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LA Times, October 29, 2005
“Region Needs $6 Billion for Aviation, Study Says”

”The recommendations aim to ease strain on LAX as air traffic doubles by 2030.”

“If cities, counties and airport agencies from Victorville to Riverside and Palm Springs to Long Beach do not construct facilities, the region will be able to accommodate only 67% of the 170 million annual passengers expected by 2030, a report commissioned by the Southern California Assn. of Governments concluded.”

”The findings underscore the cost of building a regional system to take pressure off aging Los Angeles International Airport, which already handles 40% more travelers than it was designed to serve.” Current plans for LAX are “designed to limit the airport to 78 million annual passengers. LAX is expected to handle about 62 million travelers this year.”

Website Editor: Los Angeles officials estimated the runway capacity of LAX at 89 million annual passengers and former Mayor Richard Riordan hoped to expand LAX to about 100 MAP. The plan fell out of political favor because of impacts on neighboring communities.

”The [SCAG] report, which is an appendix of a much larger analysis titled ‘Regional Airport Management Study’ by Citigroup Technologies Corp., revived the debate over the accuracy of SCAG's air passenger predictions. The planning agency does not have any authority to enforce its findings.”

Click for the entire article.

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OC Register, The Orange Grove, October 27, 2005

"Airport at the end of the tunnel"
"With O.C. and Riverside linked, former March AFB would be much closer"

Phil Rivkin, Irvine architect, makes a case for a tunnel connection between the two counties. March Inland Port "is the closest potential international airport to Orange County."

"From the northeast corner of the Great Park development to a March International Airport . . . the trip would take about 20 minutes by car or 10 minutes by high-speed light rail."

This week, the Irvine City Council passed a resolution to oppose such a tunnel.

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The Wall Street Journal, October 26, 2005
"Army/Navy Specials"
"Once Spurned by Developers, Shut-Down Military Bases Are Now Sought-After Sites"

"When the military announces another round of base closings, the news sends chills through cities and towns fearful of losing a source of good jobs and a steady flow of cash generated by the troops."

"Not so in Concord, Calif. The city, located about 20 miles from Oakland, actually asked federal officials to shut down the Concord Naval Weapons Station, hoping to develop the land."
"Towns like Concord hope to replicate what happened at the El Toro Marine Air Corps Station in Orange County, Calif., just west of Irvine, which was sold early this year in a closely watched auction."

"Lennar, one of the country's biggest home builders, paid the federal government $649 million, one of the highest prices ever paid for a shuttered base. The sale came after years of squabbling between local government officials over the fate of the 3,700-acre tract of land in the red-hot market of Southern California. The parcel that Lennar bought is zoned for 3,400 homes, three million square feet of research and development space, several golf courses, a cemetery and university campus. A large portion of the land will become park space."

"'I don't know where you are going to find that much land in a land-constrained market,' says Emile Haddad, president of Lennar's Western region."

Click for the entire article.

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LA Times, October 25, 2005
"Visiting Los Angeles"

"Los Angeles County is the second most popular tourist destination for international visitors to the U.S. and the fourth for domestic travelers, with more than 24 million visitors in 2004."

"About 20 million of L.A. County's visitors in 2004 came from within the U.S., and 44% of the the leisure visitors in that group were from within California. The San Francisco Bay Area supplied the most, 14%. New York and Dallas each supplied about 3% of domestic leisure travelers, with Chicago supplying about 2%."

"Most international travelers are from Mexico, about 1.5 million in 2004. Of those who travel by air, 41% say they're here for leisure and 32% for business. About 22% are here to visit family."

"Trailing at a distant second is Canada, with 419,000 visitors to L.A. in 2004."

More . . .

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Daily Breeze, October 24, 2005
"LAX works to make room for jumbo-jumbo jets"

”Los Angeles will spend millions of dollars preparing for the arrival of the Airbus A380 super-jumbo jet. But airlines remain unconvinced that LAX will be ready to handle more than a few of the giant planes at the level of service they demand.”

”They need only look a few hundred miles to the north to find an airport ready and eager to lure the new planes -- and with them, the lucrative routes across the Pacific Ocean. San Francisco has opened a gleaming international terminal built with the A380 in mind, complete with luxury lounges and hallways lined with fine art.”

”Every A380 that lands will spill hundreds of tourists and business travelers into the local economy. The planes could secure Los Angeles' position as the gateway to the East, but they could also give San Francisco a growing claim to that title.”

LAX “finds itself locked in a legal and political battle over its future. The airlines are watching to make sure that doesn't delay other key projects, such as shifting a runway to give planes more room to maneuver.”

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The Press-Enterprise, October 23, 2005
"International aspirations; Ontario International Airport hits snags in getting foreign flights"

"Ontario International Airport . . . hopes to obtain a more significant international role but several obstacles remain, including the strength of the market and customs service."

"No scheduled flights leaving Ontario are destined to land outside of North America. A handful of flights each week, all run by Mexican air carriers, head south of the border to Mexico, landing in Mexico City, Cabo San Lucas and, soon, Guadalajara."

"Alan Bender, an airline industry expert and professor with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, said an airport with Ontario International's profile will struggle to make any significant international connections."

"Unlike virtually every airport with connections abroad, Ontario doesn't serve as a hub for connecting passengers. Bender said most passengers arriving in LAX from overseas are connecting to another destination."

"Ontario would also have to buck conventional wisdom that there's rarely need for more than one significant international airport in one area."

More . . .

Website Editor: This recalls the debate over whether El Toro would serve as a true international airport.

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UCI Press release, October 21, posted October 22, 2005
"Orange County Infrastructure Improving, Though Not Acceptable, New Report from UC Irvine Civil and Environmental Engineering Affiliates Finds"

"UC Irvine's Civil and Environmental Engineering Affiliates, in partnership with the Orange County branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers, today released its 2005 Orange County Infrastructure Report Card, assigning a cumulative grade of 'C+' for the county's infrastructure. The grade reflects a slight increase since the county was assessed in 2002."

The 2005 report gave Orange County aviation a "B" stating "The aviation demand in Orange County will grow to about 37 million passengers by 2025. With conversion of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station to non-aviation facilities, the legal capacity limit for John Wayne Airport will stay at 10.8 million passengers. Therefore, our challenge is to utilize other multi-modal solutions such as high-speed rail transportation to other regional airports."

Website Editor: Subsequent to the airline industry turndown after 911, the Southern California Association of Governments, SCAG lowered its forecast of future O.C. demand  to 32 MAP by 2030.

In 2002, the report employed the now outdated 37 million passenger projection for 2025 and gave Orange County aviation a C+. Presumably, the increase in caps at John Wayne airport accounted for the improved score.

Click for more

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The San Bernardino Sun, October 21, 2005

“ONT evacuated over grenade-shaped auto accessory”

 

“To Ontario International Airport security, it had all the characteristics of a World War II-style hand grenade.  The small chrome, pineapple-shaped device with a release pin looked so realistic, it was immediately red-flagged while going through airport screening.”

 

“As a result, travelers in Terminal 2 were evacuated and 11 flights delayed Thursday.”

 

“The grenade, it turned out, was a knob for a car gear shifter.”

 

“The bomb squad sent in a robot to detonate the faux grenade.”

 

More . . .

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LA Daily News, October 20, 2005
"Bob Hope Airport summer passenger numbers take off"

"Record numbers of travelers flew in and out of the Bob Hope Airport this summer, brought by an improved economy and more flights by two new carriers, JetBlue and Delta Air Lines."

"'We're glad to see the traveling public back in force,' said airport spokesman Victor Gill. 'Our challenge is to keep giving them the airport convenience that they have come to expect over time.'"

"While Bob Hope's numbers jumped, LAX's numbers remained flat."

"Jack Kyser, the chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. said the summer travel season was good to Southern California. But, he said, questions remain over whether the trend can survive rising fuel prices worsened by the Gulf Coast hurricanes."

More . . .

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OC Register, October 19, 2005
"Anaheim moves closer to transportation hub"

"Anaheim's dreams of creating a transportation hub along the Santa Ana River took a big step forward Tuesday when the Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to begin talks to sell a 13.5-acre maintenance yard to the city."

"The Anaheim Regional Intermodal Transportation Center has long been in the works by Anaheim city planners as a way to ease congestion throughout Southern California, speeding tourists and commuters around the region by Amtrak and Metrolink trains, bus, taxi and limousine."

"Board Chairman Bill Campbell applauded Anaheim planners . . . 'This is an entrepreneurial venture by the city of Anaheim. It's going to benefit not just the city of Anaheim but the entire rest of the county.'"

"Long-term plans include two high-speed trains - one connecting to Las Vegas; another to Northern California."

For more from the Times, click here.

Website Editor: Passenger surveys show the Anaheim-Disney area to be Orange County's largest contributor of air travel demand. More than a third of the flights from this region are to destinations within 500 miles that could be well served by high-speed trains.

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LA Times, October 18, 2005
"LAX Plans for Bird Flu Quarantines"

"With the airport a major entry point from Asia, officials are considering how to sequester a jet's passengers to prevent the spread of disease."

"Officials at Los Angeles International Airport are racing to devise plans to quarantine hundreds of passengers on the airfield for days to prevent the spread of bird flu. Federal officials could order travelers on a flight confined, if they suspect that one of them is infected with the deadly disease."

"Twenty-six flights arrive at LAX each day from Asia - more than twice as many as at any other U.S. airport. Every day, up to 10,000 passengers disembark from those aircraft. Aviation officials worry that the bird flu could mimic severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, which journeyed to five countries in 24 hours after emerging in rural China in spring 2003."

"The Centers for Disease Control has advised flight crews to isolate ill passengers on airplanes . . . The pilot is supposed to notify the CDC that a sick traveler is in transit and health officials are supposed to board the plane once it lands."

Click for the entire report.

In a related LAX safety story, the Daily Breeze reports that Los Angeles World Airports’ “New airport director will adopt RAND Corp.'s plan to move crowds out of lobbies to secure areas more quickly” to thwart terrorist attacks.

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LA Times, Architecture, October 17, 2005
"Flight plan soars - For inspiring design, look no further than O.C.'s Great Park"

Staff writer Christopher Hawthorne writes, "The single most promising design project in Southern California is slated for a very different kind of location: an expanse of cracked-asphalt runways and peeling military barracks in the geographical center of Orange County."

"The [design] proposal by Ken Smith's team - a high-powered group that includes the Mexican architect Enrique Norten, artist Mary Miss and Los Angeles landscape designer Mia Lehrer - outshines the other two plans in both imagination and rigor. The board should acknowledge the obvious and get on with the business of building Smith's promising design, which alone among the finalists combines a fully contemporary aesthetic with respect for the military and agricultural history of the site."

"At more than 1,300 acres - a figure that doesn't include nearly 1,000 open acres that will stay in federal hands - the park will be bigger than San Francisco's Golden Gate Park and will rank second in size in Southern California only to [4107-acre] Griffith Park in Los Angeles."

"The park may even manage to give culture mavens in L.A. a reason to envy their neighbors to the south . . . if the team led by Ken Smith prevails."
 
"At the heart of his proposal for Orange County is a canyon snaking through the center of the park. It would be formed by scooping earth from the center of the canyon and piling it on either side in tall berms, creating a valley that would be 2 miles long and more than 60 feet high at certain points."

"Near the center of the park, Smith's canyon would widen significantly to accommodate a lake, a lodge and an amphitheater, which Smith says would be modeled in part on the outdoor theater at Swarthmore College, where the seats are shaded by thick foliage. Indeed, Smith talks fluently about combining in Orange County the kind of park that is designed for finding isolation in the middle of nature, such as Yosemite, with the kind that accommodates culture, such as Stern Grove in San Francisco. Smith's plan would also include an outdoor military museum of sorts on the old El Toro runways, arranging 50 vintage aircraft in a long row."

"For all the attractions it promises to provide nearby residents, the Great Park is also part of a larger open-space planning effort in Orange County. When it's finished around 2011 or 2012, the park will connect the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park with the Cleveland National Forest to the east, creating what park officials call the largest contiguous band of open space in any U.S. metropolitan area."

Click for more . . .

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El Toro Info Site report, October 15, 2005
El Toro website begins its tenth year

As the El Toro Info Site begins a tenth year of reporting on El Toro reuse and Southern California aviation issues, it is time to consider this website's future.

El Toro Airport is dead.

The airport project's vital signs faded away when the Navy sold the former base for non-aviation uses, the buyer, Lennar, deeded over the central portion of the property to Irvine for public park uses, and the California legislature adjourned for the year without interfering with the reuse process.
 
The fat lady's finally singing, so why is this website still here? 

If nothing else, we will stick around in 2006 to celebrate ETRPA's victory when they close up shop, to report on the eagerly awaited start of runway demolition, to provide news of the winning park design, and to publicize the runway party promised to the grass roots volunteers without whom there could be no Measure F, no Measure W and no Great Park.

We have other newsworthy ideas too, so stay tuned.

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El Toro Info Site report, October 14, 2006
Norby for Supervisor event in Laguna

Supervisor Chris Norby’s reelection campaign is holding a fundraising event at two residences in the Woods Cove section of Laguna Beach on October 23 from 1:00-3:00 PM. Contributions are $100. For information call 949-842-1979.

The election of Chris Norby to replace Cynthia Coad on the Board of Supervisors was a crucial step in the defeat of the El Toro Airport. With Norby on the board, airport opponents held a 3-2 majority for the first time and were able to effect the cancellation of the project and fend off efforts to revive it.

The Board of Supervisors was the federally recognized Local Redevelopment Authority for the former airbase. Had Norby not unseated Coad, the pro-airport majority on the LRA probably would have used the resources of the county to lobby Washington to override local Measure W and to support Los Angeles efforts to takeover El Toro.

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Irvine World News, October 13, 2005
"Great Park decision put off"

"A decision on a master designer for the Great Park has been pushed to January to allow time for the Great Park board to travel to Spain, New York San Francisco and other cities to visit some of the three finalist designers' finished projects."

"The board had planned to make a decision this month on a master designer but decided unanimously earlier this week that the trips would help it understand the designers better."

"The board had allocated $50,000 for the trip early in the selection process, said Marsha Burgess, a spokeswoman for the Great Park. . .  funds will come out of the $263,000 allocated for 'business-related travel, meetings, seminars and workshops.'"

"At the board meeting Monday, the board also heard a report from Christina Lo, manager of engineering for the Great Park board, warning that construction costs on the Great Park are likely to rise, perhaps significantly."

"The board also delayed until January selecting a ninth board member to replace Dick Sim, who resigned from the board earlier this year. Board members agreed it would make sense to bring on a new board member after the decision on the master designer because any new board member likely would have missed all the designer presentations."

Click for the complete article.

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John Wayne Airport media release, October 13, 2005
September statistics

Airline passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport increased in September 2005 as compared to September 2004.  In September 2005, the Airport served 765,708 passengers, an increase of 6.3% when compared to the September 2004 passenger count of 720,014.

Commercial Carrier flight operations showed a decrease of 3.5%, while Commuter Carrier (air taxi) operations showed an increase of 2.1% when compared to the same levels recorded in September 2004.

Total aircraft operations increased in September 2005 as compared to the same month in 2004.  In September 2005, there were 30,316 total aircraft operations (take-offs and landings), an increase of 6.7% when compared to 28,422 total aircraft operations in September 2004.

General aviation activity, which accounted for 73% of the total aircraft operations during September 2005, showed an increase of 10.8% when compared to September 2004.

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El Toro Info Site, October 12, 2005 - update, October 13
"Life and Times" TV Show                         

Dick Sim, former Great Park Corporation Director, will be on KCET-TV at 6:30 this evening (Wednesday) on the "Life and Times" show discussing the Great Park.  Please take a look if you can break away from the Angel's game.  Check your local listings for the correct channel. 

The transcript of comments from Sim, Larry Agran and Christina Shea can be read online at KCET's website.


"FROM MARINE AIR BASE TO GREAT PARK"
"Architects are in competition to design Orange County's Great Park. They've come up with some imaginative ideas such as turning the runway into a river, or creating a canyon for hikers. So who will win the competition? O.C. reporter Roger Cooper looks at the finalists."

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Los Angeles Business Journal for October 10, 2005
"What's next for LAX?"

"The L.A. City Attorney’s office is close to settling a lawsuit filed by neighborhood groups and cities surrounding Los Angeles International Airport over portions of an $11 billion overhaul."

"If the litigation gets resolved, it could give Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa the legal authority to significantly change former Mayor James Hahn’s Master Plan, which has been approved by the City Council and the Federal Aviation Administration. "

"Villaraigosa envisions a scaled-down version of the project that would limit expansion at LAX while encouraging a regional air traffic network in Los Angeles. Such a plan would reduce the cost of improving LAX by about one-third and eliminate controversial projects such as building an off-site check-in facility."

Click here for Amanda Bronstad's entire article.

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Antelope Valley Press, October 7, 2005
[Commissioner] Palmdale Airport "lovely"

'PALMDALE - Valeria Velasco, a new member of the Los Angeles World Airports' Board of Airport Commissioners, took a short tour Thursday of LAWA's 17,500 acres east of Air Force Plant 42, then climbed aboard an aircraft at Palmdale Regional Airport to attend a cousin's wedding in Las Vegas."

"On hand for Velasco's sendoff were Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford, representatives of Scenic Airlines and LAWA, and more than a dozen other passengers traveling to Las Vegas for the weekend, including Velasco's husband, Frank, her mother, Consuelo Mason, and her cousin, Gladys Gamboa."

"'The whole reason I'm here is really to promote this airport and promote regionalism'  in solving Southern California's air-passenger congestion problems, Velasco said."

For the entire article, click here.                      

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El Toro Info Site report, October 6, 2005
How big is the Great Park?

The size of the Great Park depends upon how much related property is included in the definition. A recent OC Register story said the park consists of 1,347 acres. A Great Park Corp press release last week said 1,370 acres. The project has been referred to in the press as “the 3,718-acre Great Park”.

Land controlled by the Great Park Corp totals 1,096 acres. Several large adjacent parcels, either privately owned like golf courses, or nearly 1,000 acres retained by the FAA in the rugged habitat area, extend the park-like public facilities.

The 4,693 acres that comprised El Toro have been divided between several owners for a variety of uses. Click for the latest maps of the property breakdown.

Ownership and use	acres	acres
Private		2119
Public use – golf, education, exposition center	1327
Private use – residential, business	792
Public ownership		2574
Great Park Corp – Great Park	1096
City of Irvine – roads, transit site	220
FAA – habitat	987
County – Marshburn basin, Musik Jail farm, unspecified uses	271
Total		4693

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El Toro Info Site report, October 5, 2005
Runway demolition delayed

The El Toro runway demolition, once expected to start as early as this fall, is delayed until next year according to Wally Kreutzen, CEO of the Great Park Corp.

One firm, Recycled Materials Company Inc. (RMCI) has been selected to do the entire job. However, a contract has not been signed.

The Great Park Corp and Lennar have yet to resolve which of them will control the demolition project. Most of the concrete is on park land but the runways also extend over Lennar's privately owned property.

Where RMCI will start the demolition and over how many years the work will be scheduled has has not been decided. Phasing for the removal of 3.5 million tons of concrete and asphalt has a significant impact on the cost of redevelopment. Several of the design proposals incorporate sections of runway. Furthermore, about 100 acres of the former base could be tied up long term as a staging site.

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El Toro Info Site report, October 4, 2005 - updated
SoCal air travel four years after 911

The latest passenger traffic data for the region's airports allows a comparison of the first eight months of 2001 - before the attacks - with the first eight months of 2005. The shift of domestic air travel from LAX to other more passenger-friendly airports is dramatic.

LAX served 3.9 million fewer passengers this year than in the same period four years ago. While international travel in 2005 was slightly greater than in 2001, 4 million fewer domestic passengers chose to use the Los Angeles airport. That is a twelve percent decrease in domestic traffic.

As we have been reporting, nearly all of the decline in domestic business at LAX has shifted to other airports in the region and principally to Long Beach, John Wayne and Burbank which has experienced a record setting summer.

San Diego's Lindbergh Field is having its busiest year.

While a September 26 press release from Los Angeles World Airports describes Ontario as "one of the fastest growing commercial airports in the state", passenger volume for the Inland Empire airport was 4,832,882 passengers for the first eight months of this year, up only slightly from 4,799,574 in the same months of 2001.

"In a June speech before he took office, [Mayor] Villaraigosa told Los Angeles-area business leaders that air-traffic growth should take place in areas like Ontario and Palmdale."

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El Toro Info Site report, October 3, 2005
The El Toro History Project launched

Today, a group of archivists, historians, and those who document audio and visual history met at the former base to exchange ideas about preserving the history of El Toro and the Great Park. The project is an extension of the Legacy photographic history being funded by the Great Park Corp.

Great Park Corp Chairman Larry Agran envisions a historical record "in accordance with the highest international standards and best practices" eventually accessible to the public at a library or visitors' center at the park.

A call will go out for all parties with historical material - the military, ETRPA, OC cities, this website and others - to save their documents for eventual archiving.

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Daily Breeze, October 1, 2005
"[LA] Mayor's staff delivered ultimatum to airport chief"

"Anonymous officials say Kim Day [the head of Los Angeles World Airports] was told by Antonio Villaraigosa's deputy chief of staff to resign or be fired. The mayor is expected to name Lydia Kennard to run the [Los Angeles World] airport for now."

"In the public version [of what happened], Day had decided suddenly to return to her architectural career, a move greeted with best wishes from the newly elected mayor."  Few bought the story.

"Neither Villaraigosa's office nor Day would comment on the ouster. But Villaraigosa is widely expected to name Lydia Kennard, who headed the airport agency from 1999 to 2003, as a temporary replacement for Day."

"Villaraigosa had been a vocal critic of the $11 billion overhaul of Los Angeles International Airport, which had been championed by Day after former Mayor James Hahn appointed her to run LAWA in 2003."

"Even before Day received the ultimatum, Villaraigosa's team had been aggressively wooing Kennard, who ran LAWA under former Mayor Richard Riordan but left in 2003 amid tensions with then-commission President Ted Stein."

In 1999, "Under Riordan, Kennard pushed for an expansion of LAX to 92 million annual passengers, a plan dropped by Hahn."

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