Today's Headlines

Business Wire, August 30, 2004 web posted August 31, 2004
"Thousands of Californians Weigh in on High-Speed Train Project"

Today is the close of public comments on the environmental report for a California High Speed Rail project and "support for the project was overwhelming."

"The Draft EIR/EIS includes more than 2,500 pages describing the potential environmental impacts of three transportation system alternatives and comparing how well they would meet California's current and future transportation needs."

"The report concludes that for less than half the cost of building more highway lanes and airport runways, the high-speed train system could carry up to 68 million passengers by 2020, and would increase mobility, help relieve highway congestion, help protect California's environment and create hundreds of thousands of jobs."

Website Editor: With an estimated more than one-third of all flights from local airports going to destinations within 400 miles, high speed rail offers an attractive alternative to building more airports.

Daily Pilot, August 30, 2004
"Travelers continue to choose John Wayne"

"Passenger levels at John Wayne Airport continue to set records, with the number of travelers in July reaching an all-time high of 869,481, a 6.8% increase compared with July 2003."

"In July, total aircraft operations included 32,026 takeoffs and landings, an increase of 5.1% from the same month in 2003, and commercial carrier flight operations climbed 7.6% compared with the same month last year."

Website Editor: The upward trend is not unique to John Wayne but is unevenly distributed amongst airports. LAX passengers, the largest factor in total regional traffic, were up by 11.0% over July 2003.

Ontario logged a 4.25% increase. Burbank was up 1.34%. Long Beach pasengers decreased by 7.24% from a year ago in the month of July but are still up 4.9% for the year-to-date.

El Toro Info Site report, August 26, 2004
It will be 2005

Irvine City Manager Allison Hart told the Great Park Corporation board today that the close of escrow on all four El Toro parcels now is scheduled for June 2005.

Hart apparently did not mention when the auction would begin but we are betting on January, after the holidays.

This information should come as no surprise to anyone who has been reading this website.

El Toro Info Site report, August 26, 2004
Ed Dornan and the Great Park

Ed Dornan is one of five Directors of the non-profit Great Park Conservancy. The Conservancy, (also knows as the Foundation for the Great Park) solicits contributions and conducts outreach, and is sometimes confused with the city-created Great Park Corporation that will oversee the actual park development. Dornan is listed as Secretary and as head of the Conservancy's Public Education Committee.

The program for a 2003 environmentally oriented conference also lists Dornan as Director, Great Park Forestry Trust, speaking on a panel with the Principal of the Great Park Landscape Company. We have found no information on the Forestry Trust other than an oblique comment by Councilman Chris Mears.

Our issue is El Toro reuse. Because of his prominent role in fundraising for the park Conservancy, controversy over Dornan's alleged financial dealings in a utility project with the City is troubling. While he has stated that he has not received any compensation for lobbying Irvine on behalf of Anaheim-based ENCO, others say Dornan told them that his payoff is coming. Councilman Chris Mears first broke the story of Dornan's potential lobbying windfall in the OC Weekly. Tuesday night, at a marathon City Council meeting, City Manager Allison Hart also reported getting confirmation from Dornan that he stands to benefit from the deal.

The Council meeting is covered extensively by the OC Weekly, Register and Times reports posted on our message board. We have added a link to the videotape of the meeting so that viewers can watch and form their own judgements.

This website, as a matter of long-standing policy, will not take sides in the Irvine elections fight.

We do however want everything done regarding the Great Park to be squeaky-clean. Mr. Dornan's public problems and aggresive political fundraising activities concern us. There is a hint in the air of exposes to come. We will monitor the situation, especially as it relates to El Toro reuse.

Unfortunately, none of this is likely to build confidence in how the park project is being handled.

LA Times, August 26, 2004
"Ruling Adds a Hurdle for LAX Proposal"
"Panel's finding forces the mayor to garner more council support to approve the airport modernization plan."

The Los Angeles Airport Land Use Commission, ALUC, "An obscure county commission ruled Wednesday that the city's modernization proposal for Los Angeles International Airport violates a county land-use plan, a finding that will force Mayor James K. Hahn to get a two-thirds City Council vote to approve the blueprint."

"The five-member Airport Land Use Commission unanimously ruled that the mayor's $9-billion plan . . . [is] inconsistent with a 1991 county land-use plan."

"Throughout the meeting, . . . commissioners and city officials bemoaned the current land-use plan, saying its age made it impossible for the two sides to reach any understanding."

"City and county officials pointed fingers, with each side claiming the other was responsible for ensuring that the county's land-use plan was amended to reflect current conditions around LAX."

Click here for the entire story . . .

Website Editor: The LAX situation has parallels in Orange County where an obstinate OC ALUC is rejecting projects near El Toro based on a 1981 Marine Corps noise study.

First District Supervisorial Newsletter, received August 25, 2004 and updated
Smith: "Why are we in the airport business?"

Supervisor Chuck Smith emailed a bulletin asking: "Why are we in the airport business?"

"I recently brought the suggestion to the Board that we look into selling John Wayne Airport. It caused quite an uproar.

"Here are the unpublicized facts:

1. the County doesn't make a penny of income from the airport,
2. it takes hundreds of employees and supervisory staff to operate the facility.
3. handling the annual budget is overwhelming,
4. no other County in California --- or in the U.S. --- owns an airport,
5. LAX is owned by a separate entity that also owns the Ontario, Palmdale and Burbank airports.

"I believe it is merely pride of ownership that keeps the County on the line for John Wayne Airport. I asked our staff to research the possibility of selling the airport, but they did not ask the FAA if they would approve of any existing authority like the ones that operate LAX to purchase the airport. If they wanted to sell the airport, the County could do so without adversely impacting the citizens of Orange County. The sale would pump money back into the County's economy and help to restore many of the budgetary cuts we were forced to make."

Website Editor: LAX is owned by Los Angeles World Airports that owns Ontario, Palmdale and Van Nuys airports.

El Toro Info Site, August 24, 2004 - updated August 25
Great Park trees may become next issue in Agran-Mears controversy

Tonight, the Irvine City Council discussed two major items of conflict, pitting Councilman Chris Mears against the Larry Agran-Beth Krom team. One lengthy discussion concerned the awarding of the city ambulance contract. The second item dealt with the recently much-publicized contract for municipal utilities consulting.

The press will cover these issues at length. Click for OC Register August 25 story.

One had to listen closely to hear Great Park trees briefly tossed into the storm.

Mears, while reciting complaints over the financial involvement of Agran fundraising ally Ed Dornan, asked rhetorically "Why does Ed Dornan's name keep coming up in these issues?"

Then Mears, who is President of the Great Park Corporation and should know something on the subject, dropped a one-line comment that "Dornan [even] is involved in selling trees to the Great Park."

Let's stay tuned.

OC Register, August 24, 2004
"Agran faces criticism"

"Irvine Mayor Larry Agran and Councilman Chris Mears . . . will confront each other tonight in what surely will be one of the more contentious City Council meetings in years."

"At issue is whether the city will spend more money studying if it could save millions of dollars by using a city-owned utility to serve the Northern Sphere, the city's future development area northwest of the old El Toro base, and who should provide the city's ambulance service."

"Councilman Chris Mears lacerated the politics of the [utility] plan in an article in OC Weekly. In the article, Mears said he was particularly troubled that former councilman and now political consultant Ed Dornan stood to be paid if the city contracted with Anaheim-based Enco Utility Services on the electric project." Click for the entire story . . .

Website Editor: Our interest in the controversy centers on concerns that divisive internal affairs of the city could delay implementation of the non-aviation reuse of El Toro. Agran is termed out as Mayor but has been a driving force behind city efforts to create a Great Park at El Toro. Mears is President of the Great Park Corporation but must give up that post when he leaves the City Council. Dornan is a director of the non-profit Foundation for the Great Park, a fundraising support group for the park.

Agran's political team has issued a recent letter calling for support at the meeting and criticizing his detractors.

El Toro Info Site report, August 22, 2004
El Toro supporters near JWA and LAX keep debate alive

Today's Newport Beach Daily Pilot headlines: "City Council hopefuls addressed the pressing issues in Newport Beach, namely the airport."

"Newport Beach City Council candidates struggled to be heard above the frequent roar of airplanes overhead Saturday, even as they discussed airport expansion."

"Incumbent Steve Rosansky and newcomers Dolores Otting and John Earl Buttolph spoke at this campaign season's first candidate forum, held in a Little Balboa Island home's back yard. All three candidates cited the airport as the most important issue facing the city. All said they were against expansion of John Wayne Airport."

"Otting, an outspoken City Council critic, and Buttolph both said they support the Airport Working Group, which advocates a new airport at the former El Toro Marine Air Base near Irvine. Rosansky said that the city needs to preserve limits at John Wayne Airport because an El Toro airport is 'off the table.'"

A column in the Orange County Business Journal of July 5-11 reported that Los Angeles City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, whose district includes LAX, plans to ask candidate Mike Gordon of El Segundo to introduce an LAX protection bill if he is elected to the State Legislature this fall. She wants a law "calling for creation of a regional airport authority - one with 'teeth' that would have the power to compel participation and create incentives for other counties to bear their fair share of the air traffic burden."

"'I expect there will be a knock-down, drag-out fight in the Legislature over this, since many communities don't want to give up local control,' Miscikowski said."

"She was referring chiefly to Orange County, which has rejected any attempt by Los Angeles-area officials to force the expansion of its airport capacity."

On Thursday, August 26, at 7 p.m. a Great Park Symposium will be conducted at Irvine City Hall, Council Chambers, One Civic Center Plaza in Irvine. Admission is free of charge and open to all.

Dr. Michael S. Brown has worked in environmental management for nearly 20 years, leading efforts to improve environmental performance in industry and government. Dr. Brown works with public agencies and in the private sector to institute high performance environmental management policies, strategies, and programs. Since 1999, he has worked with the City of Irvine to monitor the Navy's remediation efforts in the environmentally stressed areas at the closed El Toro Base and as an advisor on environmental and energy programs.

El Toro Info Site report, August 19, 2004
ALUC meets - but why bother?

The Orange County Airport Land Use Commission, ALUC met Thursday night but left some wondering what useful purpose was served.

A major agenda item was pulled when the City of Santa Ana withdrew its proposed Aviation Environs Element for the City's General Plan. Santa Ana is in the John Wayne Airport approach corridor and had asked that its Aviation Element be reviewed and approved for consistency with ALUC's JWA Airport Environs Plan.

A terse city letter attributed the decision to "extensive [ALUC] comments" on the plan "three months after the City first submitted its draft Element" for consideration.

Several commissioners expressed confusion over the city action. One suspicion is that Santa Ana tired of being jerked around by ALUC's ever-changing development requirements. Recently, a frustrated developer argued that ALUC must tell everyone what height of building is allowed near the airport and then stick to it.

A contingent of befuddled Santa Ana residents showed up to speak on the agenda item. One noted that on another agenda item, a residential tower in the Irvine Spectrum near John Wayne, two of the commissioners spoke in strong opposition but then voted to approve it.

Commissioner Tom O'Malley, new Commissioner Melody Carruth attending her first meeting, and alternate Commissioner Len Kranser all chided their colleagues for not updating the John Wayne Airport Environs Land Use Plan to reflect the recent increase in allowed JWA air traffic. State law requires that ALUC plans be based on at least 20 years of future growth. Carruth asked, repeatedly and unsuccessfully, for a timetable as to when this update would be started.

She was told that staff was busy with other higher priority projects. Kranser suggested that John Wayne was "a real airport with real neighbors". Staff might save time for this if the commissioners "would stop reviewing projects in the vicinity of El Toro, which is not an airport."

In a final bit of irony, ALUC staff was forced to acknowledge that commission Vice-Chairman Rod Prost's term on ALUC expired on May 1 and that he was not reappointed. He continues to serve under a rule that leaves him on ALUC until a replacement is selected.

Prost only needed his own vote and that of John Wayne Airport Manager Alan Murphy to be reappointed as a "public airport" representative. However, Fullerton Airport Manager Prost actively opposes the Board of Supervisors' policy to rescind airport land use restrictions around El Toro. We speculate that a stalemate exists with Murphy unwilling to endorse Prost's obstructionist tactics.

OC Register, August 17, 2004
"Navy wants El Toro sold fast"
"Financial pressure of Iraq motivates change to selling the 3,700 acres online quickly as one single parcel".

"The Navy now says it wants to sell the old El Toro base land as soon as possible rather than stretch out the process in a sequential auction of four parcels."

"All the military services are under growing pressure to dispose of surplus assets, consolidate operations and privatize housing, base maintenance and other non-combat related tasks."

"Originally, the Navy had planned to sell the 3,700 acres of the old base that will become the Great Park all at once in an online auction. But in early June, it said it would sell the four parcels in separate auctions, which could have extended the sale into 2006. The Navy said the sequential process would allow more time to clean a solvent plume and other environmental problems at El Toro."

"Now, though, the financial demands of the war in Iraq and the Defense Department's frustration with the plodding pace of disposing of old base lands are influencing a rethinking."

More . . .

Heritage Fields Press Release, August 16, 2004 - updated
FINDING OF SUITABILITY TO TRANSFER SIGNED

The Department of the Navy is pleased to announce that on Tuesday, August 3, 2004, the Finding of Suitability to Transfer (FOST) and the Finding of Suitability to Lease (FOSL) were signed. With the completion of this FOST, roughly 3,700 acres (or 78%) of the 4,712-acre base have either been transferred (approximately 900 acres) or are now considered suitable for transfer (2,800 acres) by the Department of Navy.

The issuance of the FOST and FOSL is a key milestone in the impending sale of the 3,700-acre Heritage Fields property. The FOST is a summary environmental document that certifies that almost 2,800 acres of property at Heritage Fields is suitable for transfer by deed in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). The FOST covers portions of Sale Parcels 1, 2, 3 and all of Parcel 4. The FOSL has been prepared to support the lease of about 900-acres (carve-out parcels) not suitable for transfer, at this time, by deed. For each Sale Parcel, a separate Lease in Furtherance of Conveyance (LIFOC) will accompany the deed and will cover the carve-out parcels. The FOSL establishes restrictions that will be imposed to allow some use of the leased property and to ensure such activity does not impede ongoing environmental actions. Both of these documents provide critical information for interested parties to consider as part of the due diligence process.

Website Editor: We will be reporting on the significance of clearing this hurdle. The 900 acres that have "been transferred" constitute the nature preserve which stays with the federal government. A group of scattered small sites ('carve-out parcels") totaling another 900 acres are to be leased pending cleanup. The remainder is now cleared for sale.

El Toro Info Site report, August 16, 2004
Ontario Airport Master Plan online

The proposed Master Plan for a 33 MAP Ontario International Airport is online. Click here and then select Notice of Preparation.

The airport served 6.5 MAP in 2003.

Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), jointly with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), will hold a scoping meeting for the proposed Master Plan from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, August 17, 2004 at the Ontario Convention Center in the City of Ontario, California. The purpose of the scoping meeting is to receive input from interested parties regarding the scope and content of information to be included in the ONT Master Plan Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

LA Times, August 15, 2004
"Shrimp Pose Big Problem for LAX"
"Officials contend that proposed preserve for the endangered species could hamper air travel."

"The scrubby, rock-filled drainage ditch at the end of a runway at Los Angeles International Airport might not look like much, but to scores of endangered shrimp, it's home."

"The little depression, surrounded by a chain-link fence with signs warning "Los Angeles World Airports - Endangered Species - Keep Out," is part of a 108-acre area at LAX that federal officials want to designate as a preserve for the tiny creatures, which at the moment exist in egg form."

"The proposal by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, announced earlier this year, took both Los Angeles World Airports, the city agency that operates LAX, and the Federal Aviation Administration by surprise."

"LAX officials argue that creating a preserve for the shrimp poses a risk because the crustaceans require standing water, which attracts birds and other wildlife. Birds, in turn, can be sucked into aircraft engines."

For more . . .

Daily Breeze, August 12, 2004, published August 13, 2004
"Board report could clip LAX plan's wings"
"The Airport Land Use Commission's finding can be overturned only by a two-thirds council vote."

"Mayor James Hahn could find it harder to secure passage of his $9 billion-plus LAX modernization plan because of a report released this week by an obscure but important county agency. The report by the Los Angeles County Airport Land Use Commission concludes that Hahn's proposal runs afoul of a countywide airport plan mainly by exposing three schools and 5,400 residents in Inglewood, Lennox and Westchester to increased aircraft noise."

"Its findings are significant because if the commission formally adopts them during its next meeting on Monday, a supermajority of two-thirds of the Los Angeles City Council must vote to override the decision."

"Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski, who crafted a compromise version of Hahn's plan that the mayor ultimately supported, said the county's 13-year-old airport land use plan is out of date and doesn't allow for any LAX modernization that includes growth."

Click for more . . .

Website Editor: California counties with airports must have an ALUC or an equivalent body. Orange County's ALUC creates problems because it applies obsolete Airport Environs Land Use Plans around John Wayne and El Toro. State law requires that AELUP's include 20-year master plans for the airports. The plan for John Wayne dates from 1985 and has not been updated to reflect changes to the Settlement Agreement that allow more flights. There is no plan for an airport at El Toro.

Daily Pilot, August 12, 2004
"Flight-focused set vows to pursue airport"
"Airport Working Group president cites caps at John Wayne and regional demand as reasons to keep El Toro hope alive."

"NEWPORT BEACH - Residents are still divided on the best solution to the city's airport woes, but they haven't stopped talking about clamping down on traffic at John Wayne Airport."

"The airport could reach its negotiated cap of 10.3 million passengers per year by 2006 if passenger levels keep growing at their current rate, Airport Working Group President Tom Naughton told about 25 local residents at the Wednesday night meeting of Speak Up Newport, a public education group, at the Newport Beach Yacht Club."

"Naughton said his group will continue to pursue a commercial airport at the closed El Toro Marine air base."

"Naughton urged those who want to revive an airport at El Toro to write their congressman, and when it was pointed out that Newport Beach Rep. Chris Cox has come out against an El Toro airport, Naughton suggested writing Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta."

"While some residents remain firmly in support of an El Toro airport, others think an airport solution will come from building a coalition with surrounding communities that Orange County alienated by rejecting the El Toro plan."

"'[An El Toro airport] is radioactive politically,' resident Dan Emory said. 'Wasting time on it is basically spending time on something that is not going to get you anywhere.'"

"Emory is not alone in abandoning El Toro as a solution to the area's transportation problems. AirFair, another Newport-Mesa citizens' group, was formed in 2002 as an alternative to the Airport Working Group because some people saw El Toro as a dead issue, AirFair Chairwoman Melinda Seely said."

Click for the entire article.

OC Weekly, August 6-12, 2004, posted August 12
"The Lunch From Hill: That stench coming from Irvine City Hall . . ."

The Weekly continues its investigative reporting on the alleged relationship between ENCO, a power company seeking a major contract with the city of Irvine, and Mayor Larry Agran.

"For months, - Irvine City Councilwoman Christina Shea had opposed Mayor Larry Agran's drive to create a multimillion-dollar partnership with ENCO, an Anaheim-based power company. The resulting public-private utility would power all of the city's new developments. Last week, the Weekly revealed that ENCO has unpublicized financial ties to Edward Dornan, a longtime top Agran political adviser and campaign fund-raiser."

"According to Shea, [Santa Ana Mayor Miguel] Pulido 'contacted me multiple times,' urging her to have lunch with Frank Hill, a man Pulido claimed was connected to then-newly elected Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to Shea, Pulido said Hill was prepared to offer her a job in the Schwarzenegger administration."

"What the councilwoman learned [about Frank Hill after the lunch] wasn't comforting: Hill's residence for much of the 1990s was the federal prison camp at Boron, California. In 1998, Hill finished serving a 46-month sentence for extortion, conspiracy and money laundering."

"'It was a huge eye-opener when I found out that Frank Hill worked with ENCO,' said Shea. 'I wondered: Was Larry Agran behind the proposal to get me a job up in Sacramento and off the council?'"

"Last year, when I was still part of Larry's political machine, [Agran] talked to me about his hopes of enticing Christina off the council," said [Chris] Mears." Shea opposes the ENCO deal.

Click here for the entire Weekly article and delve further into the facts and innuendoes of this story.

OC Register letters, August 11, 2004
"Thanks, for a job well-done"

Irvine City Council member Mike Ward uses the news of city manager Allison Hart's announced retirement to float a question that may permeate Irvine's upcoming elections: How much credit is due Mayor Larry Agran for the defeat of El Toro airport? Ward is running for mayor against Council member Beth Krom, an Agran ally. Her election is key to termed-out incumbent Mayor Agran maintaining majority control of the City Council.

Ward's letter praises Hart while apparently alluding to Agran. "Indeed, while others have been busy taking credit for the defeat of the El Toro airport and the development of the Great Park, Allison Hart has been quietly and diligently working behind the scenes, orchestrating the city's plan and bringing it to fruition. She will be sorely missed."

In a June 24th letter published in the OC Metro, former Council candidate and Agran ally Mitch Goldstone explicitly expressed disapproval over the singling out of Agran for praise. "Rather than posturing for what surely will become a blatant campaign advertisement, Irvine's mayor would have better served Orange County by insisting that everyone involved with defeating El Toro be included in the [Metro] cover photo and story."

Council member Chris Mears has parted with Agran and is not running for reelection. A conservative slate led by Ward hopes to win Mear's seat and take charge of the City Council.

All of the candidates are anti-El Toro airport and pro-park though there are differences in the degree to which they favor using city funds to push the Great Park development.

LA Times, August 10, 2004
"[BUR] Airport Returns $12 Million to the FAA"

"Commissioners of Burbank's Bob Hope Airport voted Monday to give $12 million back to the Federal Aviation Administration because they do not anticipate building a new terminal any time soon."

"Their unanimous decision came in response to demands by the federal agency for the airport to return funding it received nearly a decade ago toward the purchase of land for a new terminal."

"The project, which was tied up in litigation for years, encountered heated opposition from residents who feared that larger facilities would permit more flights and lead to more aircraft noise."

Website Editor: Burbank served 4.7 million passengers in 2003 and is forecast by SCAG to serve 10.7 MAP in 2030 with most of this traffic coming from Los Angeles County. There appears to be a conflict between the plans of the airport commission and those of SCAG.

LA Times, August 9, 2004
"Palmdale On Board With High-Speed Rail Plan
"The pro-development city has spent $500,000 on efforts to be part of the 700-mile route."

"The Antelope Valley city has spent more than half a million dollars on lawyers, public relations specialists, and economic and geological studies to persuade state officials to bring the high-speed trains its way."

"California began work 11 years ago on the high-speed rail link, which would whisk passengers from Los Angeles to San Francisco in 2 1/2 hours, and has spent $30 million on the planning. A bond to pay for the first phase of the $37-billion project - the leg from Los Angeles to San Francisco - is slated for the ballot in fall 2006. Extensions to San Diego and Sacramento would follow."

"Officials in pro-growth Palmdale believe the train would bring an influx of business people to work in new office complexes and would thrill commuters who could zip home to Palmdale from downtown Los Angeles in 20 minutes."

"The city has already cleared land for a $10-million station on the Metrolink commuter train line between Acton and Lancaster. Expected to open next year, it will also serve as a hub for buses, taxis, bicycles and a tram to Palmdale Airport. The bullet train, if it's routed through Palmdale, may also pull into this station, or it may run through Palmdale Airport."

Daily Pilot, August 9, 2004
"Foes of [JWA] airport expansion talk it out"
"Some not favoring size increases at John Wayne Airport try to find answers that don't include El Toro."

"NEWPORT-MESA: Residents belonging to two groups opposing expansion of John Wayne Airport will get vocal at two meetings Wednesday, but they're admittedly short on solutions for the passenger increases brought on by the region's population growth."

"Speak Up Newport, a nonprofit public education group, will feature speaker Tom Naughton, president of the Airport Working Group, at its monthly meeting."

"Also on Wednesday, a group formed in 2002 called AirFair will give its first public presentation on airport issues at a reception for Costa Mesa City Council candidate Katrina Foley."

"AirFair's goal is to make sure the 10.8-million passenger cap is never increased, Chairwoman Melinda Seely said. She and other residents chose to form their own group because the Airport Working Group has continued to pursue an airport at the closed El Toro Marine Air Base near Irvine, an option Orange County voters vetoed in 2002 . . 'We felt that that is a dead issue.'"

"Naughton said he will discuss a [SCAG] 2004 regional-transportation plan . . . and how the region's growth will mean more airplane passengers, but he said he's not sure what to do about it."

"Seely said she doesn't have an answer to airport growth pressure either, but the problem is one that elected officials, not residents, should be working on."

"There's no reason for people to worry about airport traffic right now, Orange County Supervisor Tom Wilson said. 'The ink's probably not even dry on the [settlement] agreement, so I don't think anybody should be worried about that for at least 10 years,' he said."

Click for more . . .

LA Times, August 8, 2004
"Ex-Comrade Questions Agran Ethics"
"Irvine Councilman Mears says business was steered to a political supporter. Mayor says it will help the city and denies it's corruption."

"Irvine Mayor Larry Agran faces criticism from a former ally as voters prepare to elect a new mayor and council members in November."

"Councilman Chris Mears, elected in 2000 from a slate of Agran-backed candidates, announced last week that he wouldn't seek reelection and accused his former friend and mentor of steering city business to a political supporter."

"Mears said he had warned Agran and campaign consultant Ed Dornan earlier this year that he would oppose a contract with an Anaheim company that has offered to run a city-owned electric utility for Irvine. Mears said Dornan boasted to him and Agran that he stood to earn as much as $1 million if the deal were signed."

"Mears contends that though the arrangement isn't illegal, it's unethical."

"Agran said he was stunned by the allegations. He said neither he nor Dornan had done anything wrong."

Click to read the entire article.

Daily Pilot Mailbag, August 7, 2004
"County-wide airport solution is needed"

While everyone waits impatiently for news that the Navy is ready to begin the El Toro sale, the Pilot continues to keep us entertained with intermission music, a seventh inning stretch, and popcorn. Today the paper serves up this mix of letters.

Donald Nyre of the AWG writes for the umpteenth time about "the widely accepted need for the planned El Toro airport."

Website Editor Len Kranser chides the Pilot for publishing name-calling letters and writes; "The El Toro fight is over. The Southern California Assn. of Governments has adopted a regional transportation plan for the next 26 years that maintains the John Wayne caps and does without an airport at El Toro. It is time for cool heads to work together on making it happen."

Dan Emory of Newport Beach, apparently one of the cooler heads, seems to agree. "I regret the loss of El Toro . . . but that's water under the bridge. We must now look forward, not back. The new strategy must be to develop a countywide consensus on a permanent solution while continuing to limit John Wayne. To form such a consensus, we must quickly make peace with South County, and the first step in that endeavor is to cease the inflammatory exchanges, as well as any further futile attempts to revive El Toro."

El Toro Info Site report, August 4, 2004 - updated August 5
A Talk with Chris Mears

Following receipt of the OC Weekly article cited below, we checked in with Chris Mears. Website Editor Len Kranser's lead question was "Is the Weekly story substantially correct?" Mears response was that it was "dead on" and if anything, "restrained" given the information that he had supplied to the paper. Mears assured that he was quoted "absolutely" accurately.

One reason Mears gave for not running for City Council again is that he had an important story to tell. "It would have less credibility if I had been a candidate in the middle of an election."

Mears thinks that the exposure of the proposed ENCO power deal, with its reported links to Larry Agran's ally Ed Dornan, will not adversely impact progress on the Great Park. He hopes that the light shed on this situation, with more to come, may deter any future attempts by anyone to seek favors from contractors. "It is absolutely critical that the park be done in an open and above board way with vendors selected solely on their qualifications."

Other newspapers are likely to be catching up and expanding on this story in the days ahead. Click here for Utilities deal has its fallout, from the Irvine World News.

OC Weekly, August 4, 2004
Larry Agran's Power Trip
Irvine mayor's planned public utility could enrich a political pal

The OC Weekly offers up the latest in its trademark political exposes. The Weekly pins Chris Mear's decision against running for reelection to the Irvine City Council on Mayor Larry Agran's alleged support by for a deal that "stinks". The Weekly quotes Mears as saying "I've learned that [government] can be an incredibly corrupting process, and I no longer have faith in Larry."

The article centers on a proposal to create a public utility to provide electricity in the city. "The Weekly has learned the mayor is attempting to steer the lucrative monopoly power contract to a company with unpublicized ties to his top political adviser: Edward Dornan."

Website Editor: Dornan may be remembered as a key political player who created the Safe and Healthy Communities Fund. The "Fund" diverted contributors from the original Citizens for Safe and Health Communities committee, CSHC that did the heavy lifting during the Measure F campaign.

LA Times, August 4, 2004
"Sell O.C.'s Fair Site?"
"Report on streamlining government says the state could make as much as $230 million by the move. Costa Mesa doesn't buy the idea."

"Tucked in Tuesday's massive report on streamlining state government was one suggestion that came as a surprise to officials of the Orange County Fair: The state could make a bundle by selling the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa."

"The California Performance Review — a 2,500-page report compiled by 275 members of a volunteer commission — concluded that the fair's 190 acres of state property could fetch as much as $230 million if sold for housing."

"The idea of selling the fairgrounds surfaced in April, when Assemblyman John Campbell (R-Irvine) proposed selling most of the property; the fair could remain on 50 acres in Costa Mesa, while the equestrian, ranch and farm operations could be moved to the former El Toro Marine base . . . The fair is considering building a 35-acre horse ranch expansion at the former airfield, at a cost of $40 million."

Click for more . . .

El Toro Info Site report, August 4, 2004
Open Letter to the Daily Pilot

On July 13, the Pilot published a letter from Newport Beach resident Dan Emory calling me "the Darth Vader of South County. . . the enemy personified."

On August 3, the Pilot published a letter from Newport Beach resident Larry Root calling me "a mouthpiece for the real estate and building industries" which is absolutely false. Root continues, "Kranser is not really a Darth Vader but is more like Willy Loman, in Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman.'"

It is sad that some Newport Beach residents still resort to name calling against private citizens who oppose building a round-the-clock El Toro airport near their homes. It is even sadder that the editorial staff of the Pilot encourages this conduct by selecting their letters for publication.

The El Toro fight is over. The Southern California Association of Governments has adopted a regional transportation plan for the next 26 years that maintains the John Wayne caps and does without an airport at El Toro. It is time for cool heads to work together on making it happen.

El Toro Info Site report, August 3, 2004
Irvine City Manager to retire

Allison Hart has announced her intentions to retire from the post next June. Hart is expected to have much of the preparatory work for the Great Park completed by then.

Hart has been with the city for 15 years, 10 as Assistant City Manager and 5 in the Manager's position. She is highly regarded for the job she did during the negotiations with the Navy over the sale of El Toro and in connection with the base's subsequent annexation into the city.

El Toro Info Site report, August 2, 2004 - revised
Waiting for word on the El Toro sale

Wayne Arny, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Installations and Facilities, Department of the Navy met with Irvine officials last week to discuss the pace of the land sale. We are awaiting word on the latest twist, if any, in the schedule.

Almost two and a half years ago, in March 2002, the federal government announced that El Toro would be sold. A year and a half ago, the Navy and the General Services Administration launched the "Heritage Fields" marketing campaign, which contemplated selling the property as four parcels in one auction to be completed in 2003.

This May, the Navy changed course and opted to sell one small section, dubbed Parcel 4 and then sell the remainder in three phased steps.

A request for bids has yet to be solicited for the leadoff Parcel 4.

Local leaders have been urging the Navy to complete its announced sale of this first section which has no environmental cleanup problems and then to expeditiously sell the remainder in one batch rather than allowing the property to languish.