The following copy from the December 1996 TRP Newsletter has been edited for Internet publication after December 11.

Supervisors Vote on El Toro EIR

The Orange County Board of Supervisors held a special meeting on December 10th and 11th to vote on the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the reuse of MCAS El Toro. The vote was 4-1 in favor of moving forward with an international airport. (This story is covered elsewhere in the El Toro Airport Info Site.)

The EIR is required by the State to tell the public the effects of major development projects. The El Toro EIR proposes the fifth largest airport in the United States with devastating impacts on the surrounding communities.

"We need to let the Supervisors see the people whose lives they would be destroying with any airport plan. Plan on telling them how this will affect you," said Bert Hack, TRP Co-Chairman. "Unfortunately, none of those county bodies were in the least objective. The process has been stacked ­ there were over 1,500 separate comments on the EIR, many containing multiple questions. The responses to these comments filled several volumes, over 2-1/2 feet thick. These were released less than one week before those boards voted. Obviously, no one read the material," added Hack.

TRP Plans Strategy to Fight Proposed International Airport at El Toro

The directors of TRP have announced that despite the outcome of the Board of Supervisors vote is on December 11th, the fight for the best reuse of MCAS El Toro will continue.

"As a former member of the military, I've always liked statements by patriots. The one that comes to mind now is John Paul Jones saying, 'we have not yet begun to fight.' That applies to TRP and to all of South Orange County. We're prepared to do whatever is necessary to fight these insane plans for El Toro" said Bill Kogerman, TRP Co-Chairman.

TRP believes that the voice of the people in the communities surrounding El Toro must be heard and respected by the decision makers, both locally and in Washington DC. TRP intends to intensify efforts to make our voices heard. This will be done in several ways.

Lobbying ­ The TRP Co-Chairs recently visited Washington DC and talked with the FAA, the Department of Transportation, and the staffs of Senator Feinstein and President Clinton. The El Toro property is owned by the US Navy and they will make the final decision on reuse. TRP is currently interviewing lobbyists with the intent of hiring one located in Washington DC.

Political Action ­ TRP will continue to work for candidates who support the wishes of the local community. This includes organizing letter writing and phone campaigns.

Legal Action ­ TRP hired the top environmental law firm in the State to review the EIR and is continuing to work with this firm on various options.

Boycott ­ For a discussion of this tactic, see the story on page 3.

TRP Membership Meeting Called for January 13th

TRP has scheduled our next general membership meeting for Monday, January 13th at 6:30 PM at the Laguna Hill High School Theater.

"There is so much happening right now. Our membership must be involved in helping to fight the airport plans for MCAS El Toro. As a membership organization, we need to meet often to develop our strategies and to get new ideas and information from each other," said Denny Harris, Co-Chairman of TRP.

Laguna Hills High School is located on Paseo de Valencia, just northwest of Alicia Parkway. Plan on attending this meeting and learn the latest in the fight for reasonable reuse of MCAS El Toro.

One Down ­ Two to Go

TRP won the first of the three malicious lawsuits filed during the Measure S campaign. This suit was filed by Dave Ellis, the public relations consultant for George Argyros, alleging that TRP was a "sponsored committee" and not a grass-root group. The Orange County Superior Court refused to take action on the initial filing and the case was recently settled in favor of TRP.

Tell the Supervisors What You Think; Have Your Friends Tell Them Too

On December 10th, the Orange County Board of Supervisors voted to begin the process to build a massive international airport at MCAS El Toro. All TRP members and supporters are urged to call and write the Supervisors to tell them you opposed the airport plan and want them to do a proper analysis of the non-aviation alternative..

Calls and letters will be more effective if they come from residents who live in the districts of the individual Supervisor. Using the list below, call all of your friends who live in different parts of the County and ask them to call their Supervisor. Ask them to just say that they support the efforts of local communities surrounding El Toro to be protected from the proposed international airport.

The Supervisors and the cities they represent are:

First District - Charles V. Smith - Phone 834-3110. Represents Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Santa Ana and Westminster.

Second District - Jim Silva - Phone 834-3220. Represents Cypress, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos and Seal Beach

Third District - Todd Spitzer - Phone 834-3330. Represents Brea, Fullerton, La Habra, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Placentia, Tustin, Villa Park and Yorba Linda.

Fourth District - Bill Steiner - Phone 834-3440. Represents Anaheim, Buena Park, La Palma and Orange.

Fifth District - Tom Wilson - Phone 834-3550 and thank him for his vote against the airport.

All of the Supervisors can be reached at 10 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana, CA 92701.

Are You a Member of TRP? How About Your Friends and Neighbors?

As a membership organization, TRP relies on dues and contributions to fund our efforts. Funds are needed to print and mail this monthly newsletter (over 7,000 copies now needed and growing), to hire a Washington DC lobbyist, to hire land use and airport experts and to fund potential legal challenges to the EIR.

If everyone who receives this newsletter were a member, TRP would be well on its way to full funding. Unfortunately, some of you have not yet joined. The basic membership dues are $25 per year, with $50, $100 and $500 levels available.

If you are a member, please take a few minutes to encourage your friends and neighbors to join. The size of the TRP membership helps determine the strength of our voice. TRP is already the largest group fighting the El Toro airport; our next goal is to become the largest taxpayer organization in Orange County.

Federal EIS Process Begins

The federal government has a process much like that of the State in requiring studies on major development projects. In the federal studies, an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) is required. This is a document that studies many of the same issues as the State mandated EIR.

On November 13th and 14th, there were two scoping meetings held to define the EIS parameters. The meetings were held in Mission Viejo and in Irvine and were attended by over 500 residents. Many excellent points were made by the speakers, who almost unanimously condemned the Orange County written EIR and urged the federal representatives to produce a more objective report. TRP was represented by Co-Chairmen Bert Hack and Bill Kogerman, who entered the TRP comments on the EIR into the record.

The current schedule is for the draft EIS to become available sometime in the summer of 1997.

Should South County Residents Boycott Airport Supporters?

In a recent Los Angeles Times article, TRP Co-Chairman Bert Hack suggested that the idea of an economic boycott of airport supporters be considered by south Orange County residents.

"This is something we need to talk about. Supporters of an airport at El Toro own many businesses that rely on customers from south Orange County. We need to discuss supporting people who are trying to destroy our way of life," said Hack.

"South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island come to mind. The owner of South Coast Plaza has financially supported the airport in two elections. As for Fashion Island, the Irvine Company has not been supportive on this issue," added Hack.

This idea deserves discussion. In order to broaden the discussion of this idea, we are asking TRP members to comment via letters to the editor in local newspapers. This will bring the issue before a large audience over the entire County.

Send letters for the Los Angeles Times to: Letters to the Editor; The Times, Orange County; 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Letters can be faxed to: (714) 966-7711 or e-mailed to: ocletters@latimes.com.

Letters to the Orange County Register can be sent to: Letters to the Editor; The Orange County Register; PO Box 11626; Santa Ana, CA 92711. Fax to: 565-3657 or e-mail to: letters@link.freedom.com.

Bill Kogerman Recovering from Surgery

TRP Co-chairman Bill Kogerman recently underwent surgery for prostate cancer. Bill is recovering rapidly and his prognosis is excellent. Both Bill and his wife D. Ann wish to thank each of you for your many prayers, cards, and phone calls of support during Bill's recent post surgery recovery. Bill will soon be back in his historic leadership role on a full time basis.