Newport Beach’s Ulterior Motives

* On July 30, The Times printed an article indicating that Newport Beach is accepting bids from public relations firms to begin a grass-roots campaign to support an international airport at El Toro.

The cost for this PR campaign, estimated at $1.5 million, is a manifestation of Newport’s strong determination to push forward an airport because of growing opposition in South County and elsewhere to the airport and because of the growing acceptance of an alternative reuse for El Toro, the Millennium Plan.

As more and more of the public become aware of the Millennium Plan, which involves research, technology, parks and other recreational facilities, a museum and a sports stadium, they realize that economic growth can be attained in a healthy, positive and beneficial way. That is opposed to an international airport that will blight the county with pollution, noise, heavy traffic and health hazards--growth at the expense of quality of life.

Of course Newport residents are deeply worried that should an international airport not be built at El Toro, then John Wayne will not be closed or be limited to private aircraft as they hope; it might even be expanded.

It is time that all of Orange County wakes up to the fact that airport support is being generated almost solely by Newport Beach because of self-interest, and the city will stop at nothing to attain its goals.

CYNTHIA WEITZ

Laguna Niguel

* Newport Beach’s plan to spend $1.5 million on a PR campaign supporting an airport at El Toro is the latest cynical attempt to rid itself of the nuisance of John Wayne.

Newport Beach officials claim that a PR campaign is necessary to explain “why an airport is attractive and how it will serve as an economic engine to the region.”

Orange County already boasts the lowest unemployment rate in Southern California and cannot keep up with the demand for high-end housing. Do we need an airport to add fuel to the fire?

The PR firm they hire must “begin a grass-roots campaign to rally support.” Since when do grass-roots campaigns require official city sponsorship to the tune of $1.5 million?

Efforts like this should make it clear to everyone where the money and special influences have come from to impose an environmentally devastating airport on the rest of the county.

RICHARD PLAVETICH

Laguna Beach

* Imagine, only one day after reading “A Reason to Feel Confident” by James Flanigan in the business section of The Times, reading today that the city of Newport Beach plans to hire a “top gun” public relations firm to sell the need for an airport to the citizens of Orange County!

Flanigan’s article relates that 45,000 new jobs will be added in the county this year, new research centers are planned at UCI, and the Irvine Co. has 38 buildings under construction in the Irvine Spectrum and is developing industrial parks adjacent to the university in order to accommodate further growth.

The article quotes one recent transplant who said that the reason the business moved to Orange County was because “we needed to be in an environment with other engineering and technological companies, and it’s a good place to live and raise kids.”

All of this growth is without an international airport destroying the lifestyle enjoyed by the thousands of families who would be adversely affected by this unnecessary intrusion.

NEIL MORCHOWER

Irvine

* It doesn’t surprise me that Newport Beach will hire a PR agency to put the big spin on the El Toro airport plans.

It is Newport that is the biggest winner if El Toro goes in, and it is Newport Beach that will be the big loser when the idea is voted out. Let’s see what county funds get funneled to Newport on this project.

The county has reduced the so-called buffer zone, allowing 1,800 residential units under the flight path that the original environmental impact report said won’t be built.

Airline pilots say the runways have to be changed before they fly them, which will affect cities to the north that once felt safe. And still, we don’t know what the plans will cost us: $2 billion? $3 billion? Do I hear $5 billion?

The international airport plan has been scaled down to Canada and Mexico, leaving the original idea of a gateway to the Pacific Rim and Europe out the window. If it’s Canada and Mexico we need, we can do that from John Wayne right now.

So, what looks like a spin will only serve the special interest groups and pro-airport groups of Newport Beach. If Peggy Ducey, the Newport Beach deputy city manager, thinks that more air traffic will help the economy, then start the process of opening up John Wayne right now and eliminate the restrictions that keep John Wayne running at 50% of capacity.

DAVE KIRKEY

Coto de Caza