LA Times, October 30, 2001 - updated October 31
"Riordan Changes Stance on El Toro"
"Former L.A. mayor suggests Inland Empire as alternative site for expanding the region's capacity."

Website Direct, October 29, 2001 - updated October 30
Navy base transfer to finalize after March election

LA Times, October 29, 2001
"Issues Litter the Runway to an El Toro Airport"
"Even after the supervisors' approval, the plan faces tests at the ballot box, in the courts and in offices of the federal government."

LA Times editorial, October 28, 2001
"Now Comes the Hard Part"

LA Times, October 26, 2001
"If the El Toro Vote Is Such a Big Deal, Why Was There No Party?"

LA Times, October 25, 2001
"El Toro Routing Opposed by Pilots"

Daily Pilot, October 25, 2001
"Mixed reviews for mixed use at El Toro"

OC Register, October 24, 2001
"El Toro backers win vote, not war"
"The county supervisors approve the plan, 3-2, but its foes vow to keep fighting in the courts and at the polls."

Website Direct, October 23, 2001
Supervisors certify airport report, 3-2

Website Direct, October 23, 2001
Pilots reveal continued concerns at BOS meeting

Website Direct, October 22, 2001
Spitzer raises difficult questions for FAA

OC Register, October 22, 2001
"LAX expansion foes hit Newport streets"
"L.A. County residents walk neighborhoods to rally support for El Toro."

LA Times October 22, 2001
"LAX Projects a 35% Decline in Passengers"

LA Times editorial, October 21, 2001
"Think Again on El Toro"

LA Times, October 21, 2001
"Probe Sought Into Supervisor's Anti-Airport Tie"

Website Direct, October 20, 2001
Coad and Company stall park initiative

Website Direct, October 19, 2001
Will Coad and Company try to stall initiative?

CSHC Press Release excerpt, October 18, 2001
Central Park Initiative Moves Towards March 5, 2002 Ballot

OC Register, October 18, 2001
"Pro-airport group may lose funds"
"Supervisors say the role of the coalition of O.C. cities will depend on public-relations needs."

OC Register October 18, 2001
"JWA passengers down by a third"

Website Direct, October 17, 2001
Fullerton quits pro-airport group

Website Direct, October 17, 2001
More on yesterday's BOS meeting

Website Direct, October 16, 2001
Airport supervisors fumble.  Fail again to act on El Toro.

Daily Pilot, October 16, 2001
"Congressman [Cox]: El Toro plan will not work"
"The county's current plan for an airport is unacceptable to Rep. Chris Cox, spokesman says."

Website Direct, October 15, 2001
El Toro Airport website marks 5th anniversary

LA Times, October 14, 2001
"New El Toro Numbers Add Up to More Delays"

Website Direct, October 13, 2001
John Wayne use nosedives

Website Direct, October 13, 2001
More data from FAA shows horrendous delay impacts with El Toro

Website Direct, October 13, 2001
Fullerton to weigh leaving pro-airport group

Website Direct, October 12, 2001
El Toro airport under multiple attacks for study defects

Website Direct, October 12, 2001
Board of Supervisors to vote Tuesday on El Toro plan

Newport – Costa Mesa Daily Pilot, October 11, 2001
"Cox seeks answers from FAA"
"Representative asks the agency to provide safety information relating to airports of varied sizes."

Website Direct, October 10, 2001
FAA slide presentation adds insights

OC Register, October 10, 2001
"FAA cites conflicts with El Toro routes"
"The agency says the county's proposed flight paths could disrupt traffic to and from other airports and force hour-long delays in departures."

ETRPA Press release, October 9, 2001
FAA States Airspace too Crowded for Safe and Efficient El Toro Airport
Study states new airport will cause widespread delays to Southern California airspace especially LAX.

Website Direct, October 9, 2001
FAA report contains bad news for El Toro airport

OC Register, October 9, 2001
"LAX plan targets O.C."
"Hahn wants county to fill demand while L.A. works on security."

LA Times, October 8, 2001
"Mayor [Substitutes] Security for LAX Growth"
"The plan calls off a vast expansion pushed by Richard Riordan."

LA Times, October 8, 2001
"Argyros Moves Closer to OK for Spain Post"

Website Direct, October 6, 2001
JWA utilization flat before terrorist attack

Website Direct, October 5, 2001 - 5 PM
FAA delay may be resolved next Tuesday

LA Times, October 5, 2001
"Congressman Delays Federal El Toro Report"
"Florida official is not slated to hand over analysis of flight patterns until after O.C. board vote on issue."

Website Direct, October 4, 2001
Central Park fundraiser a success

LA Times, October 3, 2001 posted October 4
"O.C. Fair Wants In at El Toro Stables"

Aviation Watch, October 3, 2001
"Night flights 'breach human rights'"

OC Register, October 3, 2001
"Wind stats faulty, airport group alleges"

OC Register, October 2, 2001
"El Toro must fly away"
"Faulty airport proposal has dominated O.C. landscape for far too long"

Click for earlier news briefs

"A new Navy timeline for the proposed El Toro airport was cautiously welcomed in Newport Beach on Tuesday.  The Navy and Federal Aviation Administration plan to issue a completed environmental review of Orange County's airport proposal by Feb. 22 and begin handing the base over on April 15."

"What gives Newport Beach officials pause is what's sandwiched in between those two events -- an expected countywide referendum on a Great Park for the base."

"Polls have indicated the park has wide support in the county. If the measure passes, the zoning at the base would be changed to open space, nullifying plans to build an airport there."

"The Navy plans to issue a 'record of decision' on April 15, which would essentially place the county in escrow with the Navy to work out the final details of how the base would be handed over. That process is expected to take at least a year, though it could drag out until 2007, said Meg Waters, a spokeswoman for airport opponents."

"'They have lost big time,' Waters said. 'What they wanted was the [record of decision] by March 5. It's clear that's not going to happen.'"

"Shifting his position … former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, an all-but announced candidate for governor, said Monday he no longer believes an airport needs to be built at the closed El Toro Marine base. 'There has to be a solution to air travel 20 years from now,' Riordan said in an interview Monday. 'But this does not necessarily involve El Toro.'"

"An airport in the Inland Empire could also do the job, Riordan said. 'Orange County has to expand its capacity,' Riordan said. 'But it has got to decide itself where it wants to go. It has got to be a local decision.'"

"In the past, Riordan has called for an airport at El Toro, but the former mayor said Monday his position had changed over time after he learned there were other options for expanding the region's capacity."

The Daily Pilot quotes UC Irvine political science professor Mark Petracca. "'It's the worst type of pandering because it's so transparent,' Petracca said. 'He knows he has to win Orange County to win governor. And he can't win Orange County, if he's pro-airport.'"  Dana Parsons' column in the Times also chides Riordan on his "epiphany".

Editor: Post your reaction to Riordan's change of heart.

Assistant Secretary of the Navy H.T. Johnson met with each of the supervisors separately today to get acquainted.  He provided an El Toro base transfer schedule in which both sides saw favorable news.

According to an October 26, 2001 Navy timetable, notice of the Federal Environmental Impact Study and Record of Decision will be published in the Federal Register on February 22 for public comment but will not be final until April 15, 2002.

Airport supporters had tried to get the base transferred to County control prior to the March 5 election - in hopes that this would interfere with an initiative to convert the land to park use.  Three pro-airport County supervisors voted almost $500,000 in bonus payments to Washington lobbyists to effect an early EIS and transfer of the property.

In the Early Bird section, we post articles from both major papers. The Register quotes Supervisor Todd Spitzer as saying, "Spending time and money to lobby in Washington is useless" because the Navy is sticking to its own schedule."

The Times wrote, "'This was the most productive 15 minutes on this [issue] in five years,' pro-airport Supervisor Chuck Smith said. Previous Navy officials were 'nothing but foot-draggers,' he said. 'We're back to a Navy that's committed to getting things done.'" 

Airport supporters, "won a battle last week when the Board of Supervisors approved the plan. But the fight isn't over--and victory is still far from assured. The airport proposal… still faces a number of crucial tests at the ballot box, in court and in federal government boardrooms."

"The Federal Aviation Administration must make a final determination... Early FAA analysis has indicated that El Toro is viable, but only if existing flight patterns for John Wayne, Long Beach and other nearby airports are moved. Without changes in airspace routes, the FAA predicts major delays in air service if El Toro is built."

"The Navy, which owns the base, must also decide whether to hand over the land to the county." Assistant Secretary of the Navy H.T. Johnson, the Navy official in charge of base closures will visit county supervisors today to discuss El Toro with supervisors on both sides of the debate.

"The board's pro-airport majority has promised bonuses of $500,000 to the county's Washington lobbyists if they deliver those key federal approvals in the next six months."

Rep. John Mica, the Florida Republican who heads the House aviation subcommittee, is urging support for El Toro airport in 30-second cable TV spots all over Washington, home to all those agencies that will have a hand in the matter. The TV spots are paid for with money from Orange County.

"While airport supporters push for federal action, airport opponents are focusing their efforts on a March ballot measure that would effectively kill the airport plans and instead zone the base land for park use… Last week, the county registrar of voters declared that enough signatures had been gathered for the measure to go on the ballot."

"Appeals judges … will also decide the fate of Measure F, an anti-airport referendum passed by 67% of voters last year. In December, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge S. James Otero ruled the measure unconstitutional and barred the county from enforcing it. The appellate court has said it will hear arguments from attorneys in December."

"A separate San Diego County judge has been asked to hear lawsuits filed by airport opponents against the county and a pro-airport organization over a pledge by the county to spend as much as $8 million on an information campaign on the airport. Airport opponents argue that the spending is public advocacy by the government for a ballot measure, which is forbidden by state law."

"Another lawsuit questioning the legality of Newport Beach's spending on pro-airport public relations is also heading to court."

"The county can also expect a new lawsuit challenging the supervisors' approval last week of the airport plan. Foes have 30 days in which to file their challenge, which they've pledged to do."

"Even if those lawsuits are all resolved in favor of the county, hurdles would remain. The county will have to issue $1 billion in bonds backed by revenue from the airport to begin construction. The county will also need special grants from the FAA to complete the project." 

Today's Times editorial joins our on-line library of some of the best commentary on El Toro and deserves a read in its entirety.

"Last week's El Toro vote by county supervisors leaves as many questions locally as answers. Proponents have paid a very high price to ensure victory in the effort to win approval for an airport plan. Now they must confront strong doubts that could affect the larger struggle over what becomes of a closed Marine air base."

"The county faces significant obstacles in three general areas. These can be described roughly as follows:
1. A persistent concern voiced within the aviation establishment.
2. The hardening of public opinion in the community, with a strong core of anti-airport sentiment and a shifting and soft base of support [for the airport].
3. Financial uncertainty arising in large part from airline industry concerns after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11." 

Columnist Dana Parsons captures the thoughts of many when he writes, "Other than it being an airfield where pilots don't want to fly and one most county residents don't want, El Toro airport took a grand step forward."

"… What do we get at this historic juncture? A bunch of negative vibes. On the very day the board approved the airport, an airline pilots union said the takeoffs and departures should be realigned. 'The way Orange County has written its plan dooms the airport to almost certain failure,' the pilots' statement read, in part".

"Instead of taking that in a negative way, let's celebrate the uniqueness of perhaps building the world's only airport with its own no-fly zone. Also not appreciating the feel-good moment was the FAA, which despite saying an El Toro Airport certainly would work, noted that its proposed operating plan would have deleterious effects on the overall efficiency of the Southern California's air traffic system."

"Talk about negative."  Click here to read the entire column with some interesting historical background. 

"In a blunt rejection of Orange County supervisors' vision for a new airport at El Toro, the nation's largest union of airline pilots has announced that it supports a radically different plan for landings and takeoffs at the proposed airport."

"In a written statement … the Air Line Pilots Assn. urged adoption of the V-Plan, which would reverse the county's proposed takeoff and landing paths. … It would send departing jets from El Toro to the southwest over undeveloped land toward Crystal Cove State Park, with planes landing from the north."

"Supervisors voted … to approve an environmental review of the county's plan, which dismisses the V-Plan among several El Toro options. County officials… have refused to seriously study the proposal, introduced in 1999."

"Air Line Pilots Assn. members and the Allied Pilots Assn., which represents 11,700 American Airlines pilots, have argued that the county's proposed takeoffs to the north and east would endanger them and passengers. Pilots would be forced to fly toward hills with unfavorable wind conditions, they said."

"'The way Orange County has written its plan dooms the airport to almost certain failure,' said the [ALPA] union statement, issued from the union's national headquarters in Virginia."

"The union's statement comes a week after the Federal Aviation Administration raised some of the same safety concerns… The FAA review prompted some airport backers--chiefly Smith--to suggest that the county could change the plan later."

"That prompted Irvine Co. official Monica Florian to send a letter last week urging supervisors to stick with the current design. Florian's letter reiterated the company's opposition to any departures to the west over Irvine… The developer still hasn't said whether it will support the county's airport design."

"County planners, meanwhile, said they have never studied how much noise would be generated in areas around the airport by the V-Plan, concentrating instead on the current plan. State law forbids homes and schools to be in areas of high airport noise."

Editor: The V-Plan will also generate traffic and air pollution impacts associated with any airport.  Its cost has not been determined.

"Supervisor Jim Silva's idea to share an El Toro airport with the military is being criticized as unworkable by some officials, including those opposing plans for an airport at the closed base."

"Costa Mesa Mayor Libby Cowan dismissed the idea, saying the military has shown no interest in using the closed El Toro Marine Corps Air Station… 'It's silly,' Cowan said about the idea of bringing the military back to the base. 'It's a moot point. The military will commandeer any airspace' it needs."

"'The first thing we have to do is see if there's any interest,' Silva said. 'If they say no, it would be a dead deal.'"

"Questions arose Wednesday about how a 'joint use' airport would operate, including which types of planes would use it and how the flights would be regulated."

"Allan Songstad, the chairman of the South County anti-airport El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, said Silva's idea couldn't be implemented. 'That was more of a political grandstand than anything of substance,' Songstad said. 'The Navy and Marines seem to be very interested in getting rid of the base, not reactivating it.'"

Your comments?

"The El Toro airport won final approval from county supervisors Tuesday, with a last-minute amendment from Supervisor Jim Silva to invite the military back to share runways at the shuttered base."

"The 3-2 vote - twice delayed over the last five weeks - approved plans for an airport to serve 28.8 million annual passengers, though supervisors also voted only to build the airport to serve 18.8 million for now."

"While the approval marks a significant milestone, it by no means ends the El Toro war.
Airport foes within [30] days will sue the county over the plan. They also bank on an anti-airport initiative aimed at the March ballot."

"The biggest twist came at the end, when Silva - whose brief support of a public ballot on the project caused a month's delay in the board vote - issued his invitation. 'If I were given a choice to do anything with that facility, I'd like to give it back to the Marines,' Silva said. The idea, he explained, is to explore a military footing at El Toro in the interest of national security after Sept. 11."

Editor: The Board asked the CEO and staff to "study" the possibility of a military presence. The EIR does not cover the option. The move was seen as a political one, to try to gain public support for the airport. The Register second story headlines, "Military has rejected shared use of El Toro".

For more, read last night's firsthand report immediately below, and stories in the Register, Times and Pilot in the Early Bird News section of the website.

The Board action comes almost 5 years behind the original schedule for EIR approval published by the LRA in March 1, 1996.

The Board of Supervisors certified El Toro Environmental Impact Report 573, an Airport System Master Plan and implementing measures this evening by the usual 3-2 vote. The plan is for a 28.8 Million Annual Passenger (MAP) airport, though the vote authorized construction of only the first two phases for 18.8 MAP.

The airport project now moves into a new phase, with County lobbying inWashington for the base transfer and ETRPA litigating against the EIR taking center stage.

The meeting held few surprises for those determined souls who sat through it to the end. To a casual viewer it might have appeared as a battle between South County residents and those who live near LAX. North Orange County, Irvine and Newport Beach participation was less visible.

Of eleven elected officials who spoke (excluding the supervisors) all but Bob McGowan of Villa Park were from South County cities and school districts.  McGowan spoke in favor of the V-Plan alternative airport design.

Of almost 60 public comments from the general public, about half were from South County residents opposed to the airport. The majority of the pro-airport comments came from residents of Los Angeles County who want El Toro to take the load from LAX. Residents of the area near John Wayne made a smaller showing though their political operatives were in evidence.

Dave Ellis, political consultant for Newport Beach groups promoting El Toro sat with the LAX delegation. He made a presentation to Inglewood resident Mike Stevens in front of the Supervisors, saying "I want to apologize to you for the 10 million people from Orange County, many from South County, who use LAX and fly over your homes." Ellis' statistic was as bad as his taste.

Considerable time was spent, by presenters, questioning whether the flight paths from El Toro would have to change, as suggested by pilots and the FAA, and whether the EIR must be revised to reflect that reality. Supervisors Smith, Silva and Coad said little on this point and voted to accept the report as is.

If the long day had any official tension it was in discussions over whether aircraft could takeoff over the City of Irvine.  Both Todd Spitzer and Tom Wilson questioned County special attorney Mike Gatzke about a mitigation measure, N-10, in the EIR. The measure precludes the use of the west-facing runway 25 provided that the County, the FAA and the airlines agree prior to start of air operations. At one point, Spitzer announced to the Irvine Company representative in the audience, "Irvine Company take note that there is no assurance that planes will not fly over Irvine."

Near the end of the meeting, Tom Wilson mused, "What if the passengers don't come?  If I was a bond buyer, I'm not sure that I would buy bonds in something with this type of controversy attached to it."

At today's Board of Supervisors meeting, a representative of the Allied Pilots Association, the union of American Airlines, read a new letter from the President of the association.  It began, "The Allied Pilots Association (APA) would like to restate our objections to the conversion of MCAS El Toro to a civilian commercial service airport. The APA has long opposed this proposal as evidenced by our letter dated February 15, 2000 from Captain Rich LaVoy, APA President to Mr. Brian Speegle.  Our fundamental position has not changed in the intervening 20 months."

A press release from the AirLine Pilots Association, arrived late and excerpts were read into the record by Bill Kogerman.  The ALPA statement says, "While pilots support the notion of a commercial airport at the former Marine Corps air station, the way in which Orange County has written its plan dooms the airport to almost certain failure."

Neither message of pilots' concern had any visible impact on pro-airport supervisors.

In a letter today, to FAA Administrator Jan Garvey, Supervisor Todd Spitzer questions the continued federal funding and support for the El Toro airport project.  The letter echoes questions by three local congressman to Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta.

Spitzer refers to the FAA airspace report and supplemental information and a Gary Simon rebutal. "You should be aware that the County's response in a lengthy memorandum dated October 15, 2001 was to suggest that Congressman Cox fabricated these additional materials, and to argue that the FAA's conclusions with regard to airspace use were unreliable, based on 'crude methodology,' and were 'materially inaccurate.'"

"The County further argued in that memorandum that the County is entitled to ignore the FAA's conclusions with regard to airspace issues and that it alone is entitled 'to make the final call on how the airport will be operated.'"

Spitzer's letter suggests that the County and FAA may be withholding information on the legality of using John Wayne funds for planning El Toro. He writes, "I would also like to inform you that on May 2, 2000 the Board of Supervisors requested an internal audit of the expenditure of [JWA] 14M Funds…  On October 19, 2001, the County's Internal Auditor informed my office that the study has been under review by County Counsel, due to the fact that there are items that need legal interpretation."

The letter concludes, "The answers to the many questions proposed in this document have enormous financial and credibility implications for the FAA and the County in the decision whether to continue spending on or approving the proposed Airport System Master Plan."

"NEWPORT BEACH -- Mike Stevens, an Inglewood resident who wants to jolt Orange County's airport debate, picks up his amplified bullhorn and stands in the front of a rented bus."

"'Get OFF your couches,' Stevens says to residents of a pin-neat neighborhood near Back Bay. /Get OUT of your pools. Get INTO your yards.'"

"Stevens' co-workers walk in front of the slow cruising bus, handing out fliers and shaking hands with bewildered residents. 'SAVE your beautiful neighborhood, Newport Beach. You may not know it, Newport Beach, but you ARE in a street fight.'"

"So it went Sunday as Stevens, president of LAX Expansion No! led his group into the streets of Newport Beach for an old-fashioned blend of preaching and nagging… You WILL have 747s and DC-10s,' he said, smiling, 'in your front LAWNS, Newport Beach.'"

"In the sometimes-odd politics of airport building - and fighting - the people who live near LAX, a mostly blue-collar neighborhood, aligned with the mostly white-collar residents who live near John Wayne Airport. Both groups live with noise and pollution from jets. Both groups believe an airport at El Toro would lighten their load."

"Though airport backers in Newport Beach have kicked in a lot of money toward the cause, Stevens, among others, believes it is necessary for a physical show of support. Specifically, Stevens believes it's critical for airport supporters to at least match a strong anti-airport crowd that will turn out for a County Board of Supervisors meeting slated for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday."

"Los Angeles International Airport officials are projecting a 35% drop in annual passenger traffic in the current fiscal year, a 25-million-traveler falloff that will seriously challenge the airport's finances in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorists attacks. With fear of flying keeping passengers away and airline flight schedules being slashed accordingly, total passenger traffic at LAX could fall from a projected 70 million annually to 45 million this fiscal year, the same level as a decade ago."

"If the precipitous drop in passengers since the East Coast terrorist attacks continues, the city's airport department could lose more than $108 million in revenue from parking lots, concessions and landing fees by the time the budget year ends June 30."

"The uncertainty created by the terrorist attacks has made forecasting future trends in air travel extraordinarily difficult for both airlines and airports… Wall Street has placed major international and hub airports across the United States on watch lists for a possible downgrade of their credit ratings, a move that could increase the future cost of borrowing."

"The Federal Aviation Administration was too late weighing in on the proposed El Toro airport… It became clear over a period of several days that the FAA saw the potential for significant delays if El Toro operated as intended… These concerns argue for putting off approval of this plan, not simply for a week as the supervisors did, but until a much better design can be presented for full consideration.

"The alternative to the ram-it-through approach is the likely further erosion in public support and possible defeat next year for any airport plan at the polls."

"The plan now likely goes forward, but the question we have been asking over and over remains: How will this airport have to operate? 'We'll worry about that later' is the now-familiar refrain."

"It's not hard to imagine that to operate this airport as planned, some drastic change in John Wayne Airport operations, maybe even an end to commercial flights, now may be required. This … again raises the old political question of whether this is all really about shifting the county's airport operations away from Newport Beach to the South County cities."

"Planners acknowledge a significant drop in commercial service at John Wayne should an El Toro airport be built but haven't reckoned with the likelihood that airlines won't want to serve two facilities."

"Gary Simon, the county's top El Toro planner, actually criticized the FAA report. All of this brings to mind a World War I song in which a mother dutifully can see no wrong as she reviews the passing parade. 'They're all out of step but Jim,' she says. Here, those who have lingering questions are considered out of step if they still don't see where the parade route is supposed to end."

"But the best choice at this point would be to hold up this line of march at the reviewing stand and rethink the entire plan."

Read the entire piece in our gallery of favorite editorial statements.

Richard Taylor, chairman of AWG, the El Toro Airport Working Group, "has asked the Orange County Grand Jury to investigate whether [Tom Wilson] a county supervisor, violated his oath of office by working and sharing confidential information with forces opposed to a commercial airport at El Toro. But Supervisor Tom Wilson said the accusation against him calls into question the very meaning of elective representation and denied any wrongdoing."

"Wilson … contends he is representing his south Orange County constituents, who are vehemently opposed to an airport. Calling Taylor's complaint despicable, Wilson said he was exercising his right to free speech in questioning an El Toro airport. He said he hasn't discussed anything confidential with ETRPA."

"The issue of conflicting loyalties over El Toro has simmered for years… The Hall of Administration at times has resembled a wartime bunker, with open hostility between enemy camps. Wilson and Supervisor Todd Spitzer repeatedly have used the state's public records law to get information they said was withheld by county managers."

Editor: Supervisors Charles Smith has been privy to all of the County closed session meeting information available to Wilson, and he participates in pro-El Toro groups such as the Orange County Regional Airport Authority, OCRAA and the Southern California Regional Airport Authority, SCRAA.

Taylor's charges are seen here as part of a pro-airport effort to muddy Wilson's bid for reelection in March.  The Newport Beach AWG may hope to push Wilson and his supporters into spend their money on the Supervisor's reelection campaign rather than on passage of the Central Park initiative.

Cynthia Coad, Chair of the Board of Supervisors, followed typical pro-airport, anti-democratic tactics and did not place the park initiative on the agenda for the supervisors' next meeting.  As reported below, and in the press yesterday, the Registrar of Voters completed the count of signatures to qualify the park initiative.

Bill Kogerman, Chairman of the initiative committee, wrote to Coad yesterday, urging that the initiative be agendized.  "Despite the apparent reluctance to agendize the measure for Tuesday's Board of Supervisors' meeting, there are perfectly rational reasons to do so, including the will of the people."

"Moreover, agendizing this issue in an expeditious manner would allow sufficient time for an orderly preparation of information for the Voter's Pamphlet.  You alone, can ensure the responsible conclusion of the matter."

Kogerman received no written reply. Instead, a supplemental agenda for the upcoming meeting was released, at the Friday evening deadline, stating that, "Chair Coad will present a resolution for Red Ribbon Week…Chair Coad will present resolutions for Korean-American Seniors Association of Orange County and Orange County Korean Community Service Center, Inc" etcetera.

At Tuesday's meeting the El Toro airport EIR and master plan will be debated in a reopened public hearing.  Both sides are urging a large turnout for the event, which will receive extensive media coverage. Anti-airport participants are encouraged to wear red to identify themselves from the numerous Inglewood and Newport Beach participants with their "LAX No, El Toro Yes" T-shirts.

Yesterday, Registrar Rosalyn Lever announced that proponents of the O.C. Central Park and Nature Preserve Initiative had collected a sufficient number of signatures on petitions to place the initiative on the ballot. Questions immediately arose as to whether Board of Supervisors Chair Cynthia Coad would attempt to stall the process.

State election law requires that the initiative go to the Board of Supervisors at their next meeting - to either enact the measure or order a 30-day study. The next meeting of the Board is on Tuesday, October 23 and the deadline for placing the matter on the agenda, as a supplemental item, is the close of business today.

The Chair has some discretion over the handling of supplemental items. County officials gave indications yesterday that they might be examining technicalities that could be employed to delay the process.

Supervisor Coad has already announced that there will be no Board meeting the following week, on October 30. Therefore, her failure to act today to agendize the initiative could stall the Board's consideration of the measure until November 6.

Initiative proponents seek to have the matter moved along expeditiously in order to allow sufficient time for orderly preparation and review of information for the Voters Pamphlet. They want the voter material to be impartial and accurate. The deadline for placing material on the ballot is December 7.

Today, Orange County Registrar of Voters Rosalyn Lever reported that supporters of an initiative to convert El Toro to non-aviation park-compatible uses had collected sufficient signatures to qualify it for the ballot. 71,206 valid signatures are required. The Registrar stops counting when that number is reached. The O.C. Central Park and Nature Preserve initiative goes to the Board of Supervisors next, for their administrative processing.

About 2,500 volunteers collected 175,000 signatures - two-and-a-half times the number needed. The petition drive, which officially began on July 1, and delivered the petitions on September 5, broke all prior speed records for a countywide measure.

The El Toro reuse debate began over how the public wants the land to be used. However, every independent poll published during the past several years shows nearly 2-1 opposition to an airport at El Toro. The public debate is over.

Now, the question is whether the will of the people matters in this county.  Pro-airport Supervisors Smith, Silva and Coad, and their political allies, are opposed to allowing the people to vote on El Toro reuse.  Special interests are trying to use litigation, legislation and lobbying to deprive the voters of their right to choose.

During signature gathering, pro-airport groups challenged the County-prepared title and summary, printed on the Park petitions. That lawsuit is before the Court of Appeals in San Diego. The Appeals Court has ruled to allow the initiative to move forward towards the ballot. A final hearing on the case is scheduled for November 16.

"Orange County supervisors may withdraw the unspent portion of $3 million granted to [OCRAA], a coalition of cities that favor an El Toro airport - a group from which two cities have defected in a month. The grant was to cover a public-relations campaign."

"'We'll probably be re-evaluating that - whether to continue it under (the authority), whether to possibly shift it to the county,' said county Supervisor Chuck Smith… 'It's not a reflection on (the group), just a re-evaluation of the whole strategy for this EIR,' Smith said."

"Airport foes sued the county and the cities coalition earlier this year over the public-relations campaign, claiming its intent is to improperly use public resources to influence the outcome of a possible anti-airport initiative on the March ballot."

"Art Bloomer, the executive director of the coalition, said he believes the group still has a role to play in promoting the project to change the former El Toro Marine base into a commercial airport. He said that the group had already spent about $550,000 of the county funds."

Editor: Part of the anti-airport ETRPA's lawsuit against OCRAA and the County contends that the spending is illegal – except for what is allowed by California's Environmental Quality Act [CEQA] to publicize an EIR prior to its certification.  With the expected certification of EIR 573 next week, that exception disappears.

ETRPA lawyers must now demonstrate that continued County spending on airport PR is illegal under the Stanson vs. Mott court ruling baring governmental groups from spending to influence the outcome of an election.

Similar litigation is being pressed against the City of Newport Beach and the Airport Working Group.  Approximately $3.7 million of Newport money is being used in a political campaign attacking the park initiative. Park supporters are confident about the plan's funding methods but have spent relatively little on advertising, defending the initiative's economics.

"The number of passengers traveling through John Wayne Airport plummeted 33 percent last month compared with September 2000, apparently because of the terrorist attacks… Commercial airliners made 15 percent fewer takeoffs and landings in September compared with a year earlier."

For the first part of October, the comparable statistics were down 5.9 percent from the prior year:
Total pax numbers for 10/1/00 – 10/14/00 = 257,309
Total pax numbers for 10/1/01 – 10/14/01 = 242,212

John Wayne use has been flat for several years, with no growth. August 2001 saw a one-month upward spike due to fare cutting, just prior to the September attack. Click for historical data on airport passengers.

The Fullerton City council voted last night, 3-2 to withdraw from the El Toro Orange County Regional Airport Authority, OCRAA.

Last night's council action follows early resignations from the group by the cities of Orange and Tustin. The defections are evidence of growing anti-airport sentiment amongst north county residents and disillusionment with the County's handling of the project.

Fullerton Councilman Chris Norby, who is running for Supervisor against pro-airport incumbent Cynthia Coad, has characterized the airport debate as a divisive issue preventing the County from dealing with more important projects. 

The meeting was covered in yesterday's website report. Complete newspaper articles can be read in the Early Bird News.

The LA Times says, "In a memo sent Monday to supervisors, Gary Simon, the county's top El Toro planner, criticized the FAA report for relying on 'inflated numbers' and 'crude methodology' to examine traffic flows at El Toro and other airports. Simon called critical conclusions by the FAA's national airspace consultant, the Mitre Corp., 'materially inaccurate.'" Click here for Simon's memo.

"Such attacks on the FAA's official airspace consultant only harm the county's credibility, [Todd] Spitzer said. 'Of all of the agencies and individuals [county officials have] criticized and tried to discredit, the only entity that has been discredited in this El Toro debate is the county of Orange,' Spitzer said Tuesday."

The Daily Pilot quotes Newport Beach Councilman Gary Proctor, "'Every delay affects the base transfer,' said. 'It's going to be difficult to get all of this accomplished by March.'"  Pro-airport interests hope to deflect the OC Central Park and Nature Preserve Initiative by gaining control of the property before the March 5, 2002 vote to kill El Toro's aviation reuse.

At the conclusion of another disorganized meeting, supervisors postponed action on an El Toro environmental impact report and airport plan for another week.

Supervisor Cynthia Coad left a crowd of citizens, consultants, reporters and a bus load of anti-LAX residents from Los Angeles sitting idle when she shifted a closed session agenda item to the top of the schedule. The Board moved into another room to deliberate until 10:30 AM.

Then Coad moved agenda item #84 – a discussion on regulating massage parlors – to the top of the agenda so as not to delay several of her constituents who attended the meeting and wanted to speak.  Eventually, she announced that four El Toro related agenda items would be lumped together and left until last. At approximately 11:45 AM, she called a lunch recess without taking up the matters.

Supervisor Spitzer jumped in, prior to the recess, to ask County Counsel to research a potential violation of the California Brown Act law - which sets rules for public meetings.  Spitzer pointed out that the agenda for the day listed the El Toro EIR matter as a "closed public hearing" from September 4.  He (and ETRPA lawyers) contended that closing the hearing is illegal because of new information that had come forth, including the FAA report.  However, to reopen the public hearing today would be a violation of another provision of the Brown Act that requires sufficient advance public notice for any such hearing.

At about 1:00 PM the meeting reconvened and Coad moved that the matter be continued for one week, until October 23 to allow public notice.  The continuance passed 4-0 with Chuck Smith abstaining.

Each delay makes it more difficult for the County to gain control of the base prior to a March 2002 initiative, to change the land use designation for the former base from aviation to non-aviation use. Delay also brings more defects in the airport plan into the open.

The closest anyone got to El Toro today was a short debate about hiring another law firm to review the County's mailings. Bill Kogerman asked that the attorney look into a "fraudulent" county advertisement implying that he considered El Toro safe. Kogerman, a former Marine pilot, considers El Toro safe enough for high performance military aircraft but not for civilian use.

Chairwoman Coad ended that discussion with "All of our brochures that will come out will meet FAA standards." Audience members snickered in puzzlement.

For information on the Brown Act, click here.

"NEWPORT BEACH -- A local congressman's denunciation of Orange County's airport plan for the closed El Toro Marine Corps Air Station stunned city leaders on the eve of an expected approval by county supervisors. Newport Beach Councilman Dennis O'Neil said he was surprised Rep. Chris Cox described the county's plan as unacceptable."

"'Cox has now officially come out against [an airport at] El Toro,' said Dave Ellis, the spokesman for the Airport Working Group. As the fifth-highest ranking member of the House, Cox could prove to be a powerful adversary for airport boosters."

"At its meeting today, the Orange County Board of Supervisors is expected to grant final approval to the airport project. A majority of supervisors have endorsed an airport for the closed base, including Newport-Mesa representative Jim Silva."

Meanwhile, an OC Register editorial today says "Back to drawing board on El Toro."
"Now we know why the pro-airport majority on the Orange County Board of Supervisors tried to approve the El Toro airport plan before the Federal Aviation Administration released its long-expected but delayed airspace determination study. Quite simply, the study offered little good news for the county airport plan."

The El Toro Airport website was launched 5 years ago this month with a mission - to inform the public about the airport debate via the Internet.

Eltoroairport.org remains Orange County's leading Internet source for El Toro information.  In September, the website received a record setting 435,000 hits.

The site archives all of its past daily news briefs. The earliest report posted was a digest of an October 15, 1996 OC Register article headlined "Pilots Wave Off Easterly Departures from El Toro". The report stated that, "The nation's 44,000 major-airline pilots will steadfastly oppose commercial flights at El Toro if the county insists on easterly takeoffs, because the pilots contend such takeoffs would be unsafe."

The referenced AirLine Pilots Association letter to the County remains in the website's on-line library - and still represents that organization's viewpoint.

"Every flight preparing to land at John Wayne and Long Beach airports would be delayed 15 minutes to make room for each northbound jet leaving an El Toro airport, new figures released Saturday by the Federal Aviation Administration show. Orange County's plans for an airport at the closed Marine base… also could delay cargo flights arriving at Ontario International Airport."

"Supervisor Chuck Smith, an airport supporter, said the county could decide later to change traffic patterns as flight volume increased. The county now plans to land planes from the south, with two-thirds of takeoffs to the east and the rest to the north. But we might want to change [later] for takeoffs to the south and land from the north,' he said. The flow is a workable thing, Smith said."

Congressman Chris "Cox disagrees. The county's airport proposal 'is unacceptable as is,' he said Saturday. 'The significant delays forecast for El Toro, John Wayne and Long Beach [airports] would be completely unacceptable to Southern California travelers.'"

"Moreover, the FAA has made 'no representations about safety beyond 2005,' Cox said, which is when the 4-million-passenger level would be reached, coinciding with the first year of the new terminal."

"Board Chairwoman Cynthia P. Coad said Saturday that she hadn't seen the new analysis but didn't expect it to change her support for the existing airport plan. 'Since I'm not an expert, I'm going to wait for an expert to interpret it,' she said."

"Supervisor Todd Spitzer said an expert isn't needed for what should be common sense. Accommodating El Toro would bog down flights across Southern California… 'These numbers are the fatal flaw everybody's been talking about in the airport plan, Spitzer said. To say, 'We'll figure out this stuff later,'--that's not a satisfactory statement.'"

"Spitzer… said he expects his pro-airport colleagues to use the information to eventually justify ending commercial flights at John Wayne Airport."

Today's Register report in the Early Bird Section, quotes County officials as "accused the Federal Aviation Administration of botching the estimate of flight delays created by an El Toro airport."  Just a few days ago, the County was praising the FAA report for saying that the airport was safe.

Click here to comment on the FAA report.

John Wayne passenger traffic showed no growth prior to the September 11 attack that sent air travel into a tailspin.  As a result of the attack, September passenger volume dropped by one-third from that of September 2000.

For the latest 12 months, John Wayne passengers totalled 7.5 million passengers. The airport has a negotiated limit of 8.4 million that expires in 2005 and a physical capacity of about 14 million.

The airport is expected to experience a major loss of income this year, raising questions about how long it should be tapped for funds to plan El Toro.  Airports around the nation are rethinking their expansion plans in light of the new world reality.

The FAA released additional information today, requested by Congressman Chris Cox, as a "Delay Impact Estimation" for the airspace around a proposed El Toro airport. The original study, released earlier this week, considered only the impacts of a 4 MAP startup at El Toro and only the impacts on Long Beach (LGB) and John Wayne (SNA) airports.

The new data states that, "Impacts may not be limited to SNA and LGB.  Ontario cargo arrival traffic may be impacted during push periods."

"Using the proposed reuse plan delays at LGB /SNA could increase by 95%.  Departure delays for MCAS Reuse would also occur."

A table in the report shows the frequency of delays for various levels of El Toro operations assuming two types of aircraft "insertion" – "Controlled", where El Toro departures are inserted into the airspace "only during lulls in regional arrival flow" and "Random", where aircraft departures from El Toro are "independent of natural lulls in the flow".
 

MAP	Departure Scenario	Number of Impacted Arrivals	Arrival Delay Minutes	Departure Delay Minutes
2	Controlled	3	26	57
	Random	41	336	4
4	Controlled	18	249	115
	Random	76	752	41
8	Controlled	74	977	231
	Random	144	1667	141
18.8	Controlled	286	4264	836
	Random	289	4403	738
28.8	Controlled	290	4785	1067
	Random	290	4791	866

Delays are based on anlytical estimates: no simulation was performed
Source: FAA October 2001

Editor: In this writer's view, the new data shows that El Toro is horrendously disruptive of regional airspace.  El Toro apparently does not provide a useful addition to the nation's airport needs. It is questionable as to whether the federal government should support such a project when other airports in the Inland Empire have no such negative airspace impacts. Airlines are unlikely to accept the conditions imposed by the delays.

Website Direct, October 13, 2001
Fullerton to weigh leaving pro-airport group

On Tuesday evening, October 16 at 7:30PM, the Fullerton City Council will weigh whether to drop its membership in the Orange County Regional Airport Authority, OCRAA. The last time that Fullerton discussed the possibility, the Council deadlocked 2-2 with one abstention and the matter is continued.

The City of Orange recently dropped out of OCRAA, a pro-airport group that is at odds with the County over the airport plan.

Everyone is invited to attend. The meeting is at City Hall 303 W. Commonwealth, Fullerton, CA 92832, at the corner of Highland and Commonwealth. Phone (714) 738-6317 .

As noted below, Supervisors Smith Silva and Coad were put on notice yesterday, that they are in violation of the California Brown Act for alleged illegal handling of the El Toro EIR, Airport System Master Plan and implementing actions.

This afternoon, the Supervisors received two additional letters from ETRPA lawyers regarding the invalidity of the El Toro EIR. Also, several Southern California Congressmen wrote to Transportation Secretary Mineta, questioning the adequacy of the FAA's report released this week.

In a further development, the FAA failed to deliver today, an updated analysis of airspace impacts at El Toro buildout, as requested by Congressman Cox. The original FAA analysis had been limited to examining the delays caused when the airport first opens - with only 4 million annual passengers.

One letter from ETRPA attorney Rich Jacobs detailed the use of incorrect wind speed data in the County's EIR.  The ETRPA letter confirmed objections raised recently by Bob McGowan, a retired airline captain, who had written to federal officials.  McGowan said that the use of incorrect wind measurement methods constituted a "fatal flaw" in the County's airport plan.

Jacobs wrote today, that, "The Airport System Master Plan (ASMP) and EIR 573 rely on wind measurements that violate federal regulatory standards for airport development.  As a result, the determinations in the proposed EIR with regard to numerous issues-particularly runway usage, airport operations, and safety-are invalid."

A second Jacobs letter to the Supervisors concentrates on inadequacies in the EIR revealed by the FAA report. "The release of the report now makes quite clear why the County did not want it released prior to Board action… [it] demonstrates that many of the analyses in EIR 573 are now invalid or wholly inadequate."

Congressional Representatives Darrell Issa, Ken Calvert and Gary Miller signed a joint letter to Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta asking for several clarifications as a result of the FAA airspace report.  They wrote that, "It is fiscally irresponsible for the community to build, and for the federal government to financially support, an airport that cannot be operated safely without severe restrictions on aircraft type, load factors, and consistent delays in arrivals and departures."

The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to vote Tuesday, October 16 to approve the El Toro Environmental Impact Report 573, an Airport System Master Plan and numerous implementing documents. The EIR and master plan are for a 28.8 MAP airport.

The plan always has been to build the 28.8 MAP airport in phases. A motion is on the floor to approve only the first two phases, for 18.8 MAP, at this time.  Supervisor Coad is seeking to create the impression that pro-airport supervisors back a smaller airport.

The motion on the floor is carried over from the disorganized Board meeting of September 16.  It also provides that the plan can not be implemented unless it receives approval from the voters.  It is expected that the Board will remove that pro-democracy amendment on Tuesday, by the usual 3-2 vote.

The El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, ETRPA, wrote to Supervisor Coad yesterday, warning that the Board has violated the California Brown Act by refusing to allow public comments on issues that surfaced since the last public hearing on September 4. There has been no opportunity for citizens to address the Master Plan implementing documents, the FAA report's adverse information on the airport's viability, the effects of September 11 that lessen the need for an extra airport and other relevant matters.

Rep. Chris Cox (R-Newport Beach) "has requested more data from the Federal Aviation Administration after its long-awaited report failed to clarify how many passengers were expected at a proposed airport at the closed El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

"On Wednesday, Cox said FAA officials told him, during a 1 p.m. Tuesday briefing, that an analysis was also prepared for a start-up airport serving 4 million passengers… The FAA focused its comments in the briefing, Cox said, on the airport that could exist between now and 2005."

"Confusion caused by the report was still being felt Wednesday, as both airport supporters and opponents offered wildly differing opinions on what it all meant. Contradictions emerged between the 19-page report, nine pages of attachments and eight pages of copies of briefing slides."

"Several references to the start-up airport crop up in the briefing slides, but the report contains no references to such a facility. Instead, it notes the agency's evaluation 'considers the proposed reuse plan that would ultimately accommodate 28.8 million annual passengers . . . by the year 2020.'"

"The report concludes that the county's plan is safe but that it could cause delays of arrivals heading into John Wayne and Long Beach airports." There is no mention of Ontario.

"'This report was about safety, and it says that this airport is safe,' Newport Beach Councilman Gary Proctor said. 'The fact that there are going to be delays is not the issue.'"

Editor: Wednesday, the County placed full page ads in the OC Register with headlines stating "El Toro is Safe" and ignoring all other aspects of the report.

The FAA prepared a Powerpoint slide presentation to accompany release of the report to congressional leaders. Some of the highlights in the presentation are notable:

The LRA Plan examined by the FAA included:
"Proposed airport traffic levels from a  3 February 2000 letter to Western Pacific Region from the [County] LRA… This is the initial traffic level predicted for 2000-2005 and represents approximately 4 million annual passengers… Traffic levels were not altered in the modeling processs to reflect future growth" at El Toro or Long Beach.

"Only high climb performance aircraft may depart to the East."

"Worst-case, 24 arrivals for John Wayne and Long Beach could be delayed for a single El Toro departure."

All newspapers carried the story with the Register adding fresh comments from the FAA to those reported below.

"The proposed El Toro airport would clash with air traffic to the north, causing delays as long as an hour for some El Toro departures and backing up flights headed to nearby airports… And that's with only the 4 million annual passengers expected when the airport opens in 2005 - not the 28.8 million passengers forecast by 2020."

"'Would any air carrier want to serve an airport where they are stuck on the ground for an hour?' said William Withycombe, administrator for the FAA's Western-Pacific region."

"'It's kind of like a freeway - if all of the cars are flowing in the same direction, it flows,' Withycombe said. 'If a wrong-way driver gets on, there's disruption.'"  Editor: He refers to the fact that other airports in the region have planes departing to the south and west while the County plan for El Toro has planes departing to the north and east.

Supervisor Charles Smith gave the classical bait and switch response. "Smith pointed out that the FAA study looks at El Toro's first five years. After that, when the number of flights rises, the county could change the landing and takeoff patterns, he said."

"Orange County congressmen with districts affected by El Toro were unconvinced by the report. U.S. Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Corona, who gained part of south county through recent redistricting and
opposes El Toro, said he believed the report shows 'you have to only operate one airport, either John
Wayne or El Toro.'"

"U.S. Rep. Chris Cox, R-Newport Beach, criticized the report as incomplete for looking at the effect of only 4 million passengers in 2005."

Rep. Issa played a strong role in securing the report's release prior to the upcoming October 16 Board of Supervisors meeting and vote on the plan.

El Toro Reuse Planning Authority aviation experts note that the FAA report is based on an unrealistically small 4 Million Annual Passenger (MAP) study submitted by County planners.

Congressman Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) has asked that the FAA conduct further analysis to determine the airspace impacts if the airport reaches 18.8 MAP as proposed by Orange County Chairman Cynthia Coad, and the 28.9 MAP currently considered in the county’s environmental documentation.

Read more below and click here for the complete ETRPA comment.

The FAA released its much stalled airspace report this afternoon. The full document is available on this website.

ETRPA technical experts still are reviewing the report. It appears that the El Toro airport may not be commercially feasible. More information will follow.

The most obvious conclusions are that while an airport "can be operated safely" at El Toro, the "FAA has further determined that the [County] LRA's proposal is not the most efficient use of navigable airspace."

"If the LRA revises its proposed civilian reuse… to include a more efficient use of navigable airspace, FAA believes additional environmental analysis … may be necessary prior to the FAA making a recommendation.  This is one reason why Supervisors Smith, Silva and Coad were anxious to slam dunk approval of an EIR before the FAA report became public.

The report contains several statements of interference between airports in the crowded region. Missed approaches on El Toro's primary approach runways 35 would require "a climbing left turn and may conflict with John Wayne Airport Runway 19 arrival traffic."  Aircraft approaching John Wayne must be spaced to allow for this eventuality.

Another "possible impact would be extensive delays to aircraft on the ground at MCAS El Toro while waiting for a lull in the arrival flow to John Wayne airport."

"The airspace analysis revealed that delays for north departures for an aircraft using runway 35 at El Toro were calculated to be between eight and 60 minutes.  This delay range is created by the varying numbers of aircraft in the southerly arrival flow into John Wayne and Long Beach Airports."  Many such conclusions are based on a March 2001 MITRE report which assumes only 4 Million Annual Passengers at El Toro.

The FAA also states that "the airspace determination does not mean:
·FAA approval or disapproval of the physical development involved in the proposal;
·FAA approval or disapproval of the plan, as submitted by the LRA"

"Any decisions regarding the establishment and development of an airport at El Toro are the responsibility of Orange County, acting as the potential airport owner and operator of the facility." In other words, it's a bad airport plan and the County is stuck if spervisors approve it.

The report is signed August 29th, prior to the Board of Supervisors' September 4 public hearing on the El Toro EIR. It has been held for 6 weeks, only a portion of that as a result of the September 11th attack.   We expect County spin doctors, who have had weeks to prepare their response, to focus on the words, "can be operated safely", to the exclusion of all of the operational defects in the plan.

"Orange County must pick up its share of regional airport demand because a proposed expansion of LAX would handle 11 million fewer passengers per year than previously planned, Los Angeles Mayor Jim Hahn said Monday." See story below.

"Gary Simon, chief of the project to turn Orange County's El Toro Marine base into a commercial airport, said Hahn's comments fit with county officials' viewpoints."

"South-county groups opposing an El Toro airport say that not enough people would have flown out of El Toro before the recent hijackings -- and certainly not now. 'Travel as we have known it in the past will take years to get back to where it was,' said Bill Kogerman, chairman of an anti-airport initiative." 

"Mayor James K. Hahn will introduce a plan today that scales back a proposed $12-billion expansion of Los Angeles International Airport, beefing up security and air safety measures while eliminating proposals geared toward growth."  The full story is posted in the Early Bird section of the website.

"Hahn will seek to study elimination of parking structures in the airport's central terminal area, according to a source familiar with the plan. The change would force more travelers to rely on such mass transit options as high-speed rail lines to get to and from the facility."

"The announcement will effectively mark the end of the LAX expansion plan that was six years and $60 million in the making and meant to be a hallmark of Mayor Richard Riordan's administration."

"Hahn's proposal would allow the airport to grow to serve 78 million passengers a year--a number many anti-expansion groups have said they could live with… Hahn's suggested alternative, which is subject to change, will do away with many elements airport neighbors hate most about the current master plan, including a proposal for a road circling the airport to handle more cars and a new passenger terminal to accommodate more airplanes."

"Declining air travel led many airports across the country to pull back on expansion plans in the last few weeks."  Editor:  We hope that Supervisors Smith, Silva and Coad get the word and pull back on their efforts to build another unneeded airport in Orange County. 

"Orange County billionaire George L. Argyros, whose nomination as ambassador to Spain has been held up since spring, appears closer to getting his ticket to Madrid. Congressional sources say Argyros' path was cleared when state prosecutors settled a consumer fraud investigation into one of his companies."

"The main holdup has been the California attorney general's office, which had been investigating allegations that Argyros' Arnel Management Co., a major Orange County apartment operator, systematically withheld security deposits from tenants.  In settling the case late last month for $1.5 million, Arnel Management did not admit any wrongdoing. Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer, a Democrat, did not name Argyros individually in the settlement or take criminal action against anyone."

Argyros "took center stage with his active support for turning the former Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro into a commercial airport. He has spent about $3.5 million in the last decade promoting the concept, but said he will also end his involvement there once he becomes ambassador."

John Wayne passenger traffic showed no growth prior to the September 11 attack that sent air travel into a tailspin.  Many predict that air travel demand may never fully recover as business turns to other technology for communication and pleasure travel loses its luster. Many airports are putting expansion plans on hold.

783,600 passengers arrived or departed in August, making it one of the biggest single months in the airport's history.  Industry fare cutting and seasonal factors are probable reasons. However, calendar year-to-date passenger traffic remains 1.2 percent below the same period last year.

For the latest 12 months ending August, JWA served 7,708,528 passengers. This is still less than the 7,761,050 passengers who used the airport 4 years ago, during the 12 months ending August 1997.

El Toro opponents point to chronic JWA under utilization, and the stagnant pattern in JWA traffic, as arguments against building a second county airport.

Congressman Mica will have his FAA briefing on Tuesday the 9th at 4:00 EDT. Congressman Issa and/or his staff will receive it at 4:30 EDT and then it will be made public.

We expect the report to say that an El Toro airport can work.  However, conditions attached to its approval may differ from what has been presented in the County's El Toro - John Wayne airport system EIR. Damage to the airport project may come mostly from political and legal consequences, especially if flight paths differ from those being promoted by the County.

Gary Simon, airport planning manager for the County, has been working closely with the FAA and has claims to know the essentials of the FAA analysis.

Therefore, we expect pro-airport spin doctors will be prepared to put the best possible face on the report as soon as it becomes public. Depending on the report contents, they may have to explain why pro-airport Supervisors tried to certify an EIR without the FAA data, lobbied to stall its release, and perhaps knowingly provided misinformation to the public through the "Just the Facts" PR campaign.

"A long-awaited federal report evaluating a key aspect of the proposed El Toro airport has been delayed again, this time by a Florida congressman… The FAA report was to have been delivered today to Rep. Darrell E. Issa, whose district includes south Orange County."

"The report, analyzing how the new airport would operate within Southern California's crowded airspace, was to have been released today by the Federal Aviation Administration. But its release was stopped by Rep. John L. Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House aviation subcommittee, until he could be briefed on its contents."

"Mica endorsed Orange County's plans for an airport at El Toro in August, when he toured the closed Marine base at the invitation of board Chairwoman Cynthia P. Coad, an El Toro supporter."

"Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Riverside) said he was told by Mica on the House floor Thursday that the report would be released only after Mica's briefing. '[Mica] said, 'I'm expecting my briefing Oct. 17,' ' Calvert said--one day after the Orange County Board of Supervisors is expected to take its final vote on the airport plan."

'They're basically withholding information,' Calvert said from Washington. 'I've been here for 10 years and I'm amazed. I don't care if you're for the airport or against the airport, people should have this public information. This is not acceptable.'

"The report originally was to have been released in April."

"Members of Issa's staff said they were told by FAA representatives the report would not be delivered because Mica demanded his briefing first. 'We're very disappointed,' said Issa chief of staff Dale Neugebauer." Issa has been working hard to make the report public.

"The report is expected to address whether the county's takeoff and landing patterns for El Toro will fit with other Southern California airports and flight paths. A study last year by an FAA airspace consultant faulted the county's plans for planes taking off to the north--which is the opposite of other regional airports--because the skies are too saturated with aircraft to accommodate the flights safely and efficiently, according to the study."

The County's pro-airport "El Toro Facts" website reported after Mica's hosted visit in August that "House Aviation Subcommittee Chair John Mica (R-FL) Takes Aerial and Ground Tours of El Toro"

"During his visit, Chairman Mica told Board Chair Coad, 'I was sold on your project on paper, and now that I’ve seen it, I am convinced there is no better choice for an airport than this site. This project is a national asset. You’ve got everything going for you here. Most communities would pray for a (14,000 acre) buffer zone.'"

Editor:  Pro-airport lobbyists and county representatives are believed to be pulling every string to delay release of the report until after Supervisors Smith, Silva and Coad approve an airport plan.  The FAA report is rumored to contain bad news for the Board majority that could interfere with their intended action.

Over 400 major donors attended tonight's successful fundraiser for the OC Central Park and Nature Preserve initiative at the new St. Regis hotel in Monarch Beach.

Assemblywoman Pat Bates reported that California has allocated $1 million in state funds that can be used for the park project.  Supervisor Todd Spitzer urged everyone to "invest in themselves" by giving to the campaign to protect their quality of life.

Chris Norby of Fullerton, who is running for Supervisor against incumbent Cynthia Coad, spoke of all the millions being wasted on the divisive airport project when the county has so many other needs. "Millions are hard to comprehend.  We need only count to three," he said, referring to the fact that his election would provide a three member Board of Supervisors majority against the airport.

In another example of county is underutilization and mismanagement the non-aviation facilities at El Toro, "Orange County Fair officials expressed interest Tuesday in running the money-losing El Toro Marine base horse stables, provided the county lifts certain contract restrictions… The county wants to get out of the horse-boarding business at El Toro, where it is losing $105,000 a year."

"Curt Pringle, president of the fair board, told supervisors the fair has years of experience running an equestrian center at the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. But Pringle and fair officials said [county] bidding restrictions did not allow the state-run fair board to apply, only private stables. Such limitations do not allow for 'innovative ideas,' Pringle said, such as allowing the fair, if it could bid, to increase the number of barns at the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, an action which could reduce the per-horse cost of boarding."

Editor:  Airport opponents accuse the pro-airport county staff of intentionally minimizing the potential income from the base's extensive non-aviation facilities.  For example, over a thousand housing units still sit idle, two years after the Marine families left them. Income from base activities can help to finance construction of a Central Park.

"Night flights to and from [London's] Heathrow Airport could soon be banned after the European Court of Human Rights said they infringed residents' rights. The court decided flights between 11pm and 6am infringe a person's right to have a good night's sleep."

"Airlines and airports across the country are likely to be affected by the decision, although it is not clear what short-term action the United Kingdom Government will take."

"The case, brought against the Department of Transport by a group of residents living under the flight path, is also likely to have an impact on all other airports within the European Union."

"Critics of the county El Toro airport plan - who favor a different layout for an airport at the former Marine Corps base - say the county plan is based on faulty historical wind statistics and should be dramatically revised."

"The flap over wind developed over the past week as backers of the 'V Plan' flight pattern - which essentially reverses the county's proposed flow of arrivals and departures - wrote federal and county officials to challenge the El Toro wind information… 'They flubbed it up,' said Villa Park Councilman Bob McGowan... 'It's illegitimate data that they're using, and it's not even close.'"

"County officials, however, say their El Toro studies are correct and are based on wind data from the source the Federal Aviation Administration requires them to use… Bryan Speegle, chief El Toro planner for the county, said after checking with the county's aviation consultants that McGowan's contentions aren't valid. 'We think we're working with the right data.'" 

Dick Ackerman, State Senator, R-Fullerton, comments this morning in the Orange Grove section of the OC Register.

"El Toro has long been a contentious issue in Orange County. Rather than focusing our attention on improving our schools, aiding the county health care system, or providing adequate housing for our residents, the El Toro issue has dominating discussions at meetings from Fullerton to Lake Forest for over a decade."    "After care review, I have decided to oppose the development of an international airport at El Toro."

"I am disturbed at the misinformation that has characterized the planning process at El Toro, particularly the lack of availability of documents that should have been part of the public decision-making process."

"We cannot proceed on the premise that "We'll have to wait and see."  The residents deserve to know the truth about the airport's various negative effects on their lives so they can make an informed decision about whether they want an airport at El Toro."

"I am also concerned about the safety of the proposed airport at El Toro. Under the current proposal, I believe those that are concerned with El Toro's safety are justified in being worried.  There is little legitimate information to counter their fears."

"During my 12-year tenure as a council member and mayor in Fullerton, I supported the idea of an additional airport to serve our region.  The population was increasing exponentially, and we were seeing phenomenal business growth, particularly in the area of technology.  The proposal for an airport at the former El Toro Marine Air Station was in the beginning stages.  I believed it was in the best interest of Orange County to consider all options for the land."

"In 1995, I was elected to the State Assembly as the assembly member for the 72nd district, which encompassed much of north Orange County.  As Orange County became more and more divided over the airport, I took a neutral stance based on my belief that a local issue should not be decided in Sacramento.  Last November, I was elected as the senator for the 33rd District."

"....I no longer believe that an airport at El Toro would be in Orange County's best interest.  In the coming months, I will work to find a viable alternative to an airport at El Toro.  We need to get back to our focus on good public policy and get away from the issue that has divided us thus far."

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