money they could use to craft an elaborate LAX modernization plan, Mayor James Hahn now wants to give the public a mere 45 days to think the plan over."

"Hey, why let public input get in the way of a bad idea?"

"But the public might want some time to consider a plan that would cost $9.1 billion, while making Los Angeles International
Airport no safer and a lot less convenient."

Yesterday, the City Council of Buena Park voted to officially withdraw from the Orange County Regional Airport Authority. The City Council of Placentia withdrew on April 1.

OCRAA letterhead and website continue to list these cities as members along with the County of Orange. This results in newspaper stories incorrectly describing the organization as consisting of 14 cities. The list, according to our records, is down to the following: Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Cypress, Garden Grove, La Habra, Los Alamitos, Newport Beach, Seal Beach, Stanton, Villa Park, Westminister, and Yorba Linda.

Tustin, Orange, and Fullerton previously dropped out of the group and the County supervisors terminated their ex-officio relationship this year.

Residents of member cities are encouraged to contact their city councils and urge them to stop beating the El Toro dead horse.

Major newspapers covered the story reported here yesterday afternoon.  The Newport Beach-Costa Mesa Pilot writes, "The city of Los Angeles' request that the federal government push for an airport at El Toro has been answered with a firm 'no' from Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta."

"'It really doesn't come as a surprise to me,' Newport Beach Mayor Steve Bromberg said. 'It's consistent with what we heard months ago, that the DOT wasn't going to change their minds.'"

"Though local [Newport Beach] supporters of a commercial airport at El Toro might think Mineta's letter is bad news, Bromberg said that's not necessarily the case."

"'In L.A.'s 37-page letter, they never laid out a plan for El Toro. Interestingly, they never contacted Newport Beach. I called three times to the L.A. mayor's office and never heard back. So without knowing what they had in mind, it's hard to say what this means. It's conceivable that a [Los Angeles] flight plan at El Toro could send planes right over Newport Beach. We had no way of knowing what they had in mind.'"

Click for complete newspaper coverage.

In a crushing blow to Los Angeles efforts to take over El Toro, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta wrote Congressman Christoper Cox today, stating that "the Department of Transportation (DOT), including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), does not intend to intercede in the El Toro reuse process." LA officials had made their proposal to Mineta in a secret April memo.

The letter came in a response to a June 19, 2003 letter from Congressman Cox asking for a clear statement whether the Department of Transportation would be intervening in the El Toro reuse process as requested by the City of Los Angeles.

The letter further states: "Our jurisdiction and historical exercise of our authority does not extend so far as to overrule the Navy's authority under the base closure statute as owner of the property or the decisions of local governments regarding use of that property.... We have no plans to interrupt the Navy's process."

"A recycling project of epic proportions is under way at the old Tustin air base, where 1,900 new homes will sprout. Even the trees will be moving - hundreds of them."

"In a partnership between a developer and a charity, Lennar Communities is allowing the Orange County affiliate of Habitat for Humanity to cart off everything it can reuse or sell. Lennar Communities is a unit of Miami-based Lennar Corp.; Habitat is the Georgia-based organization that builds housing for the poor."

Website Editor: Read the full story and think "El Toro" next year. 

In a July 18 letter to Bev Perry, President of SCAG, Board of Supervisors Chairman Tom Wilson urges that her organization abandon any efforts to reinstall Chuck Smith as Vice-President.

"Under the SCAG bylaws . . . Supervisor Smith 'immediately' lost his position as a SCAG Vice-President" on June 17 when he was replaced as Orange County's representative.

"Any attempt to change or circumvent the rules, by which SCAG operates, for the benefit of an individual, is to undermine each city, county or agency's exclusive right to determine who shall be its representative." Wilson copied the Orange County Transportation Authority which sought to promote Smith back to SCAG.

A growing number of Inland Empire governments, transportation planning agencies and business groups are weighing in against the LA proposal to takeover El Toro. The focus of the Riverside and San Bernadino leaders is on "Inland Empire Airports First."

They seek "to make the development of their airports the first priority when considering Southern California's long-term transportation needs." There is recognition that a major airport at El Toro would stunt the hoped-for growth of Ontario, March, San Bernadino, Southern California Logistics, and Palm Springs airports and development of their surrounding regions.

On July 14, State Assemblyman Raymond N. Haynes (Temecula) wrote Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta that "I am asking for you to decline an April 9, 2003 memorandum sent to your department by Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn and ask you to maintain the voters approved plan for the reuse of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station for the 'Great Park.'"

"The Inland Empire is the solution to meeting the air transportation needs of Southern California . . . Riverside and San Bernardino already have too many people who commute to the coastal counties . . . To force more people to drive into Orange County to access air travel, cargo services and employment . . . makes no sense and further strains the already overburdened East-West transportation corridors."

"Two weeks after Mayor James K. Hahn proposed spending $9 billion to modernize Los Angeles International Airport, contractors likely to benefit from the massive public works project are lining up to raise money for his reelection campaign."

"Airport contractors have scheduled Hahn fund-raisers for Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, with admission set at $1,000 per person."

"Critics of the LAX renovation and advocates of new ethics rules at City Hall said they were troubled that airport contractors would help Hahn raise money so soon after the release of his plan."

"Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), who opposes the project, also said she believes there is a link between the plan and Hahn's political ambitions."

"'As far as I am concerned, this is about contracts and the exercise of power by the mayor to create more opportunity for his contributors,' Waters said."

Click for the entire Times article.

Website Editor: If there is a link between the contributions and the LAX remodel work, financial backers should be as supportive of Hahn if the 78 MAP passenger limit is removed from his plan. That would make it more palatable to the airlines and more apt to be implemented. 

Sheldon C. Plotkin's ope-ed submital says, "Most major urban centers throughout the world have one giant international airport outside the city center connected to the region by good ground transportation."

"Establishment of an international airport in Palmdale on the 70,000 acres local politicians say they have already set aside for the purpose would be a start. The effects of noise and neighborhood complaints related to an international airport could be minimized by careful building and air-route planning and the fact that Palmdale residents are the only ones in the L.A. area who want an expansion of their local airport and peripheral facilities."

"In the wake of CenterLine's June 3 election defeat in Irvine, Orange County transportation leaders will decide Monday whether to scrap the beleaguered light-rail project or proceed with a shortened, 8-mile alternative from John Wayne Airport to the Santa Ana train depot."

"The abbreviated rail line option is one of three recommended by the Orange County Transportation Authority staff to the agency's board of directors, which has long supported construction of a light-rail system for the county."

Website Editor: Meanwhile, some OCTA directors still consider the unpopular move of dragging the authority into the airport fight by joining SCAG and selecting Chuck Smith to be their representative. 

ALUC met today and voted 4-2 against a residential development in the Irvine Spectrum supported by the City of Irvine. The two votes for the project were Tom O'Malley of ETRPA, who Tom Wilson recently appointed to replace Tom Naughton of the Airport Working Group, and Denny Harris of Committee for Safe and Healthy Communities.

Leonard Kranser, Editor of this website, joined the commission today after being appointed as O'Malley's alternate.

ALUC staff recommended that the specific project be found "inconsistent" with the Airport Environs Land Use Plan (AELUP) because the site is in a location "entirely within the AELUP Noise Impact Zone . . . at approximately the 73 CNEL Contour for MCAS El Toro." The commission majority took the position that El Toro is a "federal military airport" until the land is sold, regardless of statements to the contrary from the Secretary of the Navy or the fact that it closed four years ago.

In response to a letter from Congressmen Ken Calvert and Gary Miller, Acting Secretary of the Navy H.T. Johnson once again makes clear that the Navy "remains committed to the right of the voters and residents of Orange County to determine the land use within Orange County "

In a July 10 letter, Secretary Johnson refers to the "City of Los Angeles' efforts to reconsider reuse of Marine Corps Air Station El Toro as a civilian airport" and rejects the proposal. He writes "our efforts to convey the property through public sale for use in accordance with local zoning and land use plans . . . will ensure that the future use of the property is consistent with the priorities of the local community."

The Navy's clear intent and quick response is in marked contrast to that of the Department of Transportation. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta has yet to respond to Congressman Chris Cox or to a letter from the Board of Supervisors, calling on him to reject the Los Angeles proposal.

The LAX Draft Environmental Impact Study and Report and the Supplement to the EIS/EIR are available for download or reading online. Visit the LAX Master Plan website at www.laxmasterplan.org and click on the sidebar link for Publications, or click here.

Orange County airport planners were unwilling to make their El Toro EIR documents available online. The LAX effort is appreciated although time for the public to comment is very restrictive.

Comments on the environmental reports for Mayor Hahn's $9 billion remodel must be received by 5:00PM, Pacific Daylight Time, Monday, August 25, 2003.

Written comments must be submitted to either, or both, of the follow:

David B. Kessler, AICP
U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Aviation Administration
P.O. Box 92007
Los Angeles, CA 90009-2007

Mr. Jim Ritchie
City of Los Angeles
Los Angeles World Airports
LAX Master Plan Office
P.O. Box 92216
Los Angeles, CA 90009-2216

On June 17, the Board of Supervisors removed Supervisor Chuck Smith as the County's representative to the Southern California Association of Governments. Under SCAG's bylaws, that action "immediately" removed him from his position as the organization's 1st Vice-President. Smith allies are continuing efforts to get him back into the post he lost.

Opponents of an airport at El Toro are concerned that Smith would advance to the presidency of the regional organization and use that position to promote a Los Angeles effort to take control of El Toro for an airport.

Smith allies sought to get the Orange County Transportation Authority to join SCAG and name him as the OCTA rep. In the face of strong opposition, the authority's board tabled joining SCAG at their last meeting. We have learned that this move is still under consideration and at least one OCTA sub-committee has backed bringing the matter back for a vote on July 28.

Meanwhile, the SCAG governing Regional Council bought time by postponing its July 3 meeting until July 31. SCAG has yet to recognize Smith's removal or to elevate the 2nd Vice-President to fill the vacancy as required by the association's bylaws. SCAG staff is exploring ways to amend the association's rules or to use other tactics to reinstall Smith.

"In proposing a $9-billion renovation of Los Angeles International Airport last week, Mayor James K. Hahn vowed that he would not suffer the same fate as his predecessor, Richard Riordan, who, starting in 1993, spent $90 million developing an LAX expansion plan, only to see it bog down in community opposition."

"Hahn said his decision to effectively cap the number of passengers at LAX at 78.9 million a year should win over many people who opposed Riordan's plan, which aimed to accommodate as many as 98 million annual travelers."

"But Hahn faces a host of potential obstacles that Riordan did not have to contend with, and observers say Hahn's plan is vulnerable at several points in the approval process, from the Los Angeles City Council to the Federal Aviation Administration."

Click to read the entire article. 

"While Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley fights to expand O'Hare International Airport, Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn last week proposed a $9 billion plan for Los Angeles International Airport that would dramatically remake the facility but not expand it or increase passenger capacity."

"Although other airports have increased the number of gates available for planes, the Hahn proposal would reduce them at the Los Angeles airport from 163 to 153."

"Chicago's O'Hare plans, in contrast to Hahn's, call for spending an estimated $6.6 billion over 10 to 15 years to expand the airport to eight runways."

"Instead of increasing capacity at Los Angeles International, Hahn suggested that smaller airports in Southern California accommodate more flights."

Also yesterday, the LA Daily News editorialized: "Airhead modernization. Hahn's vision for LAX is a boondoggle in the making"

"For reasons that defy logical explanation, Hahn is smitten with the prospect of sinking 11 years of labor and a mountain of dollars into his LAX scheme. He has paid consultants handsomely to draw up the plans, which he's now trying to sell to the public."

"'This was something politically promised at the time Hahn got elected,' says David Fleming, former vice chairman of the California Transportation Commission. 'It's been a nod to organized labor [who get the construction projects], who will give him credit for trying, and it's made a lot of his friends rich who fought secession and promoted him in office.'"

While much of the media coverage of Mayor Hahn's plan has been lukewarm to negative, we invite comments pro and con on the message board. 

"If nothing is done to modernize Los Angeles International Airport, traffic on roads surrounding the facility would get worse, belching more pollutants into the air and increasing the cancer risk for area residents, a new report shows."

"As Hahn begins what is expected to be a difficult campaign to persuade city officials, airlines and residents to endorse his $9-billion LAX modernization plan, one of his key selling points is that his proposal would reduce noise, traffic and air pollution in nearby neighborhoods."

The environmental report found that because Hahn's proposal would discourage growth at the airport — aiming for no more than the present "theoretical capacity" of 78 million annual passengers — it is more environmentally friendly than the Riordan options, which would allow the airport to serve as many as 98 million travelers a year." Click for the entire article.

Website Editor: That means "environmentally friendly" to neighborhoods around LAX. Hahn proposes to limit LAX and  to push the noise, traffic, and pollution to other airport environs including Orange County. Many O.C. leaders propose using airfileds in less populated parts of the Inland Empire.  The Times story discusses environmental friendliness in an exclusively LA context. 

Environmental Impact Report EIR 573 projects that a county airport at El Toro would shrink John Wayne from its present 8 million passengers to around 5 million. Many industry experts predict that two airports could not operate 7 miles apart and John Wayne would close to commercial aviation.

A 30 huge MAP Los Angeles World Airports unit at El Toro - operating without curfews and with limited local control - would compete aggressively with O.C.'s John Wayne airport for market share.

If John Wayne airport is forced to close, losers could include local business such as hotels that rely on their JWA airport proximity, local suppliers selected by the O.C. Board of Supervisors or airport management, and Orange County cities that receive taxes from those businesses.

If LAWA is the cause of the demise, add the airport's bondholders to the list. The John Wayne bonds provide for the financial consolidation of county owned or operated airports to assure revenue for bond service. However, they state that this requirement "would not affect airport facilities that may be developed within the Airport's Trade Area by persons or entities other than the County."

"An ambitious renovation and expansion plan for Los Angeles International Airport puts subtle but clear pressure on Orange County to expand its own airport capacity."

"Direct access to the terminal area would be restricted to buses from 'flyaway' stations in Long Beach, Inglewood and Union Station in Los Angeles . . . The plan does not call for an Orange County flyaway."  Website Editor: None of the large number of prospective sites considered in a study of future flyaway locations were in O.C.

"At the flyaways, passengers would check their baggage, get their tickets and board buses to the departure terminal."

"'Orange County needs to address its own airport demand,' said Nancy Suey Castles, a spokeswoman for LAX."

"Los Angeles officials cite figures that show 12 percent of LAX's 57 million passengers last year came from Orange County. The most recent figures from John Wayne Airport show 6 percent of its passengers were from outside the county."

"Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn on Wednesday formally laid out his $9-billion plan for remaking Los Angeles International Airport, saying that the effort is necessary for the region's economic health and the airport's security."

"Without a remodel of the nation's fifth-busiest airport, he warned, the region would risk losing lucrative international flights to competing airports in Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Francisco."

Website Editor: Hahn's plan also makes LAX the only one of the five busiest airports in the nation with no plans for expanding its future passenger capacity.

"But reception to the plan so far has made clear that Hahn faces a formidable challenge in persuading the airlines, City Council and public that it makes sense to spend $9 billion on a plan that does not expand the facility."

"A decade ago, when then-Mayor Richard Riordan proposed spending $12 billion or more to remake LAX, the point of the plan was much debated but easily understood: expand the facility to accommodate an inevitable crush of more passengers."

"The mayor challenged the airlines and other Southern California communities to pick up the slack by shifting more flights to regional airports in Burbank, Ontario, Orange County and elsewhere."

"A trade group representing the majority of airlines that do business at LAX released a statement Wednesday saying that the mayor's plan 'does not appear to enhance security, and makes it harder for Southern Californians to use LAX by restricting private vehicles from the terminals and funneling passengers through a remote facility.' The airlines strongly urge the mayor to reconsider this plan."

"Hahn also must persuade regional airports that they must take on what he calls 'their fair share' of growing air traffic in Southern California . . .. Hahn asked federal officials earlier this year to allow the city to operate a commercial airport at the former El Toro Marine base in Orange County."

"'I'm astonished that people are so short-sighted and they lack so much vision that they don't see how important an airport can be in south Orange County,' Hahn said Wednesday."

"'If you say LAX is only going to handle 78 million annual passengers, this requires the growth to be handled somewhere else. Look at the rest of the country. If you go to New York City, you have the option of flying out of JFK or La Guardia or Newark, and in Washington you can use National, Baltimore or Dulles."

Website Editor: In Chicago, the traffic is handled principally by one airport, O'Hare. In Atlanta it is all handled by Hartsfield, the nation's busiest airport. Both have aggressive plans to add runways and capacity to maintain their leadership roles.

"Asked about reports that his version of modernization would not provide any additional economic growth in the long term, Hahn acknowledged that, but said his proposal would protect the existing role that the airport plays in Southern California's economy."

Click here for the entire text in the Early Bird thread of our message board, which is back in operation after a security related shutdown.

"Mayor James K. Hahn's proposal to modernize Los Angeles International Airport would cost about $9 billion but provide no discernible benefit for the local economy beyond the short-term jobs created during construction, according to an economic analysis to be released today."

"If the city refurbishes the airport as Hahn has proposed, LAX would contribute about $64 billion a year to the region's economy in 2015 — the same amount it would generate if no project were completed, a review of city documents found."

"The mayor's plan, the 33rd modernization proposal in eight years, would dramatically alter the airport by demolishing Terminals 1, 2 and 3, and by replacing parking structures with a new terminal complex. Private vehicles would be rerouted to a new check-in facility a mile east of the airport."

"The mayor hopes to discourage growth at the airport beyond 78.9 million passengers a year by decreasing the number of gates where airlines can park jets — to 153 from the current 163 — and by spreading air traffic among other airports in the region."

Website Editor: The proposal to shrink the number of gates to restrict passenger use was reported by this website months ago. Limiting the utilization of LAX, along with limiting John Wayne, is a cornerstone of SCAG's regional aviation plan and a key factor behind the LA push for an airport at El Toro to make up for the shortfall in capacity.

"Limiting the number of travelers who use the facility could slow the engine that powers about one-tenth of Southern California's economy, experts say."

"If the airport isn't able to grow, other industries that prop up Southern California's economy, such as tourism, apparel and furniture, would also suffer."

"At Los Angeles City Hall, the economic findings are adding to growing doubts among City Council members about Hahn's proposal. 'When you are finished spending $9 billion and 12 years of reconstruction and the end result is you are not enhancing the economic engine, then you really have to evaluate what does that mean for the city other than spending $9 billion in construction costs,' Councilman Bernard C. Parks said."

"The airport's airlines, which would be asked to shoulder half the plan's cost through higher landing fees and terminal rents, have expressed concern about the cost of Hahn's proposal and its effect on the economy."

This entire article can be read on the Chronicles board .

In a separate article in the Daily Breeze, El Segundo Mayor Mike Gordon, who has been a leader of opposition to LAX expansion, "refused to provide his city’s endorsement of the LAX plan . . . Gordon described it as far superior to the proposal backed by former Mayor Richard Riordan, which could have increased the annual passenger counts to 110 million."

“'An airport that’s not going to be bigger than 78 million (passengers) is going to have substantially less of an impact than an airport with 110 million annual passengers,' he said. 'So it will be a victory to be able to say we have accomplished that.'”

John Wayne airport passenger volume for June was up 4.1% from the prior year. It was the airport's best June ever. Total passengers for the year to date were up 4.5%

At the same time, the number of air carrier operations was down for the month by 5.9%. This raises hopes that the airport can serve more passengers without more noise impact on surrounding areas.

This email was sent yesterday to all members of the El Toro Base Closure Team and the Restoration Advisory Board, RAB, which oversees cleanup operations at El Toro. The message is from Andrew Piszkin of the Southwest Division of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command in San Diego. He is the BRAC co-chair of the RAB. It refers to a July 6 editorial piece by Greg Hurley.

Good morning BCT and RAB leaders,

Many of you may have already seen the article below.  It's of some interest since Mr. Hurley served as the RAB community co-chair for a few years but then resigned a couple of years ago.

Much of what Mr. Hurley states is correct; it is what is not mentioned that may confuse the public with a one-sided view of our efforts.  Mr. Hurley does not mention that the Navy is in partnership with a much larger team of technical and legal experts and experienced managers and community advisors - all adding to the success of the investigation, remediation, and eventual transfer of former MCAS El Toro to more productive uses.

I'd like to address some additional points:

Since 1990, the CERCLA/RCRA investigation and remediation/closure requirements at El Toro have been overseen by the State of California and the United States Environmental Protection Agency within the legally binding Federal Facility Agreement.
More than $95,000,000 has been spent investigating and remediating MCAS El Toro since 1985;

The State and/or Federal regulatory experts have concurred with No Further Action determinations for more than 770 Solid Waste Management Units;

An historic out-of-court settlement agreement between the Government and the local Water Districts will both remediate the contaminated groundwater plume and support the long-planned development of a stable water supply for the community;

By this time next year, the two major landfills at El Toro will have been capped.. . and as a side note: roughly 900 acres of prime natural habitat remains under Federal ownership, protected from development, and managed by the US Fish & Wildlife Service;

I personally doubt, as stated by Mr. Hurley, that developers will do a better job of ensuring this property is safe than the Navy could.  The investigations at El Toro have been measured not whether it will be an airport or not, but against the most stringent of criteria, residential use.  Contrary to Mr. Hurley's comment, the Navy is not transferring investigation completion responsibilities to private-sector bidders.  Any restricted property will remain under Navy control until the Navy addresses all necessary environmental issues.

I would conclude that we're doing an excellent job for our local community and the federal taxpayers.

"With city officials preparing this week to unveil a multibillion-dollar plan to revamp Los Angeles International Airport, airlines are urging City Council members to reject the proposal, citing what they say are questionable benefits to security and ongoing financial problems that would make it difficult for them to foot the bill."

"In recent briefings with half a dozen Los Angeles City Council members, a group representing carriers that do business at LAX proposed a smaller renovation project. That plan, they said, would make more economic sense than Mayor James K. Hahn's $9.6-billion proposal to modernize the world's fifth-busiest airport."

"Instead, the carriers suggested that Hahn focus on moving two parallel runways on the south side of the airfield farther apart."

"Airline officials first voiced their concerns with the mayor's plan last fall in a strongly worded letter to Los Angeles World Airports, the city's airport agency."

"The council will ultimately be asked to choose among five alternatives to revamp LAX. They are: Hahn's plan, which the mayor says emphasizes security and safety; three expansion alternatives devised by Hahn's predecessor, Richard Riordan; and a no-project option, effectively leaving the airport as it is."

Website Editor: Former Mayor Riordan proposed expanding LAX to handle up to 110 million annual passengers, MAP. Hahn seeks to limit the airport to 78 MAP, which is less than its runway capacity. Hahn's plan chokes off passengers by reducing the number of gates from current levels.

Supporters of a recent attempt by Los Angeles to takeover El Toro cite the limited capacity of LAX as a reason for needing a new airport at the former Marine base to make up for the shortfall in capacity. 

Our website comparison of John Wayne and San Diego airport has been updated. San Diego's Lindbergh Field - with its one runway and slightly smaller land area - carried nearly twice the passengers and over eight times the amount of freight as JWA last year. That's utilization!

How many new airports would the region really need if it were to maximize use the capacity it already has? No one seems to be doing that politically sensitive calculation.

"There is a general misconception that the Navy has tested, or taken samples of, the soil across the entire base to identify possible contamination. This is not true. The great majority of land being sold as clean has never been tested or sampled. The Navy's characterization of El Toro as safe for development is based largely on historical records."

"When I was elected to chair the Restoration Advisory Board, I was told that the Navy would not test for perchlorates, which are a byproduct of solid fuels and munitions. The Navy recently found evidence of perchlorates on the base."

"A study commissioned last year by Orange County identified 56 new areas of potential contamination that the Navy had overlooked."

"The Navy's response has been to assert that the military will take responsibility for cleaning up any hazardous materials discovered. While the Navy is required by law to clean up the base and indemnify the community, there are substantial limitations to these obligations."

"The Navy is not required to follow a timetable when it removes contamination. So treatment of unexpected discoveries of contaminated materials may have to wait until Congress provides funds. And the Navy is not obligated to reimburse developers for the costs they incur if contamination delays construction."

"So is it safe for the Navy to auction off this property for homes and parks? Surprisingly, the answer is yes."

"What the Navy is doing is transferring the costs and responsibility for completing the investigation of contamination to private-sector bidders . . .. These are companies that will decide, like those in many other communities faced with closing bases, that they need to conduct their own investigations and buy environmental insurance to protect themselves."

The Times identifies the writer or this opinion piece as follows: "Gregory F. Hurley is an environmental lawyer with the Irvine office of Kutak Rock. He is a registered environmental assessor and has received commendations from the Marine Corps and the California Legislature."

Website Editor: The Times failed to report that Mr. Hurley's firm was paid $112,214.63 by the Airport Working Group out of a grant from the City of Newport Beach. Hurley resigned from the El Toro Restoration Advisory Board in a controversy over taking payments from the AWG for work supporting the group's fight to create an airport at El Toro.

Website Editor: This rebutal from the grass roots to a San Diego Union-Tribune's column that supported LA's bid to takeover El Toro takes a different tack from the recent flurry of professionally prepared ads, videos, and op-ed pieces. The writer, Frank Semelsberger of Mission Viejo tells those who think we need more aviation capacity to first go use the airports we already have.

"We already have an airport in Orange County. Its called John Wayne Airport and it has cost us so far around $2 billion and could serve up to 15 million passengers a year if it weren't artificially capped at 10.8 million. (The caps come off in 2015.)

"Our county has about 3 million people and at buildout we'll have around 3.4 million people.

"What would make more sense? Expand John Wayne Airport to serve the anticipated growth at a cost of $500 million to $750 million? Or build a second airport seven miles away from the first one at an estimated cost of $3 billion to $7 billion? Do we need to handle 15 million passengers a year at John Wayne and another 28 million passengers at your proposed El Toro? Does a county of 3.4 million people need two airports, seven miles apart to handle 43 million passengers a year? Does it make economic sense to the airlines? Is there a financial plan anywhere out there that shows how this proposed airport would pay for itself?

"We in Orange County have spent nine years and $60 million and have had four elections debating this matter. At the end of the day, and in accordance with federal law, we decided that a second airport in Orange County isn't needed, wanted or feasible for us. Now some people in Los Angeles and San Diego counties want to resurrect all of the old arguments we've been through.

"How would San Diego like it if Orange County told you where or if to build your airport? You'd tell us to get lost and you'll decide what's best for your area. And you would be right to do so.

"I would expect that you would offer us at least the same courtesy when we decide what's best for our county."

The OC Register runs an op-ed piece by Irvine Mayor Larry Agran "Mayor Hahn, butt out. Decisions on El Toro should be made - and were made - by OC residents." It brings to the general public's attention points made privately in Agran's June 25th letter to Los Angeles Mayor Hahn.

Also, today, the City of Irvine ran full-page ads in the LA edition of the Times and in the Irvine World News headlined "Mayor Hahn's Airport Plan Won't Fly". The "message from Orange County residents to our neighbors in Los Angeles" pointedly warns that "Los Angeles cannot afford a multi-million dollar legal battle with Orange County when budgets for fire and police services are already facing severe cutbacks."

Click here to see a proof of one of the ads.

ETRPA returns to the Internet with a completely refurbished website focused on a new message. The site features a Quick Time version of the video "Airports: A solution for Southern California."  ETRPA is distributing the video to community leaders throughout the Southland in a campaign to educate them as to why El Toro is a bad location for an airport and Inland Empire sites are the better solution.

"Newport Beach — City leaders say they support a new lawsuit to prevent the city of Irvine from annexing the former El Toro Marine base, but they're skeptical that the suit will result in a commercial airport at El Toro."

Website Editor "Support" is the right word. On February 25, 2002 Barbara Lichman's firm received $250,000 of Newport Beach taxpayer funds, funneled through the Airport Working Group,  and designated for "anticipated litigation".Details of the Use of City of Newport Beach Grant Funds were reported here but not in the Daily Pilot.

"'The lawsuit was predictable,' Mayor Steve Bromberg said. The Airport Working Group 'talked about doing this some time ago. At this point in time, all we can do is look at it and see where it's going Nothing has really changed as far as Newport Beach is concerned The Department of Transportation has not changed its position that there should be no airport at El Toro. The Department of the Navy has not changed its position that there should be no airport at El Toro.'"

"Bromberg said, and City Manager Homer Bludau agreed, that almost nothing short of White House intervention is likely to create a commercial airport at El Toro."

The Board of Supervisors voted, 3-2 today, to rescind El Toro airport-related avigation easements. The Board passed two related items, one amending the County General Plan to make the Noise element consistent with Measure W, and the second to release the easements by quitclaim deed.

Supervisor Smith objected, saying that no one had asked for the changes to be made. He also stated that the use of the property "is still up in the air . . . No one knows what we will do with this property.  It may sit there for years."  Silva said nothing other than to agree with Smith on each point.

There were no public comments and no discussion from the other board members as the item sailed through. The removal of the easements was a victory for grass roots leaders who had pressed for the action and who received the support of Board Chairman Wilson.

To listen to that portion of the Board audio with RealOne Player software, thanks to Dave Kirkey, click here.

At the June 24th meeting of the Buena Park City Council it was determined that "the majority did not support continuing membership in the Orange County Regional Airport Authority." No one from the council wanted to attend the OCRAA meetings.

OCRAA is the Airport Working Group's tag along partner in litigation against the Great Park.

If past practice is any indication, OCRAA will continue to show Buena Park as a member unless the city officially resigns.

"Irvine's plan to annex the former El Toro Marine base has been challenged in a lawsuit that, if successful, would dash the Navy's hopes of auctioning the base land by year's end."

"The suit was filed Friday in Orange County Superior Court by the Airport Working Group of Orange County and the Orange County Regional Airport Authority, two groups that support building an airport at the site."

"The groups criticize the city for failing to properly address the noise, traffic and air pollution that would accompany private development of about 2,400 acres of the former base . . . What's left isn't much of a park, said attorney Barbara Lichman, executive director of the Airport Working Group."

"The suit shouldn't immediately affect Irvine's plans for El Toro, said Dana Smith, executive director of the Local Agency Formation Commission, the panel that must approve the annexation. Unless the judge orders a halt to the process or throws out the environmental review, 'we'll just keep marching forward' with plans for a November hearing on making the base a part of the city, she said."

Click here for the entire article, which presents the Airport Working Group's case.

Click here for the lawsuit filing.