El Toro Editorial Was Accurate, but Story Smacked of Opinion

* Re “Candor for El Toro,” July 16:

Your editorial was a direct hit, absolutely on the money.

For those who still insist that Measure A is the law of the land and an airport will eventually be built, the voters have enough sense to see through the fallacious promises made.

It isn’t free, it isn’t pollution-free, it isn’t safe, it isn’t turnkey, it isn’t community-friendly, it isn’t in the interest of many in this county, now or 40 years from now.

Finding someone who sincerely believes they can take the job and turn the tide of educated voters is a waste of our time and money.

The federal government owes it to Orange County taxpayers to fully clean up El Toro.

To make use of El Toro in our lifetime, we need the county supervisors to accept this and begin the transition to what would really benefit this county, such as affordable housing, a technology center and Irvine’s Great Park.

DEREK QUINN

Laguna Niguel

* As your editorial clearly states, the majority of supervisors and county staff members have entangled this reuse process to where their misguided airport project is suffering the slow death of strangulation that it has richly deserved since its inception.

The county, acting as a mean-spirited and slow-witted bully, has lied from Day One, when first describing this project as a “turnkey operation.”

The untruths continued in reference to everything from cost to effects of noise and pollution, to curfews to runway directions.

In fact, while ignoring federal regulations set forth in the Community Guide to Base Reuse, no truths have been too small to sacrifice in the county’s lust for this project.

In 1996 the Board of Supervisors so much as stated that it would be full steam ahead with their airport plan, like it or not.

It was also stated that the only way this project would be stopped was if a “fatal flaw” were to be found. The “fatal flaw” turned out to be in the reprehensible way the board majority has conducted itself in this reuse process.

Now is the time for the reformation of the Local Redevelopment Authority and to move on to a more inclusive and sane reuse process as mandated by the federal government.

RICHARD W. LUBLINE

Aliso Viejo

* Re “A Year Later, El Toro Limps Along,” July 6:

Some unbiased reporting. Your first sentence about use of El Toro, “At the former El Toro Marine base, cargo planes should have been flying by now,” sounds as if it was written by Bruce Nestande and George Argyros.

We know those two enemies of our peaceful residential communities have an interest of one kind or another in an El Toro airport, but The Times?

You could be a spokesman for the “Forget Measure F” ilk.

MARY HOWELLS

Mission Viejo

* The July 6 article had an interesting comment: “While much focus has been on the political warring at many levels, some have noted that it has been an overall lack of professional planning at the county level that has left the airport’s future in doubt.”

I would suggest that no amount of “professional planning” will mitigate the fact that the county encouraged residential development in South County for the last 25 years, then proposed a 28-million annual passenger airport in the middle of said development. Ridiculous!

Never mind that John Wayne Airport is used to only half its capacity, and volume there has been declining. Plan as they might, El Toro will never work as a large-scale airport location.

KEVIN L. COOK

Aliso Viejo