Early Bird News... Starting October 10, 2005
El Toro Airport Message Board: El Toro Airport Message Board: Early Bird News... Starting October 10, 2005
Three Designs Selected for Orange County Great Park - UCI News
10/10/05
Seven developers submitted proposals for the 1,300-acre community park. Community members voted on proposals to narrow the finalists down to three.
by: Lydia Hostetler
The development of the Orange County Great Park, which will be built on the former El Toro Marine Base, took an important step forward recently when three proposed park designs were selected as finalists.
After the air base officially closed in 1999, there were different ideas on how the land should be used. In 2003, the city of Irvine successfully won control of the marine base, preventing it from becoming the site of an airport and instead proposing the creation of a community park similar to New York’s Central Park, but on a larger scale.
In February 2005, the Navy announced it would sell the land in a silent auction. The Lennar Corporation, one of the nation’s leading commercial and residential developers, bought the 3,700 acres for $649.5 million. As part of the terms of this purchase, the Lennar Corporation gave the city of Irvine 1,300 acres and $400 million toward the construction of the park.
The Great Park Organization was created to oversee the plans and visual aspects of the park. They invited 40 architectural firms, both international and local, to propose ideas for the master plan. Twenty four proposals were submitted.
The plans were narrowed to seven by a group of architects. These seven designs were showcased at Irvine City Hall for the public to view and comment. The public also had an opportunity to offer their input on the OCGP Web site in an online poll. Formal presentations of each of the master designs were given to the OCGP Operating Board at Irvine City Hall.
The seven architectural firms were EMBT of Barcelona, Spain; Royston Hanamoto Alley and Abey of Mill Valley, Calif.; Ken Smith Landscape Architect of New York; Abalos and Herreros of Madrid, Spain; Hargreaves Associates of San Francisco, Calif.; Olin Partnerships of Philadelphia, Penn.; and Richard Haag Associates of Seattle, Wash.
Each firm presented a conceptual master design for the 1,300 acres based on guidelines presented to them by the OCGP Operating Board.
Finalist EMBT proposed a hilly landscape structured around a central lake, with a focus on the history of the land before it was home to a military base.
The proposal from second finalist RHAA focuses on the historical military setting with reflecting pools that symbolize the former runways and other iconic elements of a military base. It also proposes an ecological energy plan to run the facilities of the park by using geothermal fuel and solar energy.
Ken Smith, the third finalist, suggested making three parks within one: the Great Park Canyon, the Habitat Park and the Fields and Military Memorial. This three-inone plan is intended to represent the surrounding region and to maintain an educational aspect for wildlife and military history. It will also provide patrons with an opportunity to see the entire park on a bicycle or in a hot air balloon.
Each plan incorporates the theme of linking the ocean to the mountains. They also intend the park to be a cultural link for the community through education, historical significance of the area, entertainment and environment. There are also similar structures in each of the three plans such as an amphitheater, a museum, sports fields, picnic areas and hiking paths.
“The final plan will be based on reference checks, the jury of architects and public input,” said Marsha Burgess, manager of communications and public affairs for the Great Park Organization. “The board will also visit previous projects by these firms. The board will reconvene in the next couple of months to announce the final plan.”
Once a proposal is chosen, Lennar will work with the designers to integrate the park into the surrounding community.
The Lennar Corporation plans to have the park be the center of a residential community that will also be built on the former base. The Great Park Community will consist of homes, apartments, shopping centers and businesses all built by the Lennar Corporation.
This Week in O.C. - OCR 10/10/05
TUESDAY, OCT. 11
4:30 p.m. – Irvine City Council: Will consider reallocating $121 million in state funds once earmarked for the defunct CenterLine rail project to a Great Park rail line. Time is running out because the state is asking how the city intends to use the money. One option is a 5.5-mile elevated rail line through the Great Park and linking the nearby train station and Spectrum Center. City Hall, 1 Civic Center Plaza. Information: (949) 724-6205.
Air traffic retirees could hinder travel
By Sara A. Carter, Staff Writer
Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
10/10/05
With air traffic controllers retiring at alarming rates and few trained personnel to replace them, officials with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association are warning something must be done or passenger safety may be compromised.
And with many more controllers expected to retire in the upcoming months, the lack of trained personnel will leave a gap too large to fill, predicted Tony Vella, local president for National Air Traffic Controllers Association for Southern California and an air traffic controller for Los Angeles International Airport.
"The (Federal Aviation Administration) has not projected far enough in advance to hire the employees necessary," Vella said. "Now there really is only a couple of different ways this problem can be handled. They will either have to make controllers work a mandatory six days straight, or the (FAA) will have to slow down the amount of traffic to match the number of air traffic controllers."
Ontario International Airport, with more than 220 flights a day, has the third-most-understaffed airspace in Southern California, Vella said.
The FAA has approved 268 air traffic controller spots operating from the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Center near San Diego. The center, known as TRACON, has filled just 217 of those slots.
At the Ontario sector for air traffic control at TRACON, only 33 air traffic controllers are working. The FAA authorized 38. Vella said the number will go down to 31 by the end of the year.
Ontario airport officials said they have confidence in the air traffic controllers, but hope to get more trained employees in the near future.
"We don't have as much traffic as the bigger airports in our region and we hope that (the situation) would not pose any problems for us," said Maria Tesoro-Fermin, spokeswoman for ONT.
The Southern California TRACON center provides radar air traffic control services to all arriving and departing aircraft for Los Angeles, San Diego, Burbank, Ontario, Long Beach and John Wayne airports.
The airspace covers an area between Burbank and San Bernardino to the north and the United States/Mexican border to the south. A quarter of the nation's air traffic is watched by air traffic controllers operating at TRACON at any given time, Vella said.
But FAA officials said the recent announcements made by representatives of the National Air Traffic Controllers union are just scare tactics and have come on the heels of continuing union negotiations over salary and benefits.
There hasn't been a serious airline incident in the United States since the American Airlines Flight 587, which crashed over Queens, New York, in November 2001, said FAA spokesman Greg Martin.
"Contract negotiations started in mid-July," Martin said. Union members are asking for a 5.6-percent pay raise annually with a 60-percent increase in sick leave and 7-hour workday that includes a paid meal break, Martin added.
"We have more than enough staffing at (Southern California) TRACON. We've had a decline in operational errors. Overall, the safety level has improved," he said.
But, according to Vella, there were 19 substantial operational errors in 2005, where airplanes came within very close range of each other. In 2004, there were only eight substantial operational errors, he added.
Further, a promise by the FAA in March to transfer 60 approved air traffic controllers to the TRACON center has been ignored, Vella added. FAA officials said Thursday that the 60 air traffic controllers would arrive to the TRACON center in San Diego before the end of the year.
"During this transition period it took longer to do the transfers," Martin said. "Those 60 are on their way."
When the new air traffic controllers arrive, some of them will be filling in needed positions for ONT airspace, Martin said.
Safety is a main priority and with airline traffic increasing every year at ONT, adding more controllers is an important step, Tesoro-Fermin said.
"At this time that doesn't pose an issue for us," Tesoro-Fermin said. "But we do look forward to getting more air traffic controllers before the end of the year."
- Sara A. Carter can be reached by e-mail at sara.carter@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-8552.
Agency will take a flier on Miramar
UNION-TRIBUNE's Logan Jenkins
October 10, 2005
Soon, very soon, the tedious search for a new San Diego airport is going to take off into blue, but politically perilous, skies.
Heretofore, the flight has been a limited simulation. The San Diego Regional Airport Authority has been going through the motions while waiting for the weather to clear.
Under the terms of an agreement, demanded by pro-military congressional and state legislators, the authority could not study the feasibility of flying commercial airplanes out of the region's bases – Camp Pendleton, North Island Naval Air Station, Miramar Marine Corps Air Station and March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County.
The idea was that overt civilian lust for runways on military land should not give BRAC, the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, an excuse to reduce the lucrative military presence here.
Well, permission to fly – and lust – is about to be granted.
Last month, President Bush approved the independent commission's report, which recommends closing 22 major bases around the country, among other less-dramatic reductions.
At this point, the only thing that could derail the proposal is a joint rejection by both chambers of Congress, an unlikely result.
So San Diego County kept its word and kept its mouth shut. The local bases dodged the Trim Reaper.
During the next six months – April is the deadline to make its final recommendation – the airport authority will continue to study the nonmilitary survivors, especially the El Centro option, which enjoys the ardent support of Rep. Bob Filner, D-Chula Vista.
Now, thank goodness, the stars are coming out. Finally, it is time to cover all the bases.
Fasten your seat belts, ladies and gentlemen. Hold on to your drinks. The ride promises to be turbulent.
I'm laying odds (5-2) that by the time the cruelest month rolls around, a joint-use airport at Miramar will be the choice offered voters on the November 2006 ballot.
That's not to say the fix is in – I haven't counted votes – but common sense says Miramar remains, as it always has been, the brightest star in the local firmament.
"I would bet that that's the way it's going to go," said Assemblyman George Plescia, R-San Diego, whose district includes some of Miramar's surrounding communities that will fight to the last child – and dog – to keep a disruptive international airport out of their back yards.
Fly into San Diego and you can't help but marvel at the rightness of Miramar as an airport. It's huge. It's in the heart of the region, bordered by major freeways. It's pretty close to ideal.
On a practical level, civilian and military planes can co-exist. A Honolulu airport, smaller than Miramar, operates an civilian airport alongside the military facility.
Granted, a link between Lindbergh Field and North Island has sex appeal. Camp Pendleton? Possible, but less likely.
March? Again, conceivable, but it has the same problem as El Centro and Campo – it relies on high-speed land transit.
In terms of immediate utility, Miramar is perfect. And in terms of potential NIMBY opposition, Miramar is a perfect nightmare. A political Medusa.
Plescia has made a career of firing up the grass roots in his affluent, well-connected district, warning of noisy planes, 24 hours a day. He is quick to point out that federal legislation specifically precludes such a civilian/military partnership.
If the airport authority asks voters to favor joint-use at Miramar, the opponents will be numerous and loud.
It is worth noting that one old and influential pro-military warrior will have to sit out this fight, if it comes to that.
Preoccupied by a possible federal indictment for corruption – and his seemingly endless real-estate transactions – Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham of Rancho Santa Fe won't be Miramar's reactionary wing man.
If any of the county's military bases are to include civilian runways, at least three things will have to happen:
In an advisory vote, county residents must support joint use; military leaders will have to come to see the wisdom of the partnership – with the help of civilian investment, of course; and the local congressional delegation will have to lean against the wheel in Washington.
In the upcoming race for the 50th Congressional District, where the Republican field is forming, the fate of the base where Cunningham flew as a Top Gun pilot could hang in the balance.
As it stands now, state Sen. Bill Morrow, R-Carlsbad, and former Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian are targeting his seat. Insiders are in a state of high suspense about whether Assemblyman Mark Wyland, R-Vista, will decide to move into Morrow's safe state Senate seat next year or tap his personal bank account to compete for Cunningham's open seat.
If that happens, three conservative Republicans in Cunningham's general philosophical mold will fight for the same votes, possibly opening the door to a moderate Republican such as county Supervisor Pam Slater-Price or, in what would be a major upset in the heavily GOP district, Democrat Francine Busby.
If Wyland were to run for Congress, Plescia would run for Morrow's state Senate seat and San Diego Councilman Brian Maienschein, popular in his District 5, would run for Plescia's Assembly seat.
If the stars line up and joint use at Miramar takes off, whoever takes Cunningham's place could be in a key position to help pilot – or intercept – an airliner headed to Miramar.
Logan Jenkins can be reached at (760) 737-7555 or by e-mail at logan.jenkins@uniontrib.com.
For Juaneno Indians, Unity Proves Elusive
Leaders of three factions in San Juan Capistrano aren't even
on speaking terms. It could become a snag in the tribe's
quest for federal recognition.
By Dave McKibben
Times Staff Writer
October 10, 2005
Splintered for more than a decade, members of the Juaneno
Band of Mission Indians have bickered over elections,
casino proposals and plans to build athletic fields on their
land.
But the estimated 4,000 members of the Acjacheman
Nation scattered throughout Orange County and other
parts of the country may have a compelling reason to
become one again: the promise of federal recognition.
With recognition, the Juanenos could form their own
government and qualify for many of the benefits enjoyed by
the 562 federally recognized nations, including federal
money for education and health care, land for a reservation
and even, possibly, a casino.
But as the Juanenos move into the final stage before formal
recognition, there are few signs that their three factions are
getting along.
The three Juaneno leaders - David Belardes, Anthony
Rivera and Sonia Johnston - have said they want to merge
their factions. But as the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs
begins to review the Juanenos' petition for recognition, the
leaders apparently still are not on speaking terms.
Joyce Perry, tribal manager under Belardes, said she sent
certified letters to Rivera and Johnston two months ago but
had not heard back from either.
"I offered to meet them anytime, anyplace," Perry said. "And
I'm comfortable with a moderator. If the intent is to come
together, it would be in everybody's best interests to do it
sooner rather than later."
Johnston said she also had reached out to Belardes and
Rivera through intermediaries.
"No one has tape over their mouths," Johnston said. "I
always hear what's going on in the other groups. We only
have one history. But no, I haven't spoken with leaders of
the other two groups."
The Juanenos are indigenous to Orange County, dating
back at least 10,000 years. In the late 1970s, a formal
government structure was established and a petition for
federal recognition followed a few years later. Today,
Juane–os live throughout Orange, Riverside, San Diego and
Los Angeles counties, and some live elsewhere in the
country.
Tribal members began receiving mixed messages in 1994
when Belardes' election as tribal chairman was disputed.
Johnston was then elected by another group of Juane–os
who recognize her as leader. A few years later, another
group split away from Belardes when some members
accused him of negotiating a deal with Nevada investors to
build a casino on a 29-acre lot in San Juan Capistrano. The
acreage is thought to be a tribal graveyard.
Over the years, the three leaders have disagreed over
whether to support JSerra Catholic High School's plan to
build athletic fields on the burial site.
They even have tussled over how many members each
group has.
Rivera, who took over one faction in January, says about
1,000 Juane–os recently switched allegiance from the other
two groups and that his now has about 3,000 members.
"I don't claim to be a hero or anything," Rivera said. "I'm
just doing what the people elected me to do, and that's
unifying our people. I think people are listening to our
message."
Johnston says her faction has about 1,500 members,
though Belardes and Rivera say the number is much lower.
Perry, meanwhile, said that about 280 Juane–os were under
Belardes' leadership and that only about 200 people
actually belonged to Rivera's group.
"They say 3,000 are in their group," Perry said. "That's a
huge concern of ours. We don't know who all these people
are and where they came from."
Rebecca Robles, whose family has been in all three factions
at one time or another, said the rift was embarrassing.
"Somehow, everybody is stuck," said Robles, a San
Clemente nurse who now belongs to Rivera's group.
"The split undermines us tremendously. There's not as
much power as if we were speaking as one. Outside people
seem to focus on the divisions."
Robles said she had considered leaving the tribe altogether
because it was in such disarray.
"But the cultural ties are so strong," Robles said. "So I
choose to stay and work with them."
The Bureau of Indian Affairs said it was considering two
Juaneno petitions, one from Johnston and another from
Rivera. Nedra Darling, a bureau spokeswoman, says her
office realizes that there are two factions - Belardes' and
Rivera's - noted in the Rivera petition, so it has identified
Rivera as the "spokesperson" for the acknowledgment
process and Belardes as an "interested party."
"We had to have a person we can deal with, so we picked
Mr. Rivera," Darling said. "But they really do need to clarify
who their leader and governing body are."
Darling said the process could take at least two years.
Anthropologists, archeologists and genealogists must
evaluate and verify the Juanenos' tribal history and
membership rolls. The petitions will be judged on the
tribe's ability to meet seven criteria, including maintaining a
distinct community and continuous government from
historical times to the present, and providing proof of
governing documents or procedures.
Perry said she was concerned that the process could be
muddied if the bureau received conflicting data from the
three groups.
"How foolish of us," Perry said. "We could be our own worst
enemy."
Perry said potential reservation sites included pockets of
land on the former El Toro Marine Base, Camp Pendleton,
the Cleveland National Forest off Ortega Highway and the
Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station.
Not everyone in O.C. is excited about the prospect of tribal
recognition, because of the Juanenos' conceivably obtaining
tribal land at the former El Toro base. Irvine Councilman
Larry Agran proposed a resolution last month declaring his
city a commercial gambling-free zone on the off-chance an
Indian casino might be contemplated.
Irvine is planning residential and commercial development
around a 1,000-acre park to be built at the former base.
None of the three tribal leaders have expressed a desire to
build a casino, which would be a longshot at best. A full-
scale urban casino would require approvals from local
governments, the California governor and the secretary of
the Interior.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued a proclamation this
year opposing Indian casinos in urban areas.
"Gaming is not an issue for me now," Johnston said. "There
is a law that states that we can do that, and casinos have
brought many tribes out of dire poverty. But my main
concern is a land base for our people.
"We need a place to call home again."
http://
www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-
juanenos10oct10,1,2067570,print.story?coll=la-headlines-
california
Great Park design decision postponed
Extra time will allow travel to Spain, New York and San Francisco to see the finalists' finished projects.
Monday, October 10, 2005
By SONYA SMITH and JEFF ROWE
The Orange County Register
The Great Park board decided today to delay a decision to select a master designer until January, allowing time to travel to Spain, New York and San Francisco to visit the three finalist designers’ finished projects.
The decision was unanimous.
The board also heard a report from Christina Lo, manager of engineering for the Great Park Corp., warning that construction costs on the Great Park are likely to rise and perhaps significantly. Lo gave three reasons:
• Shortages of cement, the limestone powder used in making concrete
• Competition for building materials from the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast
• Increased fuel costs
The engineering and construction giant Parsons Brinkerhoff was hired to assess construction costs; their report is due in six to eight weeks.
The board also delayed until January selecting a ninth board member to replace Dick Sim, who resigned from the board earlier this year. The board agreed it would be better to bring on a new board member after its decision on the master designer.
Also, the board approved $100,000 for a study of the wildlife corridor that would connect the coastal areas with the Cleveland National Forest. The Irvine Company will contribute $50,000 for the study.
Plane lands on I-5, causes traffic jams - OCR 10/11/05
SANTA CLARITA - A single-engine Piper airplane made an emergency landing on a busy stretch of Interstate 5 Monday afternoon because of engine trouble, authorities said.
There were no injuries or traffic collisions, but traffic jams formed behind the impromptu landing site north of Los Angeles.
Poll says 66% support [SD] airport issue
But voters unclear on who foots bill
By Jeff Ristine
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
October 11, 2005
Two-thirds of San Diego County voters are inclined to support an expansion or replacement of their airport, a poll has found, but most are a bit hazy on the idea of who would wind up paying for it.
A year of aggressive public outreach and education efforts may have helped push additional voters to support the idea of a new or expanded airport, according to the survey for the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.
Some 66 percent of people polled signaled at least some willingness to vote for the regional airport proposal expected on the November 2006 ballot, up from 55 percent a year ago. Twenty-one percent said they would be inclined to vote against an airport measure, the same as last year.
But some members of the airport authority board of directors were troubled that 72 percent of the respondents believe county taxpayers would be among those paying for a new airport. Far fewer correctly identified the federal government, revenues from airlines and government bonds as the actual source of funds.
"Our outreach is not educating people as to how this is going to be paid for," William Lynch, an executive board member, said.
The agency's public relations firm commissioned the poll, by CIC Research, to measure awareness of the airport site-selection program, the rationale behind the effort and next year's ballot measure.
The telephone survey of 814 registered voters was conducted inSeptember. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
The survey found 88 percent of respondents were aware of the site-selection project, but only 32 percent – up from 21 percent last year – were aware of the planned ballot measure.
The airport authority has run newspaper inserts, held a continuing series of town meetings and passed out posters and squishy airplanes at street fairs to draw attention to the project, which began under the San Diego Association of Governments in December 2001.
The agency says Lindbergh Field could reach its capacity by 2015, even with new gates in both terminals.
The authority is using a process of gradual elimination of nine prospective sites to arrive at a choice for the ballot, but it currently is focused on just three options: a new airport in Boulevard or in the Imperial County desert or obtaining maximal use from the existing Lindbergh Field.
Up to five military sites could be analyzed later, depending on how the board decides to consider them. The board agreed to await congressional action on a Pentagon base-closure list, but none of the prospective airport sites were included, shifting the likely focus to the possibility of joint use.
A proposed site in Ocotillo Wells is still on the list but not under active review. A second, parallel runway for Lindbergh Field has been ruled out.
The Imperial County site suffered a setback with an airspace analysis that showed huge complications from its proximity to restricted military airspace and the Mexican border. Prospective arrival and departure corridors are so tight, some flights from Northern California would have to maneuver as far east as Phoenix before landing, analysts said, and a "missed approach" could send aircraft circling on a 250-mile loop to get back in line for a second try.
U.S. Rep Bob Filner, who represents Imperial County in Congress, attended the board meeting yesterday to denounce the idea that restricted airspace could render the location unsuitable. Filner said the Federal Aviation Administration should be assigned the task of resolving the issue.
"The FAA's job is to figure out a way to make the airspace work," said Filner, D-San Diego, arguing that the existing Lindbergh Field airport suffers similar airspace constraints.
The poll, meanwhile, did not offer respondents a chance to weigh in on specific sites.
Some 13 percent of those surveyed said they didn't know how they would vote on a ballot measure until a site is picked.
Among the 66 percent who said they would support a regional airport solution if the election were held now, some had clear conditions. Some 11 percent of the overall sample indicated they would support only an expanded Lindbergh Field, said Skip Hall, an economist with CIC Research. Nine percent said they would support only a new site.
Jeff Ristine: (619) 542-4580; jeff.ristine@uniontrib.com
Survey shows greater support for new or expanded San Diego airport
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
By: SCOTT MARSHALL - Staff Writer
North County Times
SAN DIEGO ---- More San Diego-area residents support building a new or expanded San Diego airport today than did so a year ago, according to survey results released Monday. That support includes most people in North County.
Almost two-thirds of those surveyed said they would vote for a new San Diego airport site or an expansion of the San Diego International Airport/Lindbergh Field, up from 55 percent in a similar survey conducted in November 2004.
"This is a measurement of the public's desire and the need for a solution," said Skip Hull, an economist at CIC Research, which conducted the survey for the public relations firm hired by the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.
The airport authority manages daily operations at the San Diego airport and has been charged with finding options for expanding or replacing Lindbergh Field, which is projected to be overcrowded by 2015. Voters are slated to decide in November of next year on a site proposed by the airport authority.
Thella Bowens, the airport authority's president and chief executive officer, said the survey results showed the public has a greater understanding that the airport faces "serious capacity constraints."
North County residents showed the strongest support for a new or expanded airport, with 75 percent saying they would vote for such a proposal.
The percentage of those opposed to an expansion or new airport remained at 21 percent, while the percentage of those who said their opinion depended on where a new airport would be located dropped from 24 percent in 2004 to 13 percent last month.
The survey results were released Monday before a meeting of the airport authority's strategic planning committee. CIC Research surveyed 814 registered voters at random by telephone last month. The survey results have a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent, Hull said.
The survey did not ask respondents whether they preferred expanding the current airport or building at a new site, but some who answered the survey questions offered their own opinions on that issue, Hull said.
Of those who said they would vote for a new or expanded airport, 11 percent said they would support only the expansion of the existing airport and 9 percent said they would support only a new site, Hull said.
The airport authority has identified nine potential airport sites, including an expansion of Lindbergh Field and several military bases, including Miramar and Camp Pendleton. The authority has postponed studying the military sites until at least November, when the federal government finishes the latest round of base closures and reorganizations.
The military has strongly resisted the idea of building a civilian or joint military-civilian airport on Miramar or Camp Pendleton. The proposed civilian sites for new airports include locations that are more than an hour's drive from San Diego, including the East County town of Campo, which is more than 50 miles from San Diego and the Imperial Valley desert.
Bowens said the airport authority's board plans to decide on a final recommendation by the end of May or early June.
While 88 percent of those surveyed last month said they had heard something about the search for a regional airport solution, only 32 percent said they knew the issue would be before voters in 2006. However, both of those numbers showed increases from last year, when 82 percent had heard of the site selection efforts and only 21 percent knew it would be before them in the November 2006 election.
Contact staff writer Scott Marshall at (760) 631-6623 or smarshall@nctimes.com.
TAKING CEMENT SHOE ORDERS NOW - OC Weekly's Clockwork Orange
Posted Oct. 11, 6:45 p.m.
Your favorite wind-up boy toy finds it quite curious, quite curious indeed, that the Great Park board has delayed a decision on selecting a master designer until January. Why, oh, why, you doth ask? One reason, apparently, according to this here fish wrap http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/homepage/abox/print_709125.php , is there is apparently a shortage of cement spurred by the competition for building materials brought on by -- oh, pick your latest natural disaster. This is very interesting, very interesting indeed, Batman, because remember how great tearing up the old El Toro Marine Corps Air Station runways was going to be, because we'd never run out of debris that could be easily converted into the cement needed to build the Great Park? That's what the anti-airport coalition kept yammerin as they sold Orange County dupes on the idea of abandoning a commercial airport there for a large park ringed with homes, office towers and the Statue of Larry Agran atop a Trojan Horse. (And we didn't even know he was an 'SC fan!)
So now, all of a sudden, said cement-makin' stuff is scarce. Have trucks from Hurricane Katrinaland been backing up to the old base and hauling away chunks of Ginzu'd runway? Of course not. Clockwork's best guess: Organized labor is behind all this. Oh, sure, it may just be Schwarzenegger ringing in our ears (which is why we've Ginzu'd off our ears), but we can just picture Fat Tony and the Boys showing up after hours in that yuppified wine cellar the Agranistas meet in, convincing them -- with various references to potential broken appendages -- that construction and the materials to do the same is going to be scarce, steeper and take longer than anticipated to put into place, if youse get my drift.
Oh, but don't worry about the cost, county taxpayers: the Agranistas are real good about burying that in so much bureaucratic paper shuffling that you needn't worry your pretty little heads over it.
Until the horse head shows up between your sheets.
Daily Transcript Question: The strategic planning committee of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority announced that the expansion of Lindbergh Field is not an option. Given that finding, the airport will likely need to be relocated. Assuming the airport could be moved to any appropriate site in the county -- such as existing civilian or military airport sites or available open space -- where would you recommend the airport be relocated and why?
It is premature to say expanding Lindbergh is not an option. I spoke with a licensed commercial pilot who currently flies for a major USA airline that serves Lindbergh Field. His comment to me was when the city of San Diego allowed a public parking garage to add height to its structure the runway capability at the airport was reduced, thereby limiting the type of aircraft that can land there. This can be remedied.
If in fact the authority does not want to re-visit expansion then the next possible location would be in Otay Mesa. Combine this with an elevated (perhaps maglev) rail system and I think we have solved our air transportation issue. This would also serve as an economic catalyst for the Otay region. Miramar for me is out of the question, as we must maintain our military presence in San Diego especially with the porous border to the south.
Going to Imperial County looks good at first glance, but are we solving a problem by doing this or creating more given the environmental conditions present between Imperial and downtown San Diego? And how long would it be before we could accomplish this? Otay to downtown can be accomplished much quicker I believe. Ultimate convenience and cost point to Otay although my preference would be Lindbergh expansion.
-- Ed Gallo
Mayor Pro Tem, city of Escondido
Without viable and realistic options available, the elimination of the expansion of Lindbergh Field is both hasty and shortsighted. While I am aware that in the past a lot of the discussion about moving the airport has been generated by the prospects of developers' new use for the site, our focus has to be on the realistic needs and resources of our region.
It would be my hope that the full authority would reject this recommendation so that the region's options can reflect the real world.
-- Ron Morrison
Councilman, National City
Effort to sway public opinion on airport taking root - San Diego Daily Transcript
10/11/05
With a vote on the future of San Diego's airport situation a little more than a year away, officials are intent on fostering public support through awareness. According to the results of a public opinion survey released Monday, their efforts appear to be working.
A survey of 814 registered voters in San Diego County found that 66 percent of respondents would vote for a new airport or an expansion of Lindbergh Field, an increase of 11 percent from a similar poll last fall.
The random poll also showed that 88 percent of respondents were aware of the region's constrained air transportation system, up from 81 percent a year ago.
"The Airport Authority is encouraged by movement captured in this survey and in the public involvement we've seen at our town hall meetings, our Web dialogues and through numerous other outreach methods," said Thella Bowens, president and CEO of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority.
"It's clear the community is growing in its understanding that our current airport faces serious capacity constraints and that we have to face that challenge as a region if we want to maintain our current quality of life. And, we're gaining valuable insights about what the community wants as well."
Last year, Lindbergh serviced 16.4 million passengers. In its current configuration, passenger demand could outpace capacity in as little as 10 years with 23 million annual passengers. Estimates suggest the number of annual passengers at Lindbergh could reach 27.1 million to 32.7 million by the year 2030.
To address this impending crisis, the airport authority has been studying several potential sites for a new facility as well as how to get the most use out of the current setting. While the group recently ruled out an expansion of Lindbergh, strategic planning Vice President Angela Shafer-Payne still said additional modifications can be made to expand Lindbergh's capacity.
Potential new sites have been narrowed down to Campo, Imperial Valley and Borrego Springs. Bowens said several military facilities, including Miramar, will be studied once the Base Realignment and Closure process is completed sometime in November. None of the bases in question will be closed, leaving joint use as their only possibility.
The airport authority is trying to increase awareness of the problem in advance of a November 2006 vote about whether to build a new airport or expand the current one.
"We have a desire to find a solution," Bowen said. "It goes without saying, the more informed people are, the better prepared they are to make a good decision."
While 88 percent have heard about the search for a new airport, just 32 percent were aware of the upcoming vote in November 2006. That figure is a significant increase from the 21 percent last fall who knew about the upcoming vote.
Since the specific solution to the region's airport problem isn't clear yet, the survey's questioning was more open-ended.
"We purposely avoided specifics of individual sites," said Warren Hull, economist with San Diego's CIC Research, which conducted the poll. "We allowed them to volunteer information."
Of the 66 percent supporting an airport solution, 11 percent are only in favor of expansion while 9 percent only want a new airport.
"The numbers show that the airport authority's education and outreach methods are effective," Hull said.
Voters who do not want a new or expanded regional airport remain unchanged at 21 percent, which Hull said is not surprising.
"I've lived here since 1977 and it's clear that a certain percentage of the population doesn't want San Diego to change," he said. "It's possible to change opinions that firmly believe one way or another, but we're more focused on the undecided voter. They are the ones more likely to change their minds about finding a solution."
Bowen said the solution that will go before voters will be decided by late May or early June 2006.
The survey also revealed high ratings for the current San Diego International Airport.
Fifty-two percent gave it an above average rating, meaning it is one of the best airports they've flown out of, with just nine percent giving it a below average rating, that it is one of the worst airports.
The survey consisted of 814 randomly selected registered voters in San Diego County, interviewed by phone in September. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.
Median age of the respondents was 54, with median household income at $72,300. Eighty-four percent were white and 8 percent Hispanic.
Send your comments, thoughts or suggestions to douglas.sherwin@sddt.com
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(snip)
Agran on the Warpath
OC Weekly
October 14 - 20, 2005
Indians are the new bogeyman in the war against an already defeated airport
by STEPHEN C. SMITH
With all the cultural sensitivity of a John Ford western, Irvine City Council members Larry Agran and Beth Krom appear intent on resurrecting the 19th century doctrine of Manifest Destiny.
It began with a Sept. 27 council agenda item titled, "Citywide Restrictions on Commercial Gambling." Mayor Krom declared her intent to "create an anti-gambling ordinance for the City of Irvine," apparently clueless that such an ordinance has existed since 1972. After Councilwoman Christina Shea read it aloud, a bewildered Krom asked, "Is this in our existing code?!"
Indeed it is, and it already prohibits any gaming interest from operating a casino or card club within Irvine.
With Krom flailing on the hook of a 33-year old law, Councilman Agran came to the rescue by invoking the specter of a Redskin Menace.
"The Indian gaming interests, which started in the remote areas of the state, are salivating at the opportunity to bring large-scale, commercial gambling into the highly populated areas," Agran claimed. "We have to have a strategy to deal with tribal claims in Washington, D.C. We have to have a strategy to deal with claims and negotiations for compacts that may be coming by way of Sacramento. The Indian gaming interests are hard at work in Sacramento all the time."
Agran directed city staff to report "whether it's advisable for us, in the next 30 to 60 days, to be in Washington with representation opposing any Indian tribal claims that could give rise to commercial gambling here in Irvine. If there's a pending claim, we need to get on top of it right away."
Call it the Agran Doctrine.
The Agran Doctrine hinges on the word "could." There's no way of knowing what the land use "could" be one day, so Agran apparently intends to avoid the whole problem by simply opposing any tribal claims for land.
Agran's gambling bogeyman first appeared in the 2004 municipal election. The Agran slate falsely charged that Mike Ward, Krom's opponent for mayor, supported bringing racetrack gambling to Irvine. Agran repeated the baseless charge at the Sept. 27 council meeting.
This was just one of many facts they got wrong.
Agran and Krom cited the City of Garden Grove as the target of Indian gambling interests, but that also turned out to be untrue. According to a Garden Grove city official, in April 2003 a representative from the Southern California Indian Center, Dr. Jane Gentry, approached the city seeking land for an Indian cultural center. The city declined, but included Gentry months later as part of a city-inspired idea to build a resort-casino. Gentry introduced city leaders to the San Diego-based Mesa Grande Band of Mission Indians, but they didn't have the resources to build or operate a resort. So Garden Grove sought out Las Vegas mogul Steve Wynn as an investor for their project. Neither Gentry nor the Indians had any connection with Wynn. The discussions ended in August 2004 when county supervisor Chris Norby exposed the negotiations, which were conducted under a confidentiality agreement between Wynn and Garden Grove.
Krom claimed that the Garden Grove City Council then enacted an anti-gambling ordinance. Wrong again. The council simply directed staff to cease discussions with any casino interest. They lifted that restriction last Aug. 30, voting 3-2 to permit staff to "hold meetings pertaining to a world class destination resort and gaming complex in Garden Grove."
Agran alleged, "There are Indian tribes seeking to establish certain claims to tribal lands in the City of Irvine and throughout Orange County. We see what's going on in Garden Grove. This is a relentless effort on the part of gaming interests to prevail."
But no one has contacted Garden Grove since the restriction was lifted, either "salivating" Indian tribes or "relentless" gaming interests.
Shawn Pensoneau, the director of Congressional and Public Affairs for the National Indian Gaming Commission, said they're not aware of any such claims in Orange County. Further, the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act makes it very difficult for tribes to establish a claim for casino gambling in an urban area. The Act requires the Secretary of the Interior take into consideration the impact of any such proposal on local communities. The federal government would have to accept the land in trust. The tribe would also have to negotiate a compact with the State of California.
The 1988 act requires any net revenues from Indian gaming be used to fund essential tribal services such as education, health care, law enforcement and fire protection, water and sewer services, and elderly and child care, according to a NIGC press release.
Krom claimed that, "There are precedents for lands being dedicated for one use by the Indians and then made available for other uses," implying that a forked-tongue Indian tribe might obtain the land under false pretenses and convert it to casino use. Pensoneau said that while Indian lands in federal trust have been converted to other uses, this could not happen with a casino unless the tribe went through the same difficult approval process that requires consideration of local communities and a State compact.
An Indian group seeking land in Irvine would have to be a federally recognized tribe. The Orange County-based Juañeno Band of Mission Indians is not a recognized tribe, but is on the "Ready List" according to a federal document posted on the Juañeno website. A final determination won't be issued until at least March 2007, according to the document. The Mesa Grande Band is a federally recognized tribe.
A tribe seeking to build an Irvine casino would have to somehow first obtain the land, then convince the federal government to accept the land in trust. If the tribe is declared "impoverished" by the federal government, then it would have to acquire the land on behalf of the tribe. The likely sellers would be the city itself, a private developer such as The Irvine Co. or Lennar, or the federal government.
The Federal Aviation Administration owns about 900 acres of the 4,700 acres that was once the El Toro Marine base. The rest is in the hands of the City of Irvine for the Great Park project, and Lennar to build the adjacent Heritage Fields residential/commercial development.
According to FAA Media Relations Manager Donn Walker, 200 acres of their land is used by the FAA for navigation and communication equipment. The remaining 700 acres is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a home to several endangered species and therefore designated as a wildlife habitat.
Walker said that Gentry met with the FAA on Sept. 22 to inquire about land for her Indian cultural center, but was told the FAA has no intention of releasing their land. It would take an act of Congress and a presidential signature to force the FAA to do so.
Gentry was accompanied by Tom and Cynthia Coad. El Toro Airport watchers will recall that Ms. Coad was a north county supervisor who was one of the leaders in the pro-airport movement, along with her husband. Conspiracy theorists have leaped to the conclusion that this was some sort of desperate effort by the Coads to resurrect the airport. But this defies logic: if the Indians could claim land that would stop a Great Park, they could just as easily stop a commercial airport.
Indeed, any Indian claims to land sound much more innocent. In recent years, Juañenos leaders have only tried to protect sacred sites that stand in the way of developers' earth movers. And the Garden Grove official familiar with Gentry said her presentation to the FAA sounded similar to the Indian educational center she proposed to their city back in 2003.
Gentry did not return a message seeking comment.
Agran's depiction of "salivating" and "relentless" Indian tribal gaming interests -- a threat that could pay dividends when it comes to raising money for future city elections and the Great Park political machine -- may still come as a shock to longtime Agran observers. Agran used to be a friend of Indian tribes. During his 1992 presidential campaign, Agran called for the next president to come to the Midwest with his Secretary of State and negotiate a binding treaty with Indian tribes to resolve disputes over sovereignty, land, and mineral rights. He also called for the president to apologize to the tribes for mistreatment over the centuries.
The new Agran Doctrine demands hard-nosed opposition to any claim by an Indian tribe for land that "could" become a casino one day. Without apology.
Keep new homes away from airport - Daily Breeze letter 10/13/05
In a Sept. 30 letter to the editor ("Give senior housing fair hearing"), Arnold Katz states that opposition to proposed senior housing under the Torrance Airport traffic pattern is based on "personal opinion and conjecture, not factually based conclusions." I would like to share the following facts and my conclusions based on them:
• Fact No. 1: When the airport was built in the 1930s, no Torrance homes existed around it. All those homes that now exist have since been built and occupied by people who should be (in Katz's words) "well aware of what to expect, in terms of aircraft noise, before they decide to buy and move in."
• Fact No. 2: An examination of the city's official records for a 12-month period reveals that:
a) Only 12 individuals made more than half of the 792 airport complaints.
b) Even if each of the remaining complaints were made by separate individuals living in the city, that would represent only 0.3 percent of the city residents.
c) Thirty-one percent of the complaints about noise or curfew violations were not supported by recorded noise-monitoring data.
d) Fifty-six percent of the complaints were about legal and safe normal airport operations in which the aircraft were operated in accordance with all applicable Federal Aviation Regulations and laws. Most simply complained that an aircraft flew over their home.
e) Only 6 percent of complaints were validated by recorded data.
• Fact No. 3: In the decade prior to 2002 (the last full year for which official data is available) the number of airport operations dropped by 17 percent and the number of noise ordinance violations dropped by 48 percent. During the same period, however, the number of complaints per operation increased 16 percent and the number of complaints per violation increased 83 percent.
• Fact No. 4: The city's consultant for preparation of the Airport Master Plan recommended that all developments within 1.5 miles of the airport be "reviewed for compatibility with the airport and to ensure that they will not be adversely affected by aircraft noise levels."
Conclusion based on Facts 1, 3 and 4: Placing residences under airport operations areas results in many complaints even if those residents are "well aware what to expect."
Conclusion based on Facts 2c, 2d and 2e: Most complaints are made only because airplanes are flying overhead (as would occur constantly under the traffic pattern) and not because of noise.
Conclusion based on Facts 2c, 2d, 2e and 3: The complaint rate is not based on the number of operations or the amount of noise generated by the airport.
Conclusion based on Facts 2a and 2b: A minuscule minority of vocal complainers can influence elected officials to hamper airport operations -- even if the great majority of affected residents do not complain.
I can only conclude that placing this residential development in an area of intensive airport operations will result in increased complaints and undue pressure on elected officials to further hamper airport operations. This will happen even if airport operations do not increase and full disclosure is required.
The best solution is to deny land use that is incompatible with airport operations.
-- JIM GATES
Torrance
Great Park decision put off
Board plans to visit Spain, New York and San Francisco to see design finalists’ work.
By SONYA SMITH and JEFF ROWE
IRVINE WORLD NEWS
10/13/05
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 design finalists are Ken Smith of New York, Royston Hanamoto of Mill Valley, Calif. and EMBT Arquitectes of Barcelona, Spain.
“We just want to get a feel for how they operate their offices and see some of their sites,” said Sukhee Kang, board member.
As planned, the trips to New York and Barcelona will depart Nov. 1 and return on the 10th. A trip to Mill Valley will be scheduled separately.
In an informal poll of board members last month, Ken Smith finished first; his plan also earned high grades from a panel of designers convened to evaluate the seven submitted design plans. Smith’s plan features a canyon in the middle of the park; EMBT’s plan calls for a central lake; Royston’s reuses some of the big hangars at the old base.
The design jury was critical of Royston and EMBT’s plans, but their strong presentations won enough support that the board included them in winnowing the field from seven design firms to three.
But the board had allocated $50,000 for the trip early in the selection process, said Marsha Burgess, a spokeswoman for the Great Park. Three travel agencies are bidding on the trip, she said.
Burgess said board members and council members Christina Shea, Steven Choi and Beth Krom will take the full trip. Director Miguel Pulido will not go on the trip at all, Director Walkie Ray also will skip the trip but said he may visit some of the places on his own, and the other directors – Michael Pinto and council members Kang and Larry Agran will go on part of the trip.
The trip will begin with three days in Barcelona, Spain, two days in Paris, three days in New York and then the last day in Toronto, Canada.
The trip’s cost will be determined after prices from three travel agencies are received; funds will come out of the $263,000 allocated for “business-related travel, meetings, seminars and workshops.” Burgess said that some of that money has been used already for some directors to attend various conferences.
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.
Lo gave three reasons:
Shortages of cement, the limestone powder used in making concrete.
Competition for building materials from the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast.
Increased fuel costs.
Fuscoe Engineering was hired to evaluate construction and design costs for the Great Park. Fuscoe completed the original cost assessment for the Great Park in January 2003. To get a second opinion, the board hired engineering and construction giant Parsons Brinckerhoff to estimate construction costs; its report is due by the end of the month.
A reconciliation of the two reports is expected in six-eight weeks.
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.
Also, the board approved $150,000 for a study of the wildlife corridor to connect the coastal areas with the Cleveland National Forest. The Irvine Co. will contribute $50,000 of that cost. The program envisions trapping up to six bobcats and six coyotes and tagging the animals with tracking systems to study their movement. The report is expected to be completed by July 2007.
The Board next Meeting is Oct. 27, from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm at Irvine Council Chambers.
Floating an idea for the Great Park
The other Ken Smith’s idea of waterway transportation at the Great Park applauded.
By SONYA SMITH and JEFF ROWE IRVINE WORLD NEWS
10/13/05
In the presentations by the seven design finalists for the Great Park, some board members asked about boats that might transport people in the waterways the designers envisioned.
None had thought that far ahead in their planning.
But Ken Smith of Laguna Niguel was ready with a plan that included renderings.
This Ken Smith is not to be confused with the Ken Smith of New York who is one of the finalists to design the Great Park. The Laguna Niguel Ken Smith is a retired illustrator; among his employers: El Segundo-based Mattel Inc., the toymaker. He spent 18 years there, working on toy designs and packaging.
Smith’s Great Park inspiration came while on vacation in San Antonio, Texas. He and his wife strolled the city’s river walk and took a ride in one of the flat-bottomed boats that carry visitors on leisurely tours of the area.
Then, when Smith heard mention of using the proposed water features in the Great Park for transportation, he thought perhaps his proverbial ship had arrived. His concept features flat-bottomed boats that work as taxis during the day, and dinner boats at night.
He said the boats are quiet, environmentally friendly and can earn money.
Smith envisions the boats linking small cafés and outdoor seating that could line the sides of a Great Park waterway. Several streams naturally flow through the old El Toro base and all three finalists’ plans include water features.
Smith says he and his wife already can imagine having dinner on one of the boats before going to the amphitheatre for a concert. The amphitheatre is part of the Great Park plan by the other Ken Smith.
The Laguna Niguel Smith has submitted his boat plans and Great Park Corp. board chair Larry Agran acknowledged receiving them.
Smith realizes the park will be designed by one of the three big international architectural firms now finalists in the competition. But he hopes his suggestion might be useful, a feature that would fit in with the plans by the big firms.
“The Great Park just needs to be as great as it can be,” Smith said. “And I think this design could work right into it.”
CONTACT THE WRITER: (949) 553-2911 or sosmith@ocregister.com
One more rendering of Ken Smith' floating park
RETIRED ILLUSTRATOR KEN SMITH came up with concepts on how to bring boats into the waterway designs proposed for the Great Park. Smith’s ideas were inspired by the river walk in San Antonio.
RENDERINGS COURTESY OF
KEN SMITH
Big changes are on the horizon - IWN Editorial 10/13/05
The Great Park, Irvine Business Complex, school districts
are moving on plans that will reshape Irvine.
Irvine is approaching its Òbuild-outÓ over the next couple
of decades, and stunning changes in the cityÕs make-up are
in store.
Residents and business and industry will want to pay
attention to whatÕs under way at City Hall, on developersÕ
drawing boards and with the schools.
The Great Park Corp. board of directors and the City
Council are moving toward selection of a designer for the
public sectors of the park and they are moving more
deliberately as they get closer to a decision. The initial field
of seven design firms chosen in an international search has
been narrowed to three.
The Great Park board, made up of the five City Council
members and three appointed directors, along the way has
taken into consideration ideas and reactions from the
public as well as experts in the field of designing and
creating public places. And they gave the seven firms in
contention opportunities to pitch their visions on paper, in
exhibits and face-to-face with the board and the curious
public.
Each forum so swayed opinions back and forth that the
board is adding another twist to the process. Board
members will travel to Spain, New York and San Francisco,
and probably other destinations, to see first-hand the
handiwork and the operations of the three finalists, who are
based in New York, California and Barcelona.
ItÕs a good idea. Check out what these firms already have
built and how their creations are used by the public. Get a
feel for what they can do. Done right, the visits should be
money well spent. WeÕre only going to get one shot at the
biggest and most costly public works project in the
countyÕs history, so the board canÕt be too careful or too
public with each step in the process.
Across town from the Great Park, big changes are in
store for the remaking of the Irvine Business Complex that
has been limited to office buildings, industry and hotels
around the John Wayne Airport for 40 years.
A proposed zoning map was released this week to set
development guidelines for the rush to build condominium
high-rises and apartment complexes in the middle of the
commercial operations. The city wants to accommodate the
future residents with retail, entertainment and professional
services within walking distance.
Drastic changes are in store that the rest of the city will
want to monitor. Long-standing businesses and industries
in the IBC may be unfairly endangered by the encroaching
high-rises and complexes. Viable businesses ought not be
squeezed out.
Changes at hand with Irvine Unified School District that
residents should appreciate include the relaxing of the
border with Tustin Unified to allow students along that line
to attend the school of their choice, no matter which of the
two fine districts it falls within.
Irvine Unified also has revised its long-range schedule
for closing schools and moving their programs to new
campuses elsewhere. And middle schools over the next few
years are moving toward taking in the sixth grade that
traditionally has been the responsibility of elementary
schools.
Big changes are coming fast and itÕs to the publicÕs
benefit to keep up and speak up.
Nice work if you can get it - IWN letter 10/13/05
Boy, I wish I was a member of the Great Park committee.
Not only would I be able to have my whims implemented at
public (well, LennarÕs) expense, without the public voting
for them (or me! gotta love appointed positions), but IÕd be
able to take $50K Òfield tripsÓ to Europe, etc. (Friday, Oct.
7, Orange County Register Web site). This makes the yearly,
thousand-dollar Irvine-sponsored trips of a different Irvine
bureaucrat to Mexico (for a Òsister-cityÓ) look like small
potatoes! What fine pork, paid for by Irvine homeowners
who obviously have too much cash.
Where do I sign up? Or do I have to be buddies with a city
council member?
Thomas Katt
Supervisor says future of Valley looks very good
Thursday, October 13, 2005.
By ALISHA SEMCHUCK
Antelope Valley Press Staff Writer
LANCASTER - The future's looking good, according to Los Angeles County 5th District Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich.
He appeared as keynote speaker at the Antelope Valley Chambers of Commerce luncheon Wednesday in the Convention Center at Antelope Valley Inn.
He began his speech by comparing the past with the present, then glimpsing into the future to update business leaders on the progress being made by the county and its significance in the Valley.
"Your chamber is about 100 years old," Antonovich said.
"One hundred years ago, the average life span (was) 47.
Only 14% of homes had bathtubs and 8% had telephones."
A three-minute call from Denver to New York cost $11.
Throughout the United States were 8,000 automobiles, which reached a maximum speed of 10 mph.
Most infants - 96% - were born at home. Most women washed their hair once a month using egg yolk and borax.
"So Miss Kitty wasn't so pretty," the supervisor said, eliciting a round of laughter.
Old records show California's population at 1.4 million. Las Vegas had 30 residents. And violent crime statistics nationwide indicated 230 murders.
"So a lot has changed."
With that in mind, Antonovich said it's important for the business community and residents alike to have a vision for the future, a plan they can set in motion.
He called the Antelope Valley an "ideal location" - in close proximity to "down below," the San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles, and the surrounding areas of Kern County, San Bernardino County and Ventura County.
"One hundred years from today, imagine the dynamics."
He implied that the Antelope Valley will become the hub, a kind of link between all those destinations, so having a solid infrastructure that can support the populace is important.
But building a solid infrastructure requires money.
Antonovich commended Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for Proposition 1A, which reduced state control of area tax dollars raised from property and sales taxes.
Prop. 1A also restricts the amount of local tax dollars the state can use.
That proposition passed in 2004 with 83% of the vote, the supervisor said.
The ability to spend that money on local needs makes a difference.
"Now we have a stable source of funding in place," Antonovich said.
With that money, the supervisor said, 1,225 new deputies will be hired for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
The county district attorney's office also will increase its staff, as will the public defender's office. County libraries will expand hours of operation.
In January, the new Palmdale Sheriff's Station, which cost $24 million, will open with 300 deputies. They will cover territory out toward Pearblossom and Llano as well as the Elizabeth Lake area, and complement the fairly new Lancaster Sheriff's Station.
Money also is allocated for a gang task force.
L.A. County Fire Station 129 is adding a hazardous response team. Two new fire stations are also on the horizon.
The supervisor also discussed repairs and improvements to the much-congested thoroughfares that motorists travel every day in the Antelope Valley.
He said with those added tax dollars, the county has "been able to begin (to) catch up in areas that had been delinquent for so long."
He broached the subject of regional airports, saying there's a "push now for Ontario Airport and Palmdale Airport to move forward. That's in the works."
"The need for regional airports was yesterday, not tomorrow."
asemchuck@avpress.com
San Diego Daily Transcript Question: The strategic planning committee of the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority announced that the expansion of Lindbergh Field is not an option. Given that finding, the airport will likely need to be relocated. Assuming the airport could be moved to any appropriate site in the county -- such as existing civilian or military airport sites or available open space -- where would you recommend the airport be relocated and why?
I think it's premature to take the second runway off the table for Lindbergh field. Aviation as we know it today will not exist 10 years from now, planes will be larger and require less runway space for landings and take-offs. I do not live nor represent the citizens that would be affected by a second runway but I believe that all options must stay on the table for study and further discussion. I also believe that the science of future aviation and airport requirements needs to be clearly examined and reported.
-- Francisco J. Parra
Councilman, National City
[ONT] Airport on flight to land record
10/13/05
By PAUL HERRERA / The Press-Enterprise
After a sluggish start to the year, Ontario International Airport welcomed its strongest summer yet.
Slightly fewer than 2 million passengers traveled through the Inland airport from June through August. Individually, August and July were the second and third busiest months in the airport's history, respectively. Its busiest month was August 2001.
Mark Thorpe, director of air service marketing for Ontario, said summer provided a critical benchmark for the airport because it posted solid growth during its busiest season.
The gains -- flat in June, up 4.4 percent in July and up another 4.9 percent in August -- keep the airport on pace to crack the 7-million-passenger mark for the year, a first.
Ron Kuhlmann, an aviation analyst with industry consultant Unisys R2A in Oakland, said the economic pressures weighing on airlines may soon start to hurt air travel and airports.
"The fuel prices are going to begin to take a toll," he said. "We're also going into the slow period of the year and discretionary travel will fall off."
Kuhlmann said travelers should expect to see more fuel surcharges tacked onto fares. However, since travel costs for fliers and drivers are rising equally, such surcharges won't automatically push people away from air travel.
The more pressing concern is whether energy costs drag down the economy enough to keep people from traveling at all, Thorpe said. Furthermore, as fuel costs push airlines to seek bankruptcy protection, there's a chance a carrier could disappear altogether.
Thorpe, whose primary task is to bring additional air service to the airport, said many airlines plan to add planes despite the uncertain business climate.
In recent months United Airlines' low-cost spin-off, Ted, added flights between Ontario International and San Francisco International. Delta also added service between Atlanta and Ontario.
Reach Paul Herrera at (909) 806-3074 or pherrera@pe.com.
Frying Turkey Like Relocating Airport
By MICHAEL GRANT
Voice of San Diego Guest Columnist
Thursday, Oct. 13, 2005
October is hunkering-down month for the fellows of the Kettner Blvd. College of Turkey Surgeons and Airport Relocation Committee.
The task is never far from our minds, but October is the month when we seek to give our imaginations some sort of physical shape. There is a way to infuse moisture into roast turkey. It seemed so simple, in its theoretical form last July, doodling it out on paper. But now it is October, and Thanksgiving is just around the corner. How do we turn theory into contraption? Every year, we reach this point, and it turns the precious October days into a blur.
CostCo this season is carrying the deep-fry contraption that was gaining popularity a few years ago, fueled by famous food writers who could not ignore the opportunity to write about some Southern back-yard jet mechanic dropping a whole, 18-pound turkey into a vat of boiling oil. It was fun reading, with the warnings about explosions, and the harness into which the cooks fitted the turkey, then with long, oar-like extensions lowered the harnessed turkey into the vat, and the caveat about doing this only outside, and never in the garage or other enclosed place that you wouldn't want to blow up or burn down.
We always enjoy reading such material, because of its spiritual connection to airport relocation, which is the College's other commission (our motto: "Not likely to happen in our lifetime.") It is totally possible that reading about, and visualizing, the lowering of a whole turkey into boiling oil with harnesses and oars will lead directly to a fruitful idea about where to relocate the airport.
By the same token, I enjoyed reading a long op-ed piece in the Union-Tribune last week, about relocating the airport to Imperial County. Apparently they have their own Airport Relocation Committee out there, and this piece was written by the committee's chair. He is an attorney also, I recall, which helps. Attorneys tend to see turkeys as turkeys and airports as airports, with no need to discuss where the thing is, or whether it is juicy or not. "Define 'where,'" he will say, if it comes up. "Define 'juice'."
He engaged in some interesting theorizing about the value of a desert-sited airport roughly 100 miles east of downtown San Diego, making it about 97 miles more distant than Lindbergh Field but accessible by what he called MagLevs, and reading it made my mouth water. What a totally logical place, in a MagLev contraption speeding toward an airport in Imperial County, to encounter the "Eureka!" moment of infusing moisture into a roast turkey.
We left the CostCo contraption on the shelf because of the "too much trouble" rule. There is a point where food preparation becomes more trouble than it is worth. We are glad to see Martha Stewart out of prison and re-installed as queen of the "more trouble than it is worth" school of cuisine, which is fun to watch. And of course it would be instructive to hear what she has to say about airport relocation, and sliced turkey on white bread with heavy mayonnaise, which for the 200th straight year remains the only reasonable way to eat turkey.
Journalist, author and educator Michael Grant has been putting his spin on San Diego, and the city putting its spin on him, since 1972. His Web site is at www.michaelgrant.com.
Poor ballot box performance won't stop UCI professor - Daily Pilot 10/13/05
Even though UC Irvine business professor John Graham lost his bid for the 48th Congressional District seat last week, he hasn't given up on some issues he raised during the campaign -- and he won't let a pesky thing like the Federal Aviation Administration deter him either.
Graham pitched the idea of a commercial airport at Camp Pendleton as a way to ease congestion at Los Angeles International Airport and head off future expansion of John Wayne Airport. Last week, he got a response from an official at the FAA that basically grounded the Pendleton plan.
Although the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority has been studying Pendleton as one of seven possible airport sites, the letter said, the local congressional delegation opposed the idea. Also, Pendleton wasn't on the list of bases recommended for closure, and nonmilitary development there must be approved by the Navy and Marine Corps -- in other words, good luck.
But Graham isn't giving up, even though he's no longer running for Congress.
"I'm going to be nudging this issue along, just because it's important for international trade," he said.
He's also written to Gov. Schwarzenegger and the mayors of Los Angeles and San Diego, but so far, he's had no response.
* ALICIA ROBINSON covers government and politics. She may be reached at (714) 966-4626 or by e-mail at alicia.robinson@latimes.com.
Trip to airport will continue to get worse - DP letter 10/14/05
I got a great deal of satisfaction reading the hassles Steve Smith laid out in his Saturday column, "Analyze this trip." Even if he isn't smart enough to get to LAX without getting lost, he should be smart enough to know the "madness" he described will only get worse and, in five years, travel out of LAX will be next to impossible. (They may even put a surcharge on Orange County residents.) We will also see John Wayne fares rise significantly. Why? Because they can. And Smith still doesn't believe El Toro should be an airport.
How ignorant and short-sighted can one person be?
JOSH WALKER
Balboa Island
Tweak the master plan - OCR letter 10/14/05
Now that the Great Park board has decided to hold off the selection of a master designer [Local, Oct. 11], it should have time to appoint a replacement for its vacant position. There is no reason to delay this selection until next year.
I would recommend that the board select someone who does not live in the city of Irvine and who is well-traveled, as the rest of Orange County needs representation, and saving money by skipping junkets to Spain and New York would be helpful.
John M. W. Moorlach
Costa Mesa
O.C. treasurer-tax collector
Tuesday, the Irvine City Council decided to allocate $121million for a light-rail line that would circle around the Great Park and connect to the train station and Spectrum Center. About $5.6million will be needed for a two-year study of the rail line.
OC Register, October 14, 2005
GREAT PARK DESIGNER: THEN THERE WERE THREE Taking a big step forward, the board of the Orange County Great Park Corporation has selected three landscape design firms as semifinalists to compete to be the Master Designer of the Orange County Great Park. From a pool of seven contenders the following firms were invited to continue competing for the top design post: Mirrales Tagliabue, EMBT, Spain; Royston Hanamoto Alley & Abey of Mill Valley in northern California; and Ken Smith, Landscape of New York. Designs by all three firms incorporate a large amount of open space and sports/recreational facilities at the former El Toro Marine Base in Irvine. The 1,370-acre Great Park will be the focal point of redevelopment of the larger 4,700-acre former Marine facility. Lennar Corp. will develop the other 3,700 acres with residential, educational, commercial and retail uses. Great Park officials say surveys have shown that sports facilities, particularly soccer fields, are a high priority with the public. Those same polls suggest preserving the base’s aviation history in some way is also important. Wally Kruetzen, CEO of the Great Park, said the board has made it clear there will be no professional sports venue built at the site. “This is about amateur and youth sports,” he told an Irvine business group recently. Before construction on the Great Park can commence, a “sizeable amount of destruction” must occur. There are as many as 125 buildings on the base that must be torn down and 3.3 million tons of concrete that must be removed. Kruetzen said a “master designer” for the park may be selected by mid-November.
OC Metro 10/13/05
Call to action is late - Daily Pilot
By Richard Taylor
Published: October 14, 2005
While I have to acknowledge that on some level Byron de Arakal's Watchdog column Oct. 9 was a call to action, that recognition stops at the point when the pity quotient is discussed.
What is most disconcerting is his inability to realize that a regional approach to air traffic -- El Toro -- goes hand in hand with sane limits on John Wayne Airport growth. To that extent, his comment that die-hard supporters of El Toro are pitiful denigrates not only his position as a call to action but also the efforts of hundreds of volunteers who gave and continue to give their time to limiting the expansion of John Wayne.
If we measure the pity factor in the fight to slow John Wayne growth, Costa Mesa and its council have their own special marker.
Save the extraordinary efforts of Councilman Gary Monahan, and a few other advocates, Costa Mesa has had a history of a lacking vision on the El Toro fight. De Arakal, it seems, suffers from the same myopia as his city leaders.
For some reason, they never quite understood the notion that an airport at El Toro was a solution that would limit John Wayne growth by deflecting passenger demand to another badly needed airport to handle the increased air traffic in the Southern California region.
Costa Mesa's leaders regarded the discussion of an airport at El Toro as a political disease. They thought it so contagious that some members of the council went on the record to openly oppose El Toro and stymie discussion of the issue and did little to rebut the cacophony of false information that blanketed Costa Mesa from South County.
Their tepid response was that while they opposed El Toro, they certainly didn't want John Wayne to expand. That is like refusing to help your neighbor, whose house is burning to the ground, because you have to attend a meeting on fire safety.
De Arakal's commentary then incredibly warns the City Council to get ready, because the "specter of John Wayne's expansion draws near."
Draws near? It's been here for years, is ever present and will impact the residents of Costa Mesa for many more years as increasing numbers of commercial and private jets barrel over Costa Mesa on their way out of John Wayne, not to mention those flying over on the way to Long Beach's airport.
And, specter? It is more like a continuing nightmare of the failure of the council to recognize, years ago, the threat of an bigger airport and it's relationship to El Toro.
Finally, with all due respect to de Arakal, I would be remiss if I failed to point out that the John Wayne Settlement Agreement, contrary to his assertion, does in fact supersede the county's Airport System Master Plan. When the final details of the settlement agreement were hammered out two years ago, those at the table included representatives of the county, among the other signatories that included, I might add, the Airport Working Group.
While I apologize in advance for being over sensitive, I need to point out that I find it most peculiar, and in fact downright irritating, when individuals and groups, with little or no history or participation on the subject, lecture us about what needs to be done to control John Wayne Airport.
Where were these people and these groups when we had a regional solution? This urgency didn't arise when the Great Park ruse was announced.
No, this fire started 20 years ago, continues today and will scorch this community to the bare ground if we don't approach it regionally and collectively. The apparatus to fight this fire has been taken from us, piece by piece, through apathy, lack of resolve and lack of political resolve.
So with all due respect to de Arakal, it's rather disingenuous to yell fire after years of apathy.
* RICHARD TAYLOR is a Newport Beach resident and vice president of the Airport Working Group.
From OCBJ, 10/17/05
The Great Park Board put off until next year choosing a lead designer for the redevelopment of the former El Toro Marine base. The board wants to visit Spain, New York and San Francisco before making a decision. Meanwhile, the Great Park’s engineering manager warned that costs to build the park would be higher than initially projected because of higher prices for construction and materials.
Passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport grew 6.3% to 765,708 in September, versus a year earlier. Total takeoffs and landings rose 6.7% to 30,316.
Facts to consider in debating airport site - SDUT letter 10/15/05
A number of recent letters to the editor have addressed the Airport Site Selection Program and offered ideas to solve San Diego's long-term air transportation needs. The San Diego County Regional Airport Authority is pleased to see the community becoming increasingly interested and engaged in this important issue. However, several points have been raised that require clarification:
Local tax dollars will not pay for a new or expanded airport. Instead, funding will come from a combination of airport user fees, federal funds, and bonds issued by the Airport Authority. Local tax dollars might be needed for ground transportation infrastructure leading to a new or expanded airport, but not for the airport itself.
Moving cargo flights to Brown Field to ease air traffic at San Diego International Airport will not solve our long-term air transportation needs. Cargo flights at Lindbergh Field account for only 3 percent of total flights. In fact, the majority of air cargo is carried in the bellies of passenger aircraft.
Adding a second runway to Lindbergh Field may appear to be a simple solution. However, given the airport's limited land and terrain obstructions at each end of the runway, this would be highly problematic. The addition of a second, intersecting runway only adds 15 percent to 20 percent capacity, not nearly enough to meet long-term demand.
As early as 2015, Lindbergh Field is forecast to experience extreme congestion on its single runway and in the form of long lines for check-in, security, and at the gates. Ticket prices will be higher because of the simple law of supply and demand. Congestion at the airport will spill over to surrounding roadways, such as Harbor Drive.
In November 2006, San Diego County residents will be asked to vote on a solution for San Diego's future air transportation demand. To that end, the Airport Authority is currently analyzing potential airport sites to fulfill its legislative mandate of placing an airport solution on the ballot in 2006. We invite all residents to learn more about the airport issue so they can make a well-informed decision in 2006. For more information on the Airport Site Selection Program, visit www.san.org.
THELLA F. BOWENS
President/CEO
San Diego County Regional Airport Authority
[Palmdale] Candidates collide over crime fears
Antelope Valley Press
Sunday, October 16, 2005.
By BOB WILSON
Valley Press Staff Writer
PALMDALE - Crime was the No. 1 topic at a private forum for nine candidates seeking two seats on the City Council in the Nov. 8 election.
The forum was sponsored by the editorial board of the Valley Press, which makes endorsement decisions for the newspaper.
During the forum, crime emerged as the highest priority for four candidates, three of whom who make their living as peace officers.
Five other candidates broadened the discussion by raising other issues they considered important, such as construction of a new hospital, development of the airport and relieving congestion on local roadways.
One of the nine council contenders this election season, Jeanette Buteyn , could not attend the afternoon forum because of employment obligations.
Council candidate Tom Lackey, a sergeant at the Lancaster office of the California Highway Patrol, said, "I naturally feel that public safety is paramount in the continuing progress in Palmdale."
If the council fails to keep public safety a priority, "The wrong people are going to take over the parks in a way that will threaten the true use of those nice facilities that we've just developed," Lackey said.
Candidate Stephen Knight, a Los Angeles police officer, said, "I believe that public safety should be always the first and utmost concern in a city government."
Knight also said he would like to make sure Palmdale Regional Airport "is not pushed aside" by the Los Angeles officials who have control of the facility.
Craig Tappa, a trademark prosecution specialist at an L.A. law firm, said public safety was a high priority for him because, according to his Internet research, "Palmdale ranks sixth in violent crimes out of 87 cities in L.A. County, excluding the city of Los Angeles."
"That ranks us behind only Long Beach, Compton, Lancaster, Pomona and Inglewood," the candidate said.
Excluding the city of Los Angeles, Palmdale is the seventh largest city in Los Angeles County, trailing Long Beach, Glendale, Santa Clarita, Pomona, Torrance and Pasadena.
(snip)
Concerning Palmdale Regional Airport, all but Williamson-Kester said they would support its development to match the number of flights handled by Bob Hope Airport in Burbank.
(snip)
bwilson@avpress.com
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