El Toro Airport Debate Continues

Re “Rancho Is a Treasure That’s Worth Preserving,” March 9:

So Charles E. Griffen, president of the New Millennium Group, laments the “imminent removal of the irreplaceable practical north-south oriented runway” at the Great Park.

He might have been correct if that runway didn’t battle crosswinds, didn’t throw departing aircraft up into arriving John Wayne and Los Angeles International air traffic, and didn’t have that silly hill in the way. This argument sounds like the drive from the last millennium. It has rarely sunk in with the pro-El Toro airport group that much of the passion from the anti-airport crowd comes from the lies.

Who can forget the line “Commercial airports close by will raise property values,” or the infamous “It’s safe to fly loaded commercial jets uphill, downwind and toward the mountains,” or “Airports are good for the environment”? Add to that insulting pro-airport facts like “Children learn better with jets screaming overhead” and “Airports provide hundreds of good-paying jobs,” and “JWA will stay operating.” Do you understand now, Mr. Griffen, why the anti-airport people were so incensed and united against the airport? Nobody likes being lied to.

Bob Rennie

Rancho Santa Margarita

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Re “6 Million More Pieces in Area’s People Puzzle,” Jan. 29:

Your article about the 6-million increase in population in the Southern California area by 2030 described the need for cooperation among the 183 cities to solve problems. If Orange County is any example of such cooperation, the Southern California Assn. of Governments has its work cut out for it.

Orange County, after experiencing a devastating bankruptcy in the 1990s and, recently, a scandal in the county’s planning department, is now in the process of throwing away a valuable asset, the El Toro Airport. This international airport would solve many of Southern California’s traffic problems by reducing freeway traffic and reducing the pressure on LAX to expand. Nevertheless, 12 South County cities are adamant about not sharing responsibility for air and surface traffic, preferring to export their traffic to L.A. County.

Manuel Molina

Corona del Mar