Readers Respond to El Toro Reuse Editorial

Add to the proverbial certainties in life, along with death and taxes, the following: The Times Orange County Edition’s editorial page will provide a completely biased and misinformed position on the El Toro Airport (“El Toro Planning: A Crisis in Credibility,” Oct. 30).

For some inexplicable reason, you continue to turn out editorials condemning the county planning process. You are laboring under the misconception that the proposed El Toro Airport was a conspiracy by rich, fat-cat land barons. You apparently find the fact that Orange Countians voted for this airport inconsequential. Continued disregard of this significant point is either indicative of great arrogance or ignorance.

A simple reading of the UCI poll reflects that of the six land use offerings made, five are contained in the current county [Environmental Impact Report]. That would be a commercial airport, an education center, a public park, a residential/commercial development and a regional transit center. It’s simple math, folks; add it up and it tells you that 78% of those people polled are in complete agreement with the county EIR as proposed. The airport will take only a portion of the land available, thus allowing significant room for the other uses.

These facts are available to all parties and more particularly to The Times. We should expect and get better from such a major metropolitan newspaper.

RICHARD F. TAYLOR Jr.

Newport Beach

* Kudos to The Times for having the courage and integrity to “tell it like it is.” It has been evident from the start that our supervisors were not interested in facts about reuse of the air base. They had made up their minds that a few of their developer friends and financial backers were going to make millions of dollars for building an airport.

They “hoodwinked” people of Newport Beach into thinking that John Wayne might be closed if El Toro were built. Since 1960, not a single major airport has been closed in the United States.

If history is correct, John Wayne will never be closed or downsized.

By the way, after reading this editorial, I once again remember why I subscribe to the newspaper of truth! The Times.

ROBERT C. HESS

San Clemente

* Your editorial on the county planning process regarding the conversion of El Toro Marine Corps Air Station hits the nail on the head.

JIM WENCK

Mission Viejo

* The Times expresses an interest in the quality of life for those people who live around the proposed El Toro Airport. We live directly under the flight takeoff path of John Wayne Airport, without the benefit of any noise and pollution buffer zone. In the future, when the discussion of expanding John Wayne starts, I sincerely hope and trust that The Times will extend the same empathy and concern to us.

FLORENCE STASCH

Newport Beach