Well-Grounded

It’s no secret that Mayor Christina L. Shea strongly opposes a commercial airport at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. But that didn’t deter 12-year-old Taylor Fife.

Taylor voiced his views in favor of an airport at a student presentation, which Shea attended, at Eastshore Elementary School on Wednesday.

“I’m not really that nervous because I used to live on the same street that she did,” Taylor said. “Besides, by the time they get this thing built, I will be 18 and moved away from here anyway.”

Teacher Jan Strahl noticed recently that students in her sixth-grade class for academically accelerated students were talking about their opposition to the airport. Finally, Strahl asked them why they opposed it.

“Most of them said it was because they had heard their parents, neighbors or city officials speak out against an airport at El Toro,” Strahl said.

She kept pressing: Why were they opposed? How much did they really know about the issue? How would an airport in their neighborhood affect them?

Students took an interest and began learning more about the issue. They found an El Toro Internet site and started garnering information; they began reading media accounts of the debate; they discussed the topic with their teacher and others; and they even called officials in other cities to inquire how previous projects had affected those cities.

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On Wednesday, they presented their findings. Using charts, enlarged photos showing aerial views of El Toro, and a recording of jet planes that at times drowned out their voices, students talked about how airport noise could affect them in the classroom.

Crime was another issue.

“I called an airport in Bangor, Maine, that had changed from a base to an airport,” said Daniel Fishman. “I was amazed. I got crime statistics that showed that crime in that area had doubled in just three years.”

But some students zeroed in on what they thought might be positive about an airport.

“More traffic means more tourists,” said Richard Taylor. “But more tourists could mean more money for the city.”

Taylor Fife envisions “new, good stuff for our city. I think it’s a good idea. It will bring in more businesses and boost the economy for Irvine, Orange County and all of Southern California. I don’t think we should be so selfish.”

Shea said she was impressed by the students’ presentation.

“You are history in the making by defining what will finally be at El Toro,” she said.

Irvine officials, she said, “are emphatically opposed to an airport in our backyard. If a commercial airport replaces the military airport, there will be a negative impact on the city for years.”

Julie Puentes, representing the Orange County Business Council, and speaking in favor of an airport, said, “We need to understand the issues before we can understand solutions.”