El Toro Info Site report, August 29, 2002
Assembly passes Nakano airport bill

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, August 29, 2002
"Passenger drop stuns ONT officials"

El Toro Info Site report, August 28, 2002
Internet for Activists climbs in online sales

Daily Breeze, August 28, 2002
"Nakano's airport slowdown bill advances"

El Toro Info Site report, August 27, 2002
OCRAA pitches El Toro to Long Beach

El Toro Info Site report, August 27, 2002
Cal State Fullerton opens El Toro branch to praise

El Toro Info Site report, August 26, 2002
AWG courting Long Beach support

OC Register, August 25, 2002
"Guests get to see off the president"
"Bush flies out of Los Alamitos base on the last day of a campaign swing through California and heads for stops in New Mexico."

El Toro Info Site report, August 24, 2002
Irvine plan topic of Monday's ETRPA meeting

El Toro Info Site report and LA Times, August 24, 2002
Burbank Airport voter measure rejected by court

El Toro Info Site Report, August 23, 2002
Measure W litigation update

LA Times, August 23, 2002
"Dozens Held in Crackdown on Airport Access"

Chicago Tribune August 21, Website posted August 22, 2002
"Airlines pull out of O'Hare project"
"Terminal plan too costly for American, United"

OC Register, August 22, 2002
"Monday marks the debut of Cal State Fullerton's branch in south county."

OC Register, August 21, 2002
"Supervisors split up parks money"

El Toro Info Site news, August 18, 2002 - updated August 19
New book examines the Internet fight over El Toro airport

LA Times, August 19, 2002
"'What Ifs' Loom Over El Toro Park Plans"

LA Daily News, August 16, 2002
"Campaign for [Palmdale] airport under way"

El Toro Info Site report, August 16, 2002
Nakano bill inches forward

El Toro Info Site Report, August 15, 2002
Sea-Tac airport opponents block unwanted expansion

Daily Pilot, August 14, 2002
"Airport spending questioned"
"Newport Beach Councilman John Heffernan wants to know more about city grant given to two groups promoting El Toro. City will hire an auditor to examine expenditures."

El Toro Info Site report, August 13, 2002
Inland Empire displeasure with SCAG

El Toro Info Site report, August 11, 2002 - updated
Estimating the number of Orange County air passengers using LAX

Daily Breeze, August 10, 2002
"Activists push to make LAX connection"

San Diego Union-Tribune guest editorial, August 9, 2002
"A political failure for Vicente Fox"
[An idea for Southern California]

El Toro Info Site Report, August 8, 2002
City of Newport Beach vision for 2025

El Toro Info Site Report, August 7, 2002
Latest Cal State Fullerton report shows further drop in airport support

OC Register, August 7, 2002
"Measure will let residents say if they want Navy to remove poisons from base."

El Toro Info Site report, August 6, 2002
It was an OK day

OC Register, August 6, 2002 - updated
"Fifth El Toro vote voided"
"Smith lacked supervisors' support to put land measure on the ballot again."

El Toro Info Site report, August 5, 2002 - FLASH
El Toro Reuse Ordinance taken off the table

El Toro Info Site report, August 5, 2002 -updated
Board of Supervisors meet Tuesday to consider forcing additional El Toro elections.
Defects noted in Smith's ordinance

Daily Pilot, August 5, 2002
"More people flying, fewer flights in the air"

LA Times, August 5, 2002
"El Toro Ready for a Student Invasion"
"After a $1.4-million renovation, classes at Cal State Fullerton's new satellite campus begin Aug. 26."

LA Times, August 4, 2002
The Navy's on Top of El Toro Cleanup

El Toro Info Site Report, August 3, 2002
Nakano bill back to committee this week

LA Times, August 3, 2002
"Air Carriers Attack Hahn's Plan for Renovating LAX"

El Toro Info Site Comment, August 2, 2002
Hypocrisy

LA Times, August 2, 2002
"Measure Would Urge Base Cleanup"

San Diego Union-Tribune, August 2, 2002
"Fox agrees to find new site to build Mexico City airport"

OC Register, August 1, 2002
"Questions on yet another El Toro proposal"
"Supervisor Charles Smith's proposal that could lead to a fifth and even sixth countywide vote on El Toro land prompts numerous questions as to what could follow next."

Click here for earlier news.

"Federal funding for Orange County transportation projects could be jeopardized if a bill approved by the Legislature this week is signed by Gov. Gray Davis."

"The bill, written by Assemblyman George Nakano (D-Torrance), requires Southern California's regional planning agency to provide a 'fair-share distribution' of the burdens of airport growth among Orange, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside, Ventura and Imperial counties."

"Counties must comply with regional transportation plans approved by the Southern California Assn. of Governments or risk losing federal funds."

"If SCAG plans to seek a larger airport at John Wayne than county officials want, Orange County could have trouble getting federal funds for some transportation projects."

"[SCAG] Association officials said they hope to better define what constitutes a county's 'fair share' of airport demand if the bill, AB 2333, is signed by Davis.

Website Editor: SCAG's most recent Regional Transportation plan is being attacked in court by ETRPA for its inaccuracies. SCAG has thus far refused to rework the plan, which includes El Toro as a 30 million annual passenger airport.

The California State Assembly passed the Senate version of the Nakano bill today by a vote of 45-17. It now goes to the Governor to either sign or veto.

"Passenger traffic at Ontario International Airport dipped further in July, confounding airport officials who had expected stronger results. Statistics released Wednesday by Los Angeles World Airports, which oversees operations at ONT, show July's passenger traffic was down 10.2 percent compared with a year earlier. Air cargo traffic, by contrast, showed a 29 percent increase."

'''We're actually disappointed and surprised at the same time,' airport spokeswoman Maria Fermin said. 'Even though Hawaiian Airlines has only a small portion of our passenger flights, we'd hoped that would bring our numbers up.'''

Website editor: John Wayne airport showed an increase in passengers of 2.5 percent in July versus the prior year. July Cargo figures for the Orange County airport have not been published but the year-to-date statistics through June show tonnage was down by 10.4 percent. 

Internet for Activists, a new book about the role of website's and e-mail in the El Toro Airport battle has quickly moved up in sales amongst other Intenet books. While bookstores are waiting for the book to move into traditional supply lines, online bookseller BarnesandNoble.com ranks the book number 16,280 today in its huge data base.

By comparison, the popular Internet for Dummies is at number 15,837, Digital Divide is at 38,436, Technomanifesto ranks 265,570, and In the Net: a Guide for Activists is at number 626,207.

In the fast paced world of online marketing, the book which was published this month appeared on Amazon.com today for the first time for pre-ordering. 

"The state Senate on Tuesday approved Nakano's measure that aims to push at least some growth to other airports in Southern California, such as John Wayne, Long Beach and Ontario."

"The bill would direct the Southern California Association of Governments to spread out growth to avoid a concentration of problems near LAX. Airports, however, are under no obligation to adhere to those guidelines and there are no sanctions in Nakano's measure, AB 2333."

"The measure has met stiff resistance from some lawmakers, who see it as an attempt to force a new airport on Orange County, or expansion at other facilities."

"'Where do all these people go when they need planes? To LAX,' Nakano said. He called the Orange County delegation's opposition 'blatant NIMBYism,' referring to the syndrome dubbed 'not in my back yard.'"

"The Senate's 22-17 vote returned the bill to the Assembly, where an earlier version easily passed. Gov. Gray Davis has not taken a position." 

At the Long Beach City Council meeting tonight, OCRAA head Jack Wagner pitched El Toro as "the answer to your problems."  Earlier in the evening the Council and concerned citizens had discussed how best to handle Long Beach airport's expansion which is being driven by a buildup of JetBlue Airlines flights. The City announced that JetBlue, American, Alaska, and cargo carriers had reached an accord with it on how to divide up the airport's allowed 41 flight slot's.

Wagner said "Let's all take care of our own problems." He continued stating.that Long Beach's problem was passengers "driving up the road from South Orange County… the NIMBYists who passed Measure W.  El Toro is still on the table. . . El Toro is the solution to your problem."

There was no response from the City Council.

Yesterday, CSUF opened its 11-acre facility at the former Wing Command Headquarters at El Toro. The University spent $1.3 million on converting the two-story Spanish-style compound into 22 classrooms and 48 offices that can accommodate 3,000.

At the opening, Congressman Ed Royce (R -39th) from Fullerton stated that education was the "best use" of the property and "not an airport." Royce's district spans North Orange County and adjacent cities in Los Angeles County.

Supervisor Cynthia Coad, who has a history of characterizing park plans at El Toro as just for South County, called the new campus a "county-wide asset."

A website covering Long Beach residents' efforts to control the growth of that airport reports on "possible O.C. allies." The "allies" include Shirley Conger of Costa Mesa and AWG's Rex Ricks who have been lobbying Long Beach to get behind El Toro.

In a letter published today in the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Conger writes:

Without El Toro Airport, all of the other airports in Southern California will have to absorb these 30 million passengers. Since Long Beach and John Wayne are close to Orange County, both will be forced to expand their operations. There are no other alternatives.

To protect itself and relieve the pressure for expansion, the most positive step Long Beach can make is to back the opening of El Toro International Airport.

"A handful of civilians invited by Secret Service and military personnel watched President George W. Bush take off Saturday from Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base."

"Saturday's departure was the end of about 10 frenetic days at the Los Alamitos base. That's how long base personnel had worked with the Secret Service, the FBI and other agencies to organize the details surrounding the president's arrival and departure."

"Bush is the third president to use the Los Alamitos airstrip -- Presidents George H. Bush and Bill Clinton also landed there -- said base commander Guido Portante. 'It's an awesome privilege,' Portante said. 'It heightens the morale when the boss comes for a visit.'" 

City Manager Allison Hart will present the City of Irvine's development plans for El Toro to the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority at Monday's meeting.

The event will be at the Lake Forest City Hall, 23161 Lake Center Drive, 2nd floor at 6 PM on August 26. The public is welcome.

A Superior Court judge ruled against the legality of Burbank Measure A, a voter-approved cap on Burbank Airport expansion. The voter-approved initiative sought to prohibit the issuance of building permits for any new airport expansion or modification until the airport imposes a 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew and caps growth of the number of passengers at 10% over the current level.

On Friday, the airport authority won a victory when Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Richard Montes declared Measure A unconstitutional. The voter measure violated state laws governing airports, elections and the environment, the judge said.

Burbank city officials brought suit against the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority alleging that Measure A was illegal because they felt it infringed on the authority of the city government. Neither side in the lawsuit wished to defend the measure. Because Measure A was a voter-passed initiative, the city paid the roughly $100,000 in legal costs of a group of voters who supported the measure in court.

The Times reports that, "In anticipation of the court's order, the Burbank City Council on Tuesday adopted interim regulations that permit the city staff to approve construction 'as long as we can make a determination that it is all done for security purposes, not expansion.'"

"For at least two decades, Burbank, backed by vocal residents, has opposed plans by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority to expand the facility." Click here for more on this convoluted matter.

Attorneys for Measure W (representing ETRPA, Irvine, and the initiative proponents) filed their responses today with the Superior Court in Norwalk. Documents included with the website's updated Litigation page show the convoluted agruments against the measure that are being relied upon by the pro-airport side.

Essentially, the Newport Beach groups and OCRAA cities are arguing that state law only permits the Board of Supervisors to change El Toro's airport designation but Measure A only permits the voters to do so. Hence, they suggest that there is no way to change the County General Plan for El Toro until Measure A expires in 13 years.

Attorney's for Citizens for Jobs and the Economy and the Airport Working Group have not sought an injunction against implementation of Measure W which remains the law.

"Dozens of workers with access to airplanes at Los Angeles International Airport and other Southland facilities were arrested Thursday as part of a nationwide crackdown [Operation Tarmac] on airport security, federal law enforcement sources said."

"Sources put the number arrested in raids at LAX, Ontario International Airport, John Wayne and Long Beach airports and at homes at fewer than 100, but cautioned that additional arrests were expected. Detainees were employed at the region's airports by private firms as janitors, caterers, baggage handlers and maintenance workers."

"Many had badges that provided them with access to security-sensitive areas such as planes, ramps, runways and cargo areas, sources said."

Click on the Early Bird thread for more information. Terrorism was not suspected. Those held were accused of immigration law violations or document fraud.

"In a potentially fatal blow to one of the [Mayor] Daley administration's top projects, the nation's two largest airlines said Tuesday that they no longer can afford to invest in a $3.6 billion plan for new passenger terminals and aircraft gates at O'Hare International Airport."

"Citing a financial crisis, officials at American Airlines and United Airlines said they were ending their involvement for the foreseeable future in Chicago's program to build two new terminals."

"They will focus resources and attention entirely on the city's plan to reconfigure O'Hare's runways. Chicago's plan to build two new runways and reconfigure others is estimated by the city to cost $6.6 billion . . . The airlines said they hope to regain a strong financial footing by the time the runway project, mired in lawsuits and estimated to take at least 15 years to complete, is under way."

"Some experts said the best strategy for Chicago would be to abandon the most expensive aspects of World Gateway and consider the more cost-effective remodeling of existing passenger terminals and concourses when the economy picks up.

Website Editor: Meanwhile, Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn is backing a $9.6 billion remodel of LAX that will not increase the airport's capacity and is meeting airlines opposition.. 

"EL TORO –About 2,000 students will descend on this lonely place when classes start Monday."

"The former Marine Corps Wing Command Headquarters for the Western United States has been turned into a 46,000- square-foot, two-story Spanish-tiled classroom building with a courtyard. After a $1.3 million renovation, the onetime gathering spot for aviators now houses 22 classrooms and 48 offices, as well as computer labs, a cafe, bookstore and library."

"Maintaining a south-county presence was critical for Cal State Fullerton - Orange County's only CSU campus - in part because the main campus is also feeling the strain of record growth. The 30,000- student school is the fastest-growing in the 23-campus CSU system."

"The university is on a five-year lease, paying about $44,000 a month, but the new building could eventually become part of a permanent and much larger campus if the city of Irvine annexes the 4,738- acre site." 

"The county's $16 million in state parks funding should go toward creating more neighborhood parks rather than focusing on deteriorating regional facilities, supervisors decided after a heated debate Tuesday."

"In the 3-2 vote, [Smith, Coad, Spitzer - Wilson, Silva] the board decided to divide the money equally among the five supervisorial districts and allow supervisors to choose how it should be spent."

"'My constituents are begging for more green space, and I believe others in heavily urbanized districts are, too,' said board Chairwoman Cynthia Coad, who supported divvying the money up."

"But opponents of Coad's plan . . said the county should first shore up its deteriorating regional parks."

"''This is a black day for the county,' [Jim] Silva said. 'We're seeing a wooden stake being hammered into the heart of county facilities. It's not going to be the same in the future. Everybody's going to be looking at splitting up the money by district.'"

"In other action, the board unanimously approved an emergency contract for $15.5 million to prepare the baggage-handling area of John Wayne Airport for the new baggage scanning-devices to be installed by the Transportation Security Administration."

Leonard Kranser, Editor of this website has published a how-to guidebook to using websites and e-mail in local politics. Internet for Activists is sub-titled A hands-on guide to Internet tactics field-tested in the fight against building El Toro Airport. Examples of how to create a website, gather content, reach a broad audience, and work with the traditional media are drawn from the El Toro airport campaign.

Click here for the Table of Contents, a sample chapter, and ordering information. Barnes and Noble is taking advanced requests on the firm's website for delivery in 1-2 weeks. Ask your local Barnes and Noble store in Irvine (949-453-1037) or Aliso Viejo (949-362-8027) when they will have copies. Borders Books has expressed interest in an October book signing event with the author. The book was published last week and is moving gradually into other outlets.

"As plans for a Great Park at the closed El Toro Marine base take root, anxious whispers of 'what if' are blooming: What if terrible things lurk beneath the weeds and asphalt on the thousands of acres that the Navy says don't need to be tested for toxic contamination?

"'These sites are full of uncertainty,' said Jody Freeman, a professor of environmental law at UCLA. 'They have been contaminated over the decades, and it is very rare that we know precisely what was dumped in them.'"

"The cleanup at El Toro is following the Superfund routine. Investigators look for documents that tell them where waste is buried and direct their cleanup to those areas. The documents suggest that toxic chemicals and low-level radioactive waste contaminate about 13% of the 4,700-acre property, and the federal government is paying to clean that up."

"But the documented contamination isn't what worries critics of the Navy's cleanup plan. It's the undocumented material that might be beneath the remaining 87% of the base where investigators aren't even looking."

"Among the places federal officials have yet to thoroughly investigate is the ground under the expansive runway system, although the Navy says it is satisfied with samplings it has done alongside the runways. Experts who have observed base closures warn that the area is a likely depository for thousands of gallons of fuel that leaked as jets gassed up, as well as dangerous chemicals used in degreasing."

"Great Park boosters say the warnings are the work of politicians who are angry that their plan for a commercial airport was defeated."

"'It is a continuing case of the doubters and defeatists and professional pessimists we have to deal with day after day,' Irvine Mayor Larry Agran said.... 'If more land is discovered to be contaminated, then it will be the federal government's obligation to clean it up.'"

"Agran acknowledges that it could be years before the site is fully clean but says that will not slow progress of the park plan. He said construction can start on various pieces of the base as soon as they are cleared by the Navy and federal environmental officials."

"For its part, the Navy anticipates that the cleanup will almost be completed by 2008. Spokeswoman Lt. Comdr. Pauline Storum said the Navy is confident that no unexpected contamination will be found. 'The Navy has no current reason to anticipate an unforeseen circumstance that would slow down the current cleanup efforts at El Toro,' she said."

"Storum added, however, that if additional contamination is found after the property is transferred, the Navy is required by federal law to return to clean it up."

"Palmdale Regional Airport supporters met with America West representatives in the first of what is expected to be a series of sales pitches to attract an airline. A delegation that included Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford and Philip Depoian, deputy executive director for government and external affairs for the Los Angeles World Airports, met with America West officials in Phoenix on Wednesday."

"America West planes flew out of Palmdale from January 1990 to September 1991 before pulling out of the market because of rising fuel prices during the Persian Gulf War and the nation's recession. The airline had flown passengers from Palmdale to Las Vegas and Phoenix."

"A study commissioned by Los Angeles County . . . stated Palmdale can support a profitable passenger service linking the Antelope Valley with western cities like Las Vegas, Dallas, Denver and the San Francisco Bay Area."

"The market area from which the Palmdale airport could draw -- about 600,000 people, taking in Santa Clarita as well as the Antelope Valley -- is large enough to produce 1 million to 1.5 million airline passengers a year, the report added."

"Under an agreement with the Air Force, Los Angeles World Airports -- the city of Los Angeles' airport department -- can run 50 flights daily out of Palmdale using Plant 42's taxiways and runways. The agreement includes provisions to expand the number of daily flights to 400."

"LAWA also owns 17,000 acres immediately east of Plant 42 that is earmarked for an airport. The city of Los Angeles began acquiring the land in the 1960s in anticipation of building an airport in Palmdale, but the airport has never been built."

The Nakano bill, AB2333, passed a first reading in the state Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday and will be back for a second reading on August 19. The much amended bill would rely on the Southern California Association of Governments to determine, and allocate to each county, a "fair share" of aviation "burden" in SCAG's regional aviation planning process.

Seattle-area groups have been fighting against construction of a third runway at Sea-Tac Airport for close to 10 years. As with El Toro, the fight is lead by a group of cities backed by a grass roots organization and allied as the Regional Commission on Airport Affairs, RCAA.

RCAA's website provided the model for those of us who started the El Toro site in 1996.

The following e-mail excerpt about the still-blocked third runway project is a message for those who persist with El Toro against the will of a determined public.

Subject: No Green Light for Third Runway

A state appeals board ruled on 12 August 2002 that the Port of Seattle, operator of Sea-Tac Airport must meet new environmental conditions if it plans to go forward with its proposed third runway at the Airport. Previous conditions . . . are supplemented by heavy new requirements.

Asked whether the runway project can go forward after this unfavorable ruling, Larry Corvari, President of RCAA said "Of course, that's up to the Commissioners of the Port of Seattle. They can try, if they wish, to meet these conditions. But they've spent $342 million at least so far, and they have no cost estimates in hand for the [new] conditions . . . This begins to look like a project that will devour all the Port's money for a decade to come. This would be a good time to mothball the runway and look for a Plan B."

"Fortunately, there is such a plan - pick the best site for a second regional airport - someplace where the environmental problems are easy, not impossible, someplace that isn't in the middle of a major metropolis, someplace where the runway won't be knocked out in the next earthquake. There are whole counties crying out for new business, who would love to be considered for a big airport project—counties with plenty of flat, dry land to spare."

Website Editor: It sounds like our Inland Empire or Palmdale.

"NEWPORT BEACH -- A first glance at how two groups spent a $3.6-million city grant for El Toro airport education has erupted into a heated battle as airport activists face off with Councilman John Heffernan over consultants' fees paid for with the funding."

"At Tuesday's council meeting, Heffernan called into question the fact that roughly a third of the total grant money … went to three consultants: about $458,062 was paid to . . .  Airport Working Group consultant David Ellis; $332,415 was paid to Bruce Nestande, president of Citizens for Jobs and the Economy; and $330,134 was paid to the firm of Cheveliar, Allen & Lichman, the law firm of the working group's executive director, Barbara Lichman."

"'This thing hasn't smelled right from the beginning,' Heffernan said in a phone interview Tuesday of the grant money issued in May 2001."

"Lichman estimated that her fees were about half of what most other firms would have charged for the same services. Though she said it would be inappropriate to state exactly what those fees were, she described them as 'ridiculously low' and added: 'For 18 years on the board [of the working group], I did every single solitary thing as a volunteer. And the only reason I took on that professional responsibility is because the city walked away [from the El Toro fight] and took its lawyers with it.'"

Nestande said his "total fee included costs of subcontractors who performed such services as an environmental assessment of the El Toro site. Nestande argued that his fees were money well spent, listing a dozen services that he provided, including communicating with county residents through direct mail and cable TV, as well as running an advocacy program in Washington, D.C."

Website Editor: No one has owned up to being "the rich guy" who paid for the busses that brought Mike Stevens and his LAX neighbors to several OC meetings.

"'We're very glad that the city of Newport Beach is having an audit done because we've long felt that [the working group] was not respecting that they were spending public money,' said Meg Waters, spokeswoman for the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority. 'They were electioneering with public money, and that's illegal,' she said."

"City Manager Homer Bludau said the city will hire an auditor to examine the expenditures. The auditors' report could be available for public review in about four weeks." 

The Southern California Association of Governments, SCAG, is Los Angeles-dominated and it shows in the organization's lessened support in other areas.

In April 2001, SCAG approved a regional transportation plan that capped LAX at 78 MAP and proposed that El Toro serves 30 MAP. The plan created animosity in South Orange County against SCAG and against Lake Forest City Councilman Richard Dixon who voted for it as one of only two local representatives to the organization.

Today, the Board of Supervisors of Riverside County considered whether to withdraw from the six-county organization.

The Inland Empire's growing needs and clout often play second fiddle to the needs of the coastal counties, mostly specifically Los Angeles County, Supervisor Tom Mullen said.

He also challenged the constitutionality of SCAG, claiming that it does not provide equal protection to all members and does not provide equal representation for all the counties involved.

Riverside County's proposal comes on the heels of a call from the Inland Empire Economic Partnership to withdraw from SCAG.

However, Supervisors decided not to pull out of SCAG and will instead meet jointly with San Bernardino County to attempt to further the needs of the Inland Empire.

El Toro airport supporters wildly exaggerate O.C. use of LAX. A December 8, 1998 LA Times report on then LA Mayor Richard Riordan's appearance at a George Argyros-organized pro-airport fundraiser stated, "About 20 million of LAX's 60 million passengers a year come from Orange County, according to Los Angeles airport estimates."

A few other published samples were less extravagant but still too high: An Airport Working Group Orange County Report, Fall 1999 said "Today, Orange County exports 12 million passengers annually to Los Angeles International Airport."

El Segundo Mayor Mike Gordon is quoted in the Daily Bulletin of September 24, 2001 complaining, "We still have 11 million people from Orange County" using LA's airports.

The Southern California Association of Governments, SCAG, estimated 2000 Orange County use of all regional airports combined at 16 million annual passengers, (MAP). SCAG, when challenged, reduced its estimate to 12 MAP and later came back to defend the 16 MAP figure. SCAG said that 7 million of these use John Wayne with the balance of 9 million using LAX and Ontario.

Volunteers, collecting data from all of the regional airports and published passenger surveys, have constructed a new, and hopefully more accurate estimate. Some of our earlier estimates of LAX usage were too low and in the 4-5 MAP range. Our latest calculation, of 6-7 MAP is  now published on a new website page with supporting details, and is summarized as follows:
 

Year	2000	2001
Total passengers, including those in transit and connecting - using all 6 regional airports (MAP)	88.8	81.9
Total O.C. origin & destination passengers - using all 6 regional airports including JWA  (MAP)	14.6	13.6
O.C. passengers using LAX (MAP)	6.8	6.2

"Friends of the Green Line [is] an . . . eclectic group of 11 men and one woman ranging in age from their 20s to 60s, including environmentalists, transportation advocates, retirees, dot-commers and professionals with an interest in mass transit . . .  [They propose] linking the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's 20-mile Green Line with Los Angeles International Airport."

"Today, the 7-year-old rail line stops to the north at Aviation Boulevard — tantalizingly close to the world's third-busiest airport but far enough away that airport workers and passengers must board a shuttle bus to get to the terminal area."

"The MTA completed formal environmental studies of a northern Green Line spur into LAX. But it was never built; today, only a siding extends north a few yards from the Aviation station in a teasing reminder of what could be."

"The group [led by Dr. Ken Alpern] also believes that the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad's Harbor Subdivision tracks, which run on the west side of Aviation Boulevard and through Manchester Square, could be upgraded to serve as a Green Line extension."

"In addition to the LAX issue, Friends of the Green Line are interested in pushing the system south into Torrance, north to Santa Monica and east to the Metrolink Norwalk station.

"About 1.1 million air passengers and LAX workers are expected to take the Green Line to the airport this year, said LAX spokesman Harold Johnson."

Website editor: While California legislators seek, through the Nakano bill, to force airport burdens onto unwilling counties, this writer from Mexico City suggests that counties in his nation "bid" for the benefits that a new airport could bring.

 "Last week's announcement by the Mexican government that it is junking the Fox administration's most important public policy project is a serious signal that the president and his team cannot handle the big issues. The project was the building of a new international airport for Mexico City. The decision about where to locate it took more than two decades."

"But Atencos – as the people from this small town are now called – blocked the project. For the last nine months, they became machete-in-hand demonstrators. Every week, they would show up with their land tools at major government agencies in the city, claiming that 'no plane will take over their lands.'"

"But there are still interesting options for the new airport. One of them would be to open a bidding process in which not only nearby counties, but also other states can compete . . . There are already some signals that such a bidding process may work effectively. For example, Nuevo Leon's governor this week has been trying to convince Mexico City that international flights could be diverted to its capital, Monterrey, and even Guadalajara."

"It is urgent that a bidding process be instituted, because it may be the only way to get a consensus . . . The idea is simple but powerful. Instead of placing an order from the central city, the government has to launch an Olympics-like, venue-bidding process. Counties would compete by submitting their best business environment projects."

"It is only a matter of time before a new airport is located in Toluca, Tizayuca or in the Xochiaca area, all of them counties near Mexico City."

Click here for the entire story. Then think of the possibilities for inland communities in California bidding for an airport against central Los Angeles and Orange County where aviation expansion is unwanted.

A brochure, "Newport Beach - A Step to the Future, August 2002", recently mailed to residents from the city planning department states:

AIRPORT ISSUES

The City must work with the Federal Government to solve airport congestion problems. Ideas include:

Create an international airport at Camp Pendleton

Extend the JWA settlement agreement.

Develop land use strategy that prevents expansion of John Wayne Airport.

Cal State Fullerton released the latest in its series of quarterly public opinion polls on El Toro today. "Opposition to a proposed international airport at the closed Marine Corps base at El Toro has increased since February 2002, according to the latest survey of Orange County residents undertaken by Cal State Fullerton’s Center for Public Policy and the Orange County Business Council." The university reports that "Shift toward opposition [is] stronger in Northern Orange County."

Residents were asked:

"At the present time, do you support or oppose building an international airport at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station? Would you say that you… Strongly support building the airport, somewhat support, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose building an international airport at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station?"

While eight out of ten south county residents either somewhat oppose or strongly oppose an airport at El Toro, about six out of ten (60.4%) north county residents report the same view. This is the lowest level of north county support recorded by the university.

Dates for interviews were June 20 through July 11, 2002

Click for the complete report.

"El Toro is back on the ballot after county supervisors agreed Tuesday to ask voters in November to express their concern - or lack thereof - about environmental cleanup at the former Marine base. The advisory-only measure proposed by board Chairwoman Cynthia Coad will let residents say whether they want the Navy to complete the cleanup of toxic contaminants at El Toro before it is sold or developed."

"The measure is nonbinding on the Navy, which owns the base. A military spokeswoman declined comment until officials review the measure."

"Lake Forest Councilwoman Marcia Rudolph, a longtime member of the citizen panel overseeing El Toro environmental cleanup, said the measure may be more symbolic than substantial."

"'It's a nice gesture, but I'm not so sure it will do what it intends to do,' Rudolph said. 'To the degree that it raises the attention and the quality of the remediation, I think it's good.'"

"Rudolph said the panel believes much progress is being made with the Navy and other federal and state agencies working on the cleanup. Much of the remaining work will be completed by 2004 or 2005, she estimated, but some - such as the removal of contaminants from ground water - will take 30 or 40 years."

The LA Times reports, "Unexpected pollution discovered at other closed bases has stalled redevelopment and added millions of dollars in costs."

"In November 2000, San Francisco voters overwhelmingly passed a similar referendum demanding the Navy do a better job of cleaning up Hunters Point, a shipyard on San Francisco Bay that was closed in 1977 and that is also on the Superfund list. Cleanup of Hunters Point remains unfinished. '[The measure] passed, but we can't say for certain that it had an effect, [a monitoring group said.]"

Click here for full text of both articles in the website's Early Bird thread.

Win some and lose some but overall, it was an OK day for airport opponents. Cynthia Coad's base cleanup measure got onto the November ballot, a watered-down version of George Nakano's Assembly Bill AB 2333 moved forward in the state legislature, and Chuck Smith's potentially dangerous El Toro Reuse Ordinance was dropped.

The Board of Supervisors agreed, 4-0, to put Coad's non-binding measure on the November 5 ballot. The feel-good straw poll accomplishes little but maybe annoy the Navy. Last weekend Assistant Secretary of the Navy H.T. Johnson made it very clear that the Navy would clean up El Toro, though not necessarily before the property is transferred to private ownership and the tax rolls. Coad's eleventh-hour measure asks voters, who can do nothing about it, whether they would like the cleanup to precede the sale of the land.

Todd Spitzer, who has been consistent and principled about wanting cleanup to be assured, joined with his pro-airport colleagues. He did so after reminding them that they had previously voted against an environmental study of the cleanup required for park use, that he and Tom Wilson had backed.

The Nakano bill cleared the state Senate Transportation Committee after being further amended to extend the "fair share" concept for allocating airport capacity to all six SCAG counties. It is a bad concept but fortunately it has no teeth.

The City of Newport Beach joined South County in opposing AB 2333. The Newport leadership seems to have discovered, too late, that John Wayne is the only airport there will be in the county; this after building a pro-El Toro airport campaign on hyperbole about the growing need for more Orange County airport capacity. Having encouraged the passion of LAX neighbors, who hope to share their burden with others, Newport Beach may wish it could stuff the genie it unleashed back into the bottle.

The Smith ordinance that was pulled Monday, because Jim Silva wouldn't join Smith and Coad in supporting it, was legally flawed but dangerous. It was the only one of the three measures that could do some real damage. Buzz has it that county lobbyists were preparing to tack enabling legislation onto some other bill in the legislature to try to cure the ordinance's legal defects.

"County Supervisor Charles Smith spiked his proposal Monday for yet a fifth El Toro election after realizing he lacked a board majority [Jim Silva's third vote] to put it on the ballot. . . He dropped it after only Board Chairwoman Cynthia Coad signed on."

"I think the voters have a right to approve or reject any kind of commercial development at El Toro," he said." However, last year Smith voted against giving the voters approval rights over an airport plan.

"Residents still are likely to vote again on El Toro this fall - but only on a nonbinding advisory measure."

"Three of five board members said Monday that they will support a proposal by Coad for a November measure to urge the Navy to finish all environmental cleanup before El Toro is sold."

"Smith and Supervisor Todd Spitzer said they would support Coad's ballot proposal. Spitzer said he would back her plan even though he suspects Coad wants to slow Irvine's proposed annexation more than clean the base - pointing to a December vote where she opposed a county study of El Toro contamination if it became a park."

"Coad said she did so because El Toro was slated for use as an airport at that time."

"'When a park is what it's going to be, we've got kids who are going to put dirt in their mouths,' Coad said. 'I've raised seven, I know there's a point when they put dirt in their mouths. We want to make sure it's not radioactive or toxic.'"  Website editor: Does this explain why she opposed a study of cleanup for park use last December 18?

Supervisor Smith has removed his proposed ordinance from the agenda of tomorrow's Board of Supervisors meeting. The El Toro proposal will not be on the November ballot.

The website received the attached media release from the supervisor's office shortly after 5:00 PM today regarding agenda item #56.

Tomorrow morning, Tuesday August 6, the BOS will consider Supervisor Smith's El Toro Reuse ordinance which will force at least two more elections before non-aviation development can begin.

This is a good meeting to attend. Speak in opposition to this hypocritical agenda item #56.

Supervisor Tom Wilson, who will be out of state, has provided a press release with objections to the ordinance saying "Measure B is nothing but a lot of 'Bull' - but of course that translates to El Toro."

ETRPA's attorney Terry Dixon provides a less colorful but very important analysis of the legal defects in the ordinance, which "will be clearly subject to a pre-election lawsuit to keep it off the ballot."

"John Wayne Airport witnessed a 4.3% increase in airline passenger traffic in June 2002 as compared to June 2001. While passenger traffic has totaled 715,613 as compared to last year's count of 685,949 passengers, the total number of aircraft operations during the same months decreased."

Website Editor: Data from the Southern California Association of Governments shows a long-term regional trend towards fewer flights at regional airports except LAX. The trend raises questions regarding the presumed need for lots more runways.

"Until the Marines pulled out, the aging but graceful building off Desert Storm Way served as the headquarters for an elite squadron of pilots. Now, the building at the mothballed El Toro Marine base is on the verge of rebirth."

"By the end of the month, Cal State Fullerton students will enroll in criminal justice, nursing, public administration, adolescent behavior and teacher-credential classes at the closed base."

"The number of students attending class at the old Marine base is expected to reach 2,500 for the fall semester--nearly double the enrollment of the college's previous satellite campus in Mission Viejo."

"The college spent more than $1.4 million renovating the two-story Spanish-style building that once housed the Wing Command Headquarters. The building will have 22 classrooms and 48 offices, as well as a cafe and a student bookstore. There will be 550 marked spaces when class starts."

Website Editor: A university campus at El Toro is one of Measure W's first promises to be realized. 

Today, Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Installations and Environment) H. T. Johnson rebuts park critics and reassures residents in a letter to the Times:

"Orange County's 'Great Park' Comes With a Great Price Tag" cites critics who inaccurately characterize the Navy's cleanup efforts at the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. It suggests that cleanup costs will adversely affect purchasers of the property. Both are incorrect."

"The Department of the Navy's record of cleanup at this site and others stands as testimony to the effectiveness of its environmental remediation program. The Navy cleans up the bases it returns to the public to standards set for it by the federal government and the applicable state government. Federal law not only requires that we complete all cleanup before the sales are complete, but it also requires that we indemnify the new owners if we find contamination later on that is attributable to our operations."

"We remain fully committed to funding the cleanup of El Toro, which is actively ongoing at several sites on the base, and standing by our commitments in the future." 

AB2333 is scheduled for  a second hearing in the Senate Transportation Committee on Tuesday. The author has agreed to amend the bill to include all six of the SCAG counties. The change will put pressure on Ventura County to create a modest, Burbank-size airport if it is to do its "fair share".

Click here to see how San Francisco Bay Area counties are not constrained by the "fair share" concept which Nakano is pushing to protect his constituents near LAX.

"Airlines that carry almost half the passenger traffic at Los Angeles International Airport criticized key components of Mayor James K. Hahn's $9.6-billion renovation plan in a strongly worded letter sent to the city agency that operates LAX."

"The airlines documented their unease about several key points of Hahn's plan, including construction of a remote facility near the San Diego Freeway; moving a runway, which would require demolishing three terminals; an effort to cap use of the airport at 78 million annual passengers; and, perhaps most important, the cost."

The letter states: "Constraining the capacity of LAX to induce traffic at other airports that are already constrained could result in the inability of the Southern California region to accommodate air traffic demand at reasonable levels of customer service."

"It was signed by United Parcel Service, as well as seven passenger carriers--Alaska, America West, American, Continental, Delta, Northwest and Southwest."

Supervisor Charles Smith proposes that voters go back to the polls at least twice more on El Toro before a reuse plan can be implemented. He forwarded his Measure B "El Toro Reuse Ordinance" to fellow supervisors today with the following message:

"Measure B will insure that any reuse of this countywide asset is approved by the voters . . . The City of Irvine should be held to the same standard as the County of Orange relative to the reuse of El Toro. This is the purpose of Measure B."

Supervisor Cynthia Coad, also seeks another El Toro vote "concerning clean up of toxic contamination/carcinogenic pollutants and public health and safety at MCAS El Toro." Her non-binding measure states that "the County desires direction from the voters."

Now that their airport plan is beat, Supervisors Smith and Coad show a sudden new interest in voter input. At the Board meeting of September 17, 2001, Supervisor Tom Wilson tried to amend the resolution approving the Airport System Master Plan for El Toro. He moved to add that the airport plans, "shall not become effective until and unless they are submitted to and approved by the voters of Orange County."

Smith and Coad both voted "No" on seeking voter approval of the airport. Supervisor Jim Silva voted "Yes" but changed his mind the next day.

This is no time for pro-airport supervisors to suddenly wrap themselves in red, white, and blue and come out for democracy. These stalling tactics should be rejected for what they are: a waste of time and money, a distraction from the business of the county, and attempts that will increase costs for the Department of Defense by slowing and confusing the process of selling the base for its voter-decided non-aviation uses. 

"Orange County voters could be faced with another November ballot measure involving El Toro, this one urging the Navy to remove toxic contamination before the former Marine base can be sold."

"Supervisor Cynthia P. Coad will ask her colleagues Tuesday to place a measure regarding cleanup at the base on the ballot."

"The Navy has certified as clean about 85% of the 4,700-acre base, which is designated as one of the most polluted sites in the country. Navy officials said they plan no further cleanup before the sale."

"A nonbinding county measure would have no authority over the Navy, which plans to sell the base land in the coming months. But its passage could present political problems, given the military's cleanup record at other bases."

"Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has urged the Navy to use money from land sales to clean the base. The federal government must clean contamination, but there is no deadline."

"The proposed measure joins another suggested this week by Supervisor Chuck Smith that would require voter approval of any changes to a final redevelopment plan for El Toro."

Website Editor: The Smith proposal faces major legal hurdles, since it flies in the face of state law. Hence, Coad has joined the last-minute pro-airport stalling tactics by the increasingly irrelevant Board of Supervisors.

The Orange County Register reports: "The U.S. Navy said it will push ahead with Irvine's plan for some development and a Great Park at El Toro on Thursday, a day after Supervisor Charles Smith said he wants voters to again go to the polls to determine the former Marine base's fate."

"'Nothing has really changed for us,' Lt. Comdr. Pauline Storum, a Navy spokeswoman, said Thursday. 'We are continuing to follow down the path we laid out. If local government passed a new law, we would adjust.'" 

"In a surprise reversal, the administration of President Vicente Fox yielded to protests by machete-wielding farmers and radicals and canceled plans to build a new international airport on the eastern outskirts of Mexico City.

"The administration said that by canceling the plan, it hoped 'to reconcile the public good . . . with the private interests of those who wanted to keep the land as farms.'"

Website Editor: Nice message for Orange County supervisors.

"Q: Why is Smith proposing his plan now?"

"A: He said the idea came to him recently and has largely been ironed out in recent days. Tuesday's Board of Supervisors' meeting is the last one scheduled before the Aug. 9 deadline that the panel faces to approve any measure for the Nov. 5 ballot."

"Q: Does Smith have the needed three votes to put the matter onto the ballot?"

"A: His likely supporters are Supervisors Jim Silva and Cynthia Coad. Silva [who occasionally breaks from Smith on matters of spending and has shown some unwillingness to continue the El Toro struggle] was unavailable for comment Wednesday. But Coad was supportive."

"Q: Does the plan face obstacles?"

"A: It appears that it does. A state [Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg Local Agency Formation Commission, LAFCO] law regulating how cities can annex land might have to be amended by state legislators. The Navy, which owns the base, is strongly behind Irvine's plan and has said that an airport won't go on the property. To succeed, Smith's plan would have to beat Irvine to the punch -- becoming law before Irvine gains control over the land through its annexation plan."

"Q: What do U.S. Navy officials say about Smith's idea?"

"A: They were unavailable for comment Wednesday, but representatives said the military branch intends to release a statement today." Check back with this website.

"Q: What was [Irvine mayor Agran's] reaction to the supervisor's proposal?"

"A: 'It always renews the suspicion that this is one more pitiful effort to resurrect a long-dead airport,' Agran said. 'And I think Supervisor Smith ought to be committed to implementing the will of the people.'"

The Times reports "'This is their last hurrah,' anti-airport Supervisor Todd Spitzer said. 'I've got news for them: All the king's horses and all the king's men aren't going to put an airport at El Toro back together'"

Post your comments and questions on Measure B.

Click here for previous news stories