Renaming airport for Bob Hope makes perfect...

Renaming airport for Bob Hope makes perfect sense

Speaking for myself, I am amazed that the renaming of the

Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport in honor of Bob Hope would draw the

criticism like that espoused by David Piroli.

Mr. Piroli brings new meaning to the term CAVE people. (Citizens

Against Virtually Everything).

He criticized the cost of renaming the facility, however, most, if

not all, of the money likely will be raised through private

donations.

The list of Mr. Hope’s achievements in the Leader editorial of

Aug. 30 is only a partial listing of the many accomplishments in his

lifetime.

Ask any veteran how much they appreciated Bob Hope when he brought

his entourage to a war zone. Most will tell you it was the only

sanity they saw during their tour of duty.

As far as confusing travelers with the name, I’ve yet to encounter

a single soul who was confused when they landed at O’Hare or John

Wayne Airport.

The suggestion that maybe the airport should be named after

Lockheed is not new. For many years the airport was named Lockheed

Air Terminal.

Piroli laments the fact that there is a Bob Hope Drive, yet no

Walt Disney Street.

However, there is Disneyland, DisneyWorld, Disney Channel, Disney

Studios, Disney building etc. and, their world headquarters that bear

his name.

As far as getting input from the public, both the Airport

Authority and the City Council have had this item on their agendas,

and have received public input on this item.

I, for one, think that naming the airport after Bob Hope is a

truly fitting way of honoring all the good that Mr. Hope did in his

lifetime.

If the criteria, as Piroli suggests, of naming an airport after

only those people directly linked with aviation or airports was the

case, we would have to rename many of the airports in this country.

CHARLIE LOMBARDO

President

Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena

Airport Authority

Schiff missing a few items from his list of principles

In regard to Adam Schiff’s 10 principles of national security, I

am wondering about the congressman’s own principles. The president of

the United States obviously lied about the need to go to war in Iraq,

and Mr. Schiff says and does nothing. More than 270 American soldiers

have innocently died, and Mr. Schiff says and does nothing. The

president has committed violations and subversions of the

Constitution, the charter of the United Nations, and international

law, and Mr. Schiff says and does nothing. I wish Mr. Schiff would

list his own principles and how he justifies them.

DOUG WHALEY

Burbank

Local legislators better not count on this man’s vote

Just a reminder to Burbank voters: Assemblyman Dario Frommer and

Sen. Jack Scott both voted for the driver license for illegal aliens

bill. One way or the other, depending on your viewpoint, this should

be remembered when they come up for reelection.

DENNIS ERKEL

Burbank

Reasons not to build terminal ‘shrouded in uncertainty’

A plausible explanation of why readers did not respond to your

baiting us with “airport dropping its bid for a replacement terminal”

can be found in the finality of that statement and a well-informed

public.

Proponents for a new terminal, including City Council members and

Airport Authority commissioners, insist sale of the property would

permanently close the door of opportunity to get a new terminal. If

the airport can find the money to pay off the FAA grants to buy the

land, options are still open as long as the land is not sold.

Reasons not to build a new terminal are rampant and shrouded in

uncertainty, so much so that people are hesitant to comment.

Opponents of a new terminal are wise enough to realize several

factors must be resolved:

* Will the FAA give us a curfew?

* Measure B says voters must approve of any city deal.

* PUC Code 21661.1 offers no protection because the city can make

two findings:

a. The advantages to the public of the proposed expansion or new

terminal outweigh the disadvantages to both the public and the

environment.

b. Approval is consistent with the objective of adopting land use

measures that minimize the public’s exposure to excess noise and

safety hazards.

* An initial brief has been filed to defend Measure A in the

Appellate Court. If the lower court is overturned, new conditions

will prevail.

* An Interim Development Control Ordinance is effective until

August 2004. The city can rescind or amend it at any time.

Any one of the above elements is reason enough for the airport to

think very carefully about whether it wants to hold out for a new

terminal. Receiving answers to any of the questions could take years

and still not produce a positive answer.

DON ELSMORE

Burbank

Letter contained incorrect information about library

We, the Board of Trustees, act in an advisory capacity to the City

Council in matters pertaining to the library and serve as a liaison

to the community. As such, we feel it is our duty to address the

misinformation contained in a letter recently published in the

Leader.

The letter stated the library was disposing of its H.L. Mencken

and D.H. Lawrence collections. This is incorrect. What is true is

that the library had to box up these collections in order to remove

the locked cases where the collections wee housed. Locked cases at

the Central Library are being eliminated in an effort to make the

various materials more readily accessible to the public. While the

Mencken and Lawrence collections are currently locked in storage,

they are safe and available for public use through the reference

desk.

We would also like to point out that we are still waiting to hear

if Burbank has been awarded the California Public Library

Construction and Renovation Grant. A new Central Library will be a

reality if, and only if, we receive the grant. The bond measure

passed by the residents in February will only be implemented if the

grant is received. We continue to aggressively pursue the receipt of

the grant so a new library can be constructed.

BOARD OF LIBRARY TRUSTEES

City of Burbank