No bid contract for Ford and Mollrich

It was revealed that Ford and Mollrich is receiving $100,000 a month whether they spew any propaganda or not. For a park that is so called environmentally friendly, they sure kill a lot of trees with their incessant assault on flyers and mailers. First it was to sucker gullible voters into buying their make believe park. Now it is non stop propaganda that the park is a success.

During Thanksgiving weekend I had some relatives visit. I took my grand kids to the Amtrak station in Irvine and had them look at El Toro from the foot bridge. I asked them what they observed. The responses were runways and warehouses. But NO mention of a park. Just because Ford and Mollrich is paid 100,000 a month to tell the public that it is a park does not make it a park.

El Toro is an idle airport collecting dust. Someday Irvine will be so broke or fearful of the low income housing mandate from SCAG that they will face reality and re-open El Toro International Airport for business. Over Thanksgiving weekend travelers paid a Great Pork tax with high fares at John Wayne or longer commutes to cheaper airport like LAX. Even with the shuttle from Irvine it is $50 round trip and 2 hours each way. Some day the taxpayers will be able to use El Toro, the $10 billion aviation asset that their taxes paid for.

Property Values Don't Lie!

Politicians do LIE.....Like the Agranistas who duped South County denizens into delusional paranoia that their property values would somehow tank if El Toro International Airport had civilians take over operations. Never mind that commercial jets are far quieter than military aircraft and there is a huge buffer zone. The Agranistas had to spread lies, hate, class warfare and fear into tricking voters to handing over El Toro with no checks and balances and no oversight. It is all about Larry Agran's personal gravy train of no bid contracts and no accountability.

The facts are Newport Beach HAS the highest property values and has an active airport nearby, and they keep going up! We lead the county with 92662 zip code with a median property value of over $2.7 million. Plus 92661 has seen better than a 78% increase in values in one years time.

In contrast, most of South County is not even within 5 miles of an inactive airport and they have not seen a rise anywhere near comparable to Newport Beach. That has really got to burn up the RINOs and Socialists who wanted to tear down Newport Beach in order for them to have parity with us. That obviously did not happen and now they hate us more than ever.

The way to get ahead financially is not to hate and look to redistribute the wealth, but to take advantage of economic engines like El Toro International Airport. It is a $10 billion federal asset siting idle. Put it to use and demand for housing will explode and raise property values. Don't be a hater, be a wealth creator.

Here are the median property values of the Newport Beach area:


Town____ ZIP____ Price____ One Year Change %.

Corona del Mar 92625 $1,470,000 -1.0%
Newport Beach 92660 $930,000 -24.1%
Newport Beach 92661 $1,695,000 +78.4% (biggest gainer)
Newport Beach 92662 $2,753,500 +69.4%(highest values)
Newport Beach 92663 $790,000 -19.0%
Newport Coast 92657 $1,725,000 +25.5%


South County:

Town______ ZIP______ Price______ One Year Change %
Aliso Viejo 92656 $370,000 -8.6%
Dana Point 92624 $619,000 -35.9% (biggest loser)
Dana Point 92629 $562,500 -24.6%
Foothill Ranch 92610 $410,000 +5.8%
Irvine 92602 $775,000 +16.0%
Irvine 92603 $739,000 +4.8%
Irvine 92604 $515,000 -2.1%
Irvine 92606 $589,000 +30.9%
Irvine 92612 $497,500 -13.5%
Irvine 92614 $395,000 -13.2%
Irvine 92618 $648,000 +21.1%
Irvine 92620 $532,000 -18.8%
Ladera Ranch 92694 $458,000 -17.1%
Laguna Beach 92651 $1,300,000 -1.9%
Laguna Hills 92653 $425,000 +2.4%
Laguna Niguel 92677 $515,000 -5.2%
Laguna Woods 92637 $182,500 -24.0%(Lowest Values)
Lake Forest 92630 $425,000 +22.3%
Mission Viejo 92691 $447,000 -6.9%
Mission Viejo 92692 $475,000 +3.3%
Ran.S. Margarita 92688 $340,000 -24.1%
San Clemente 92672 $607,750 +25.2%
San Clemente 92673 $670,000 -6.8%
San Juan Capo 92675 $466,500 +38.2%
Trabuco/Coto 92679 $687,500 +7.4%

Total O.C. $432,000 +2.9%

The Projects are coming to Irvine!

SCAG just got the last laugh on Irvine as they prevailed in California Supreme Court that Irvine MUST build 35,000 "low income" housing units. Those Projects will sure look lovely from the orange balloon. Irvine has exhausted all appeals and there is not a damn thing they can do to get out of it. Well.......there is one thing. They could always swallow their pride, pick up the phone and accept L.A.'s previous offer to lease El Toro International Airport for TWO BILION DOLLARS! Unless Larry Agran can control that money personally, he will continue to remain uninterested. Especially when he has his own personal gravy train with the Great Pork.

Larry Agran does not care that Irvine will become a ghetto. So long as he has his gravy train. After all, he has pushed for low income housing in the past and now he has got it. Plus Laguna Beach just approved of a parking lot for the homeless to congregate. These cities are more friendly to gay marriage, and low income slackers than economic engines like the airport which would bring jobs and prosperity. Would you rather have thousands of new jobs in your city or thousands of new homeless? Apparently the illustrious leaders of those cities favor the latter.

If one thought that Irvine and neighboring cities were already insanely jealous of Newport Beach because of the gap in property values, that gap will get even wider as a flood of low income housing will further depress home values. That would not be happening if they had supported keeping El Toro International Airport. There would not be nearly 15,000 acres of buffer zone available for (undesirable) residential development. If the airport were kept open this would create demand for the existing glut of housing and instantly increase property values.

The way for south county cities to achieve parity with Newport Beach is not to hate us and hope to sink us down to their level. The way to keep pace with us is find ways to improve one's own city, create a healthy business climate and aspire to reach our level. In fact, there was an article about Laguna Niguel being very alarmed about the closure of businesses. Just imagine if tourists from El Toro were visiting Laguna Niguel and the airport was hiring lots of subcontractors from that city. Killing the Golden Goose that is El Toro not only stops it from producing golden eggs for the community, the corpse also leaves a stench. Hence, we have projects and homeless growth instead of economic growth.

El Toro will not die!

No matter how many millions Irvine spends trying to convince the public there is a "Great Park" at El Toro, people still know it is an idle airport. Look at the picture above. Other than the golf course (which Lennar subsequently ruined) does that look like a park? An objective observer would see large runways, hangars, and plenty of space. If it walks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck, if it flies like a duck......

The Great Pork is an awful lot like the inept Oakland Raiders. We are talking SEVEN STRAIGHT YEARS OF FUTILITY! Between Larry Agran and Al Davis, it is a close tie as to who has done the most damage to the organization they represent. They are both laughingstocks that have no credibility. They resemble the regime in North Korea, secretive and paranoid.

In 7 years, the Raiders have 25 wins since their Super Bowl appearance.
In 7 years, The Great Pork has 27 acres since conning the voters. Either way over two hundred million dollars has been wasted with very little progress to date.

People know they have been scammed by the Agranistas. If El Toro were "dead" as the NIMBYs and Agranistas would like you to believe, there would not be letters to the editor and comments on message boards supporting the re-opening of El Toro International Airport. Until the runways are completely gone, the people see that there is an idle airport at El Toro waiting to be re-opened.

---

By Russ Niewiarowski
Updated: Saturday, October 10, 2009 10:37 PM PDT
Daily Pilot
October 11th, 2009
Imagine a world in which local government bodies were ruled under Mike Aguilar’s logic (“You made the choice, now live with it,” Oct. 8).

Negative impacts from airports, freeways, railway corridors, chemical plants and even violent gangs would rule and worsen, and the only way out would be to move to some isolated remote forest.

Aguilar states that he chose to live near John Wayne Airport and that it would be foolish to speak up when the noise and negative impacts worsen. The opposite is true. To not speak up is foolish.

Fortunately, this is not how the real world operates. As the population grows, so do the negative impacts associated with growth.

It is the duty of responsible citizens to speak up and to get involved to lessen negative impacts to better their community and to make a positive difference for future generations.

Look at the case of hydroelectric dams. The Columbia river has several, which power much of the northwest. Yet these beneficial dams were also destroying the salmon population. The negative impacts were studied and solutions were implemented so that both sides benefited.

Aguilar does not know the current facts associated with the JWA, nor does he know the historical facts of aviation in Orange County.

The fact is, the residential community of Santa Ana Heights was established in the 1920s, long before JWA existed.

The tract of homes I live in was built between 1962 and 1964.

The airport was used primarily for general aviation, and in 1967 it opened for commercial service.

The original NIMBY was none other than Newport Beach resident John Wayne himself who fought against the Eddie Martin airstrip being converted to accommodate commercial jets.

My community has lived with the airport and will continue to live with it. It is our desire to ensure that the airport remains a tolerable, responsible neighbor.

John Wayne and countless Newport Beach residents fought to protect their homes and communities from the negative impacts from commercial jets.

Because these activists spoke up and got involved we have a settlement agreement in effect today.

Imagine if the community had Aguilar’s attitude of “living with it” however the airport owner decided to dish it out.

There would be no cap and no curfew and many residents would be forced to move out of the communities that many, including myself, grew up in long before JWA became the looming threat it is today.

In comparison, it was Marine Corps Air Station El Toro that was built in a place and a time when Irvine and the surrounding environs was nothing but cattle grazing fields, orange groves, farming and open fields.

Even today, 50,000 contiguous acres of permanent open space exist to the north and southwest of the former MCAS El Toro base, despite the build up of residential communities that sprouted up knowing military jets were their neighbor.

Such a vast expanse of open space does not exist at JWA, but a vast expanse of homes and schools do. It is our responsibility to speak up and to be active in pursuing and implementing every viable option to safeguard and lessen the negative impacts to our communities to ensure that Newport Beach does not become the next Playa del Rey.


RUSS NIEWIAROWSKI lives in Newport Beach.

Los Angeles Times

October 13th, 2009

Conflicting views of the Great Park

Re “A soaring vision or just hot air?” Column One, Oct. 1

Is there really a question? With all the talk about creeping growth at John Wayne Airport and the lack of movement on the part of the Great Park advocates -- with the exception of the appearance of landscape architect Ken Smith, standing nobly in front of that ridiculous tethered balloon -- I think it's about time to put the question of making El Toro an airport to a vote again.

We voted for it, only to be bamboozled by Irvine's expensive PR campaign.

Nora Lehman
Newport Beach



I appreciate the focus on the Orange County Great Park. I wholeheartedly agree with the first part of your headline, "A soaring vision."

It reflects master designer Ken Smith's award-winning Comprehensive Park Plan, completed this year, that promises to put our Great Park in the same league with giants such as Golden Gate Park and Balboa Park.

We are well on our way. Major construction begins this year. Meanwhile, you missed the many events that are ongoing, such as the just-completed summer concert series that drew thousands.

Also, we are actively working to turn our nationally acclaimed design into a playground of sports fields, community farms and museums for all ages and for all time.

Larry Agran
Irvine
The writer is chair of the Great Park Corp.

---

Comrad Larry, you have all of 27 acres and a ruined golf course after $100 million down the drain. Your Great Pork is a bigger bust than Ryan Leaf and Jamarcus Russell combined.
Ken Smith can make pretty pictures, but that does not mean there is a park. Star Wars artists can create neat models of the Death Star, that does not mean the Death Star actually exists......unless you count Irvine City Hall.
Also, ANY location can have thousands of concert goers. For example, right here in Newport Beach, there are plenty of bands that play in garages. That would not make their garages "parks". Music can be played anywhere there is electricity.
Great Pork = FAIL!

Why is NFL Quarterback Mark Sanchez banned from South County?

The denizens of his hometown Mission Viejo have been brainwashed to hate Jets.

(Disclaimer: For the NIMBYs who are slow, this is a joke.)

OC Register readers give thumbs down to Great Pork!

All of these comments listed below made the print edition of either the Irvine World News or Register letters section. ALL of them are negative on the park. NOT one positive comment in defense of the invisible park.

As one will clearly see, the public has soured on the Great Pork. They see they have been had by the Agranistas. The only supporters left are those who are cashing in on Agran's gravy train, or those who are envious of Newport Beach and want to see our beautiful city condemned at any cost to expand the acreage of John Wayne.

Everyone else out there realizes that by re-opening the airport it would create thousands of jobs, create demand for the excessive housing stock, and be close and convenient for air travel. If a vote were held today, the airport would prevail hands down just like it did the first two times people voted for it. No amount of spending for Irvine propaganda will change that. You can't put lipstick on the Great Pig.

Irvine World News
September 17th, 2009.

VIEWS OF THE ORANGE BALLOON

The Great Park’s orange balloon ride has soared to a new milestone, with more than 100,000 riders hopping on the park’s signature feature.
The balloon ride hit the 100,000 mark in August, a little more than two years after it first took flight above the former El Toro airbase. The milestone comes as park leaders prepare for a more than $500,000 plan to replace the balloon, which has begun to fade and show its age.
The tethered helium balloon ride began as a $1.9 million gift from Lennar Corp., owner of the land surrounding the Great Park. The balloon consists of a gondola suspended below a 72-foot, 210,000 cubic foot balloon, filled with 5,500 cubic meters of helium. The gondola carries up to 30 people at a time, taking them 400 feet up.

Readers said:
MARC960 WROTE
Having the perfect color balloon is worth $500,000? With that half million you could put two people to work for 5 years at a decent wage. How about charging a $1 a ride from now on? That amount isn’t going to scare folks away. I just know deep inside the taxpayers of Orange County are ending up with the tab for this and all of the Great Pork.

JMAHONEY WROTE
Driving by this the other day we noticed that the balloon color is fading from being constantly in the sun all these months. My wife asked a good question: Does this constant exposure degrade the material of the balloon in any way? I’m sure that’s been considered (I hope), but does anyone know the answer?

ERIK1 23 WROTE
Money pit!

OCEANWANDERLUST WROTE
So far, the balloon ride has cost the city and Lennar $19 per person’s free ride? (not counting facilities and employees.) My wife and I took one of the quick flights when it first opened and I think the city could have spent our $38 much better elsewhere.

CHELSEAFC WROTE
Ha. Irvine taxpayers have to pay out $500,000 every six months to keep it Orange! It just keeps getting better!

BIGGIE WROTE
Makes you wonder about the integrity of the balloon also.

MADDIEGIRL WROTE
What a waste of money! And you all were outraged about the police protesting cuts to the department.

CARMADOGMA WROTE
Would have been much nicer to hear the first 100,000th passenger arriving at El Toro International Airport with wads of cash to dole out at Disney, Knotts and our beach communities.

VERNONDELIGHTS WROTE
Imagine how the view from the balloon will look once Irvine has to build the 35,000 "affordable" housing units as mandated per SCAG. What a great view that will be of the projects.


Orange County Register Letters
September 25, 2009

Great Park disaster

It's ironic to read the Register's lead story, "The cost of secrecy" [Sept. 23]and O.C. Supervisor Pat Bates' column "Get ready for the next disaster" in the same issue.
Although Bates' piece deals with natural disasters, the Great Park will probably be the county's next fiscal disaster.
I can't imagine denying members of a corporate board of directors the opportunity of seeing resumes of potential CEOs of that corporation. This is probably the tip of a Great Park governance iceberg.
Ivan Marks
Huntington Beach

Newport Beach ranked 8th in the nation in property values

This story in The Orange County Register shatters the old myth that having an airport nearby will somehow "lower" property values. But don't tell that to the Agranistas and their brainwashed following of anti-El Toro NIMBYs. They spent better than a decade convincing terrified voters that KEEPING El Toro International Airport open for business would harm their property values.

They also engaged in class warfare against Newport Beach by vilifying us as evil rich people who wanted to raise our property values by "closing John Wayne" and shifting our noise problem 7 miles down the road. Never mind that El Toro made plenty of noise when the Marines were there and that civilian jets are significantly quieter.


Since El Toro has been sitting idle for a while and John Wayne has increased its flight operations after the last El Toro vote, our property values are nearly TWICE as high as Irvine, which has "quiet jet free skies". They are only ranked 35th in the country, while Mission Viejo finished a distant 55th.

Now that has to really burn up some of the RINOs and NIMBYs down there who loathe Newport Beach so much. They were really hoping that by not allowing El Toro to remain open for business, that would put the heat on John Wayne to grow. It has indeed grown and we still have higher property values. Who got the last laugh?

Ladies and Gentlemen, class envy will get you nowhere in life. If you really want to get ahead and prosper, then support a business friendly climate that creates jobs and support projects that stimulate the economy such as El Toro International Airport.

The Agranistas and their imaginary Great Pork has been way over budget and severely delayed. It is rife with corruption and infighting. They do not care at all about the economic health of their own citizens, they only care about El Toro being their own personal gravy train. Remember folks, The Great Pork only benefits a select few whereas El Toro International Airport would benefit the entire county, not to mention all the world's travelers.

Bus service to LAX from El Toro!

You read that right. This is the same City of Irvine that was adamant that Orange County would NOT have enough passengers to justify an international airport at El Toro. So please tell us how there will miraculously be enough passengers to make this bus service pencil out. Sorry Irvine cannot have it both ways.

The existence of bus service to LAX clearly indicates there is a big need currently NOT being met for airport passengers within Orange County. With no sense of irony, the bus station will be right next to the idle El Toro International Airport, which could easily fill that very void.

Only a socialist myopic city like Irvine could allow a $10 billion dollars federal taxpayer asset to sit idle and subsidize bus service to send passengers elsewhere. You see folks, that is the kind of thing that happens when Democrats have majorities.

Besides, didn't Irvine claim that keeping El Toro International Airport open would cause traffic? Didn't Irvine also claim that lots of fuel trucks would clog the freeways. Now Irvine wants to clog the freeways with lots of buses going to LAX.

All of this only makes sense when one remembers that Irvine does not care about the inconvenience they cause to businesses, airport passengers, and taxpayers. All the Agranistas care about is turning El Toro into their own personal gravy train. That is why keeping El Toro International Airport open was considered "infeasible" and they spread fear, hate, lies, and class warfare to achieve their land grab objective.

For the Orange County passengers who must rely on the distant LAX to catch an international flight, they are penalized in both time and money. It is an additional 50 miles northwest of El Toro to reach LAX or a 2 hour trip. Then there is the cost of either 3.50 a gallon gas or a $20-25 bus fare to be herded around like cattle.

Irvine should not pat themselves on the back and act like they are doing the public a big favor by providing bus service to LAX. Remember, it was their corruption that made it so that Orange County no longer has international air service in the first place.

Since Irvine is now on the hook for 35,000 low income housing units as mandated by SCAG, we may as well start finding them some new low income residents for all these units. I and some buddies should go find some bums on the streets of L.A. and distribute one way bus tickets (from LAX to Irvine) to them, along with their very own bottle of Night Train for the ride.

I bet the passengers (mostly NIMBYs who weren't wise enough to vote for El Toro in the first place) coming home from a long flight from LAX will just love having smelly vagrants sharing the bus with them.

Since I have a business, I could probably get a quantity discount on bus tickets, not to mention a tax write off for doing "charity work" for the homeless. Nobody can ever say that Vernon Delights is not a generous philanthropist.

09/11

I see this giant American flag everyday from my home in Newport Beach. I love living in a patriotic pro American city. Today is 09/11 and this is a day of solemn reflection for America and a time to honor those who perished on that dark day and a time to honor those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.

Unfortunately, there are some evil anti El Toro International Airport NIMBYs out there who think 09/11 is the greatest thing to have ever happened. After that tragedy, they rejoiced that the public would be scared of airports. 09/11 (temporarily) turned the momentum against an airport in their favor.

At the time, people were so terrified of airports and jets that they would have even voted to turn El Toro into a giant landfill, homeless shelter, or prison. 09/11 also put the airline industry into a slump as people were afraid to fly. At the time a NIMBY could state there was a lack of demand. However, that was a half truth. They failed to mention that someday the airline industry would rebound and Orange County would indeed need additional capacity. NIMBYs are not exactly forward thinkers and have no forward vision. They only parrot the talking points of the Agranista Machine.

It was not a fair fight for an airport to have a vote not even 6 months after 09/11. If the vote were held today, the airport would win hands down as people would see they have been scammed.

The Great Pork is simply an imaginary boondoggle to have in place of the airport. In 2009, the park is all of 27 acres and has blown through over $100 million. Then it is getting hit left and right with both internal and external lawsuits. The latest plaintiff is Forrest Lawn Mortuary. Wouldn't it be fitting if they were the ones to put the the final nail in the coffin of The Great Pork.

Business as usual with the Great Pork

An audit was recently done on the greatest bait and switch in Orange County history. Examining the Great Corpse was like opening up a dumpster as the stench of the corruption was pretty strong!

According to the Orange County register, the findings include:

---

•A possible double billing of about $15,500 from one unnamed consultant. The audit notes that the consultant denied the double-billing when asked about it by the design studio, but provided no records disputing it. City officials did not disclose the name of the contractor.

•Work on contract change orders that was carried out before Great Park staffer's approval.

•Explanations for work performed by the design studio that were "brief, vague and general," making it impossible to tie their descriptions of what had been completed to what they were required to produce.

•A "lack of discernible evidence" that consultants' time cards had been reviewed or approved by supervisors.

Several consultants who didn't meet insurance requirements, with some having expired insurance certificates and some never obtaining them.

•A "number of problems" with travel and reimbursable expenses, although the audit doesn't specify what those problems are or which design team members are involved. The design studio was paid $156,000 for travel and $246,000 in reimbursable expenses during the contract covered by the audit.

---

Now does this really surprise anybody; except the most gullible out there who actually thought they would be getting a park? Larry Agran and his band of thieves do not care about creating a park; even though they do spend millions in advertising their make believe park.

They certainly did not and do not care about the "quality of life" for South County residents by "protecting" them from that "big bad evil" airport called El Toro. If they "cared" so much about the people, then why do they consistently approve residential development literally across the street from John Wayne? All they care about is getting rich from land that El Toro International Airport sits on.

Now we all know that airports bring in tourism revenue and create jobs. However, since the county or an airport entity like Los Angeles World Airport Authority would run the show, then Agran and his cronies could not get their "gravy", as Agran once told the late former council member Dave Christiensen.

As Rush Limbaugh once said, "I hope Obama fails". Therefore, I say "I hope the Great Pork fails." Ladies and gentlemen that is indeed what is happening in both instances. Obamamism will only make the people revolt and return America to its true conservative values. Agranism continues to turn people off from the park. As a result, more and more people all the time, including his formerly brainwashed victims in South County are seeing they have been scammed.

Look at the Register message boards and more posters are saying all the time, "It should be an airport". It is only a matter of time economically before TWO BILLION DOLLARS from Los Angeles is just too much to turn down. In the meantime, The Agranistas will continue to make the Great Pork self destruct from the weight of its own corruption. That is why we endorsed them for re-election. Keep up the "good work" boys.

This week in review

The continued implosion of the Great Pork

We endorsed the Agranista slate last November to insure the continued self destruction of the Great Pork and we are please to report that it is indeed happening. Two Great Pork directors who were not allowed to review documents related to a hiring search. Then they turned around and successfully sued the board majority in court and now The Great Pork is on the hook for $75,000 in lawyer fees. Let the infighting and lawsuits continue. This is like a snake eating its own tail.

Irvine PD to strike?

Another consequence of Irvine not keeping El Toro International Airport in operation is they do not have enough money to pay their police officers. Apparently, Irvine signed a contract their officers that they can no longer honor without dipping into reserve funds. However, they would not be in that position if they were to simply put that golden goose called El Toro back to work. Los Angeles has offered them TWO BILLION DOLLARS just to merely lease the property!

If Irvine came to their sense, their coffers would surge with revenue from all that job creation and economic activity. Paying their police would not be an issue. In fact, they could easily afford to enlarge their department. But instead the Agranistas cannot admit they were wrong about the Great Pork and hold their hands out for a few slivers of federal porkulus. The Great Pork Board fiddles while Irvine burns. Especially when unemployment for O.C. hovers around 10%

Lennar turns everything it touches into crap!

The latest Lennar miscue is their failure to "renovate" the El Toro International Airport Golf Course. They closed a perfectly good course and tore it up and now they cannot afford to re-open it. Wasn't keeping the golf course around one of the many "promises" that were made on behalf of the Great Pork? Only in Irvine could Lennar get away with reneging on their deal to rebuild the golf course. The best thing to do would have been to leave it alone. Now nobody can enjoy it!.

If Los Angeles were allowed to lease El Toro International Airport for $2 BILLION DOLLARS, the golf course would have been kept open for business. Instead Irvine tried to go it alone and rely on Lennar to foot the bill. The problem is, Lennar is bleeding money like a stuck pig and will cease to exist one day. Irvine should kick Lennar to the curb and call L.A. to lease them El Toro International Airport. This would create lots of jobs, fill Irvine's coffers, and of course get the golf course back open for business. But then the Agranistas would have to admit they were wrong! Pride goeth before the fall.

Update

You know things are bad for the Great Pork when letter writers from South County turn against it. The Agranistas used the people of South County and lied to them about the airport. They manipulated them with fear of an airport (that was already there.) and promises of a tax free Great Park complete with a 45 hole golf course.


Here is the letter that appeared in yesterday's Register.

Teed off in Irvine

Our local politicians are just as adept at changing their promises as those at the national level. During the hype and promises, plans were laid out to try to get us to vote for a Great Park instead of an airport. The Irvine political class, lead by Larry Agran, touted two 18-hole golf courses for the new park.

Then, it became one golf course. Now, with hardly a murmur, the latest deal with Lennar makes it zero ["City Council backs revisions to Lennar deal," Local, Aug. 13]. Expediency must be an inbred political trait. Well, we do have the big orange balloon, so I guess us little folks should be quiet and happy. But, then we vote for them, so I guess we're to blame. Shame on us.

Chris Olsen

Lake Forest

Unpatriotic NIMBYs near Luke AFB

We have the same bunch of anti-American socialist degenerates occupying South County.


Luke AFB is west of Phoenix and is rapidly being surrounded by civilization that complains about the noise from the base and its planes, forgetting that it was there long before they were. A certain lieutenant colonel at Luke AFB deserves a big pat on the back. Apparently, an individual who lives somewhere near Luke AFB wrote the local paper complaining about a group of F-16s that disturbed his/her day at the mall..

When that individual read the response from a Luke AFB officer, it must have stung quite a bit.

The complaint:

'Question of the day for Luke Air Force Base:
Whom do we thank for the morning air show?

Last Wednesday, at precisely 9:11 A.M, a tight formation of four F-16 jets made a low pass over Arrowhead Mall, continuing west over Bell Road at approximately 500 feet Imagine our good fortune! Do the Tom Cruise-wannabes feel we need this wake-up call, or were they trying to impress the cashiers at Mervyn’s early bird special?
Any response would be appreciated.


The response:
Regarding 'A wake-up call from Luke's jets'
On June 15, at precisely 9:12 a.m., a perfectly timed four- ship fly by of F-1 6s from the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base flew over the grave of Capt. Jeremy Fresques. Capt Fresques was an Air Force officer who was previously stationed at Luke Air Force Base and was killed in Iraq on May 30, Memorial Day.

At 9 a. m. on June 15, his family and friends gathered at Sunland Memorial Park in Sun City to mourn the loss of a husband, son and friend. Based on the letter writer's recount of the fly by, and because of the jet noise, I'm sure you didn't hear the 21-gun salute, the playing of taps, or my words to the widow and parents of Capt. Fresques as I gave them their son's flag on behalf of the President of the United States and all those veterans and servicemen and women who understand the sacrifices they have endured.

A four-ship fly by is a display of respect the Air Force gives to those who give their lives in defense of freedom We are professional aviators and take our jobs seriously, and on June 15 what the letter writer witnessed was four officers lining up to pay their ultimate respects.

The letter writer asks, 'Whom do we thank for the morning air show? The 56th Fighter Wing will make the call for you, and forward your thanks to the widow and parents of Capt Fresques, and thank them for you, for it was in their honor that my pilots flew the most honorable formation of their lives.
Only 2 defining forces have ever offered to die for you...Jesus Christ and the American Soldier. One died for your soul, the other for your freedom.

Lt. Col. Grant L. Rosensteel, Jr. USAF

Great Pork forced to pay up to $80,000 in attorney's fees

The Great Pork is so disfunctional that it is suing itself into self destruction. This is a funny to watch so long as one is not an Irvine taxpayer. It is not terribly surprising that a radical socialist like Larry Agran has been exposed for the corrupt politician he is. He has no intention of delivering a park. He is just looking to shakedown developers and taxpayers for money. Does any other park in Irvine have such a multi layered secretive park board? Heritage Park? William Mason Park? No.

As one can see the Great Pork is not really about a park but about fooling the gullable voters about supporting a land grab of a national asset called El Toro International Airport. If Agran really truly wanted a park he would call Los Angeles and lease them the land for $2 billion for an airport.

The problem is he would have to backtrack and admit to the South County denizens that he grossly exaggerated the impacts of an airport in order to terrify South County into handing him the base. If the county controlled the airport like the original plans called for, Agran would not get a cut of the action like he has with the Great Pork.

If airports were so bad, why does Irvine allow zoning to build condos within half a mile of John Wayne? Why do property values for Santa Ana Heights greatly exceeed those near El Toro which have "jet free skies"? One can only conclude they were snookered by the Agranista into voting for the ultimate failure of a park. Even a 3rd world country can do a better job than Irvine in developing a park.

Monarch Beach Mononimbyosis

Judging by donations, the Denizens of Monarch Beach were probably the most obsessed community of any against the planned El Toro International Airport. Yet, they are also one of the furthest communities away from El Toro that actually opposes it. Go figure. Since Monarch Beach has wasted so much money and time trying to obstruct El Toro, they have literally committed economic suicide. There are not enough tourists coming to visit the St. Regis. Hence, the recent bankruptcy. As one can see fools and their money are soon parted.

Think about it. Would international travelers want to come all the way down from LAX to stay there? Apparently, not often enough. On the other hand, were El Toro open for business, millions of additional visitors, especially affluent international visitors would stimulate the Orange County economy, including The St. Regis in Monarch Beach.

Instead the denizens of Monarch Beach were out there decrying the "wealthy special interests" of Newport Beach as if wealth was somehow a bad thing. They even went so far as to display a anti El Toro fund raising thermometer along Pacific Coast Highway.

The irony is Monarch Beach is not exactly a poor place itself, and is clearly above average disposable income level for most communities within Orange County. The only rational explanation for all this RINOism on their part is they must suffer from class envy of Newport Beach to rail against us for being "wealthy". Are we in Newport Beach to stop being productive after we make our very first million? Apparently, Monarch Beach thinks so.

Monarch Beach has tremendous economic potential, but they limit themselves by their economic ignorance, NIMBYism, and class envy of Newport Beach. Instead of worrying about their coastal neighbor up the road, why they don't they simply rethink their irrational opposition to the planned El Toro International Airport. The St. Regis would then become financially solvent, and local incomes would rise. What they have got to lose? Nothing, except for actually admitting they were snookered by the Agranista propaganda machine.

Congratulations Orange County. We are in THIRD PLACE...

....FOR % OF JOB LOSSES!!!

Metro Division job loss April ‘08-’09 Metro division Job loss

Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich. -8.4%
Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn, Mich. -6.2%
Orange County -4.8%
Edison-New Brunswick, N.J. -4.7%
Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, Ill. -4.4%

"Orange County lost 72,600 jobs from April 2008 to this April bringing total payroll employment to 1,427,000. That’s the lowest since February of 2003."

http://economy.freedomblogging.com/2009/06/05/oc-third-in-us-percentage-job-loss/

Unfortunately, I am not entirely surprised by this sobering statistic. The people of (mostly South) Orange County were hoodwinked into voting for a Great Park over a job producing airport at El Toro.

The Great Pork has produced very little in the way of jobs. But it has required a lot of public assistance such as porkulus from Barbie Boxer.

An airport on the other hand, would produce 100,000 direct and indirect jobs and pump billions into the local economy. Irvine needs to come to their senses and lease El Toro to Los Angeles World Airport Authority.

El Toro would also solve the housing crisis and oversupply of houses. A surge of airport employees would cause a surge in housing demand, and therefore raise property values.

Lightning Strikes Plane

A Southwest Airlines jet was recently struck by lightning and had to make an emergency landing at Oakland International Airport. Fortunately OAK has a 10,000 foot runway. We all know that El Toro has not only has one, but TWO 10,000 foot runways as well. Then of course there are two 8,000 foot runways. Add it all up and we have 36,000 feet worth of runways! This is the equivalent of SIX John Wayne Airports!

However, the brainwashed NIMBYs who suffer from a decade plus of El Toro International Airport fear mongering created by the Agranistas would place their militant dogma over public safety. They also are gullible enough to think Irvine will build them a world class park. All without the use of public tax dollars! Yeah right!

Remember folks, John Wayne has a mere 5700 foot runway, which leaves virtually no margin for error. Common sense and the laws of physics dictates that a 10,000 foot runway is a far safer bet than the 5700 foot runway; especially under emergency conditions such as a lightning strike. But don't tell the NIMBYs that. They are so caught up in their hatred and class warfare of Newport Beach that they just cannot think rationally. Their minds are so clogged with emotional rhetoric and diehard dogma. That's a shame. As a public service, this blog is here to help them see the light and to show them that they have been misled this whole time.

Chances are someone on here will pipe in that El Toro is "unsafe" because "jets takeoff into mountains". Fine, then send the jets west or south over relatively flat areas. Besides, Woodbridge needs to be condemned anyways due to all that TCE poisoning of their water supply.

Happy Memorial Day

Today is a day to honor the sacrifices of those brave young men and women who have made America great. Some people simply see Memorial Day as a 3 day vacation and forget the true meaning of it. Then worse yet, there are others like the People's Republic of Irvine and the socialist NIMBYs who desecrate everything the military stands for, by getting the United States Marine Corps kicked out of El Toro.

Remember, it was chickenhawk RINO Congressman Chris Cox whose wife Rebecca Cox served on the BRAC commission that voted to close El Toro. It cost the taxpayers billions of dollars to not only re-locate the Marines to Miramar, but to also send the Navy to Lemoore. It is no wonder why Cox ran away to New York to mismanage the SEC because he knows he is such a disgrace around here. He did nothing to let the troops have access to the housing and commissary at El Toro and he knows it. All those protests outside his office by veterans must have got to him.

Chris Cox screwed our beloved Marine Corps in order to enable developers like Lennar and Irvine Company to pave everything they could around El Toro. I do favor free enterprise and most development. However, to kick out the Marines and dishonor our military is treasonous. Besides, it is only poetic justice that the housing market has collapsed and Lennar and the Irvine Co. are losing money hand over fist. They thought they got themselves a big mine of gold, when it was just a mine of fool's gold for all their efforts.

Then there is that Great Pork of Larry Agran's which ain't working out so well either. The Great Pork was counting on some overly optimistic real estate revenue projections. Instead they must rely on federal pork from other military haters like Barbara Boxer who launched her infamous political career by getting the Air Force removed from Hamilton Air Force Base located just north of commie infested Frisco.

In the meanwhile, the housing market was flooded with over development to accommodate the masses in South County who could only acquire their homes with subprime loans. Then, adding even more homes further depresses home values. Yet, this whole time, the economically illiterate NIMBYs of South County were convinced that it would be an airport would lower their home values, not foolish developers flooding the housing market. The verdict is they were all wrong.

In fact, I have seen some homes in Santa Ana Heights going for well over a million dollars while at the same time there are many homes under "jet free skies" in Lake Forest, Laguna Woods, and Irvine in the low 300s! No wonder why they hate Newport Beach so much! Even lower tier Newport Beach aka Santa Ana Heights which literally became part of Newport Beach yesterday puts to shame the majority of the South County cities. All the bitter military hating NIMBYs can post on here is long live the Duke, and we in Newport Beach can simply point to their home values and say scoreboard.

Happy Memorial Day and long live the world's greatest military. The Great Pork has failed. Therefore, we must re-open El Toro as a joint use base with the Marines to provide national defense and the airlines to provide economic stimulation. That is what will raise property values in South County. Maybe then they will finally get over their rabid jealousy of Newport Beach.

New Posting Rules.

Until recently we have allowed this to be an unregulated forum. That all changed when one of the more deranged and neurotic NIMBYs out there decided to repeatedly publish the phone number of a private citizen. Now don't say mean old Vernon decided to censor the forum. It was some mentally imbalanced person out there who ruined it for everybody else.

However, The El Toro Airport blogsite strongly encourages the South County NIMBYs to post early and often, so long as they are not cyberstalking. We will approve all comments that can follow that one simple rule.

Besides, the NIMBYs zealous hatred and class envy of Newport Beach makes for some great laughs at the local cocktail parties.

Next, since so few can make a good case for the Great Pork or against the airport, it only reinforces how wrong they are on the issue. They can sure hurl the insults, but rarely can discuss Just the Facts.

Bring it on ladies and gentlemen, we await your comments.

Vernon

Rigonomics Regulates the Agranistas

Jim Righeimer penned an absolutely stunning rebuttal to Emporer Agran's shameless pitch for porkulus to fund his Great Pork. Mr. Righeimer, a great party activist for the GOP just narrowly missed being elected to the Costa Mesa City Council. He would be much more effective on the council dais than Hurricane Katrina Foley who is an out of touch liberal and a member of Mr. Agran's infamous Great Pork board.

Many of our NIMBY posters on here incessantly claim El Toro International Airport is "dead" and that we should stop talking about it. They have become so desperate to silence pro El Toro supporters that they have even resorted to publishing the phone numbers of private citizens on here. Hence, the new moderation rules.

I got news for them. El Toro is NOT dead when the Great Pork tries to come after my wallet through the confiscation of my tax dollars to finance a frivolous project that was absolutely promised to be TAX FREE. (Perhaps there should have been a teabag rally at the site of the Great Pork.)

El Toro is also NOT dead, when South County NIMBYs incessantly write op-eds lamenting the lack of flight capacity within Orange County. When it was they who were the very ones that caused the lack of flight capacity in the first place by their lame attempt at trying to turn El Toro International Airport into some kind of fantasy park. It is the ultimate case of chutzpah for any of them to whine about lack of commercial flights out of Orange County.


________________________________________________________________________


RIGONOMICS:
Don’t be misled on park
By JIM RIGHEIMER
Updated: Friday, April 3, 2009 9:30 PM PDT

There are times when you read or hear something that just doesn’t sound right. Something about some fact or figure just seems out of whack. They just don’t seem to add up, but there it is for all to read in a credible major newspaper.

I had one of those moments last week when I read an article about the major job creation that was happening at the Great Park in Irvine. The story went on to say that 6,317 new jobs would be created in the Great Park this year.

That’s right, 6,317 jobs this year — 2009.

Total benefit to the economy? How about $23.9 billion over the next 12 years? Now, I do not know about you, but I have not seen a lot of construction around the Great Park, at least none that included 6,317 jobs.

It only took a little research to see that a major newspaper was hoodwinked by the Master of Great Park spin. None other than Irvine Councilman Larry Agran, chairman of the Great Park Corporation.

This is the same Larry Agran who just a couple months ago at a public presentation of the completion of the comprehensive park plan said it was worth the three years and $50 million spent to design the Great Park.

In fact, it actually cost more than $100 million to get to this plan, but Larry is never one to let facts get in the way of a good spin.

He is correct that the actual firms that came up with the design were paid $50 million.

It just so happens the Great Park Corporation also burned through another $50 million during that same planning process. But of course this money was not spent on design.

It was spent on public relations, public education, outreach and such. You have to understand that it takes a lot of public relations to design a park and public relations firms cost a lot of money.

So let’s look at the many ways that Agran and Co. misled the public about this massive $1.6-billion park development.

First off, they call everything the Great Park. Not just the 1,347 acres that someday may be a park, but also the 2,350 acres on which Lennar is developing 9,000-plus homes, condos and apartments, and millions of square feet of commercial, office and retail development — all of which are also called the Great Park.

Ken Smith’s company that won the $50-million master design contract for the Great Park is now called none other than Great Park Design Studio.

By calling everything the Great Park you are able to intertwine different aspects of the project without letting the public know which part you are talking about.

So when grand manipulator Agran talks about the billions of dollars in projects and the thousands of jobs the Great Park will provide, he can confuse everyone about what he is talking about.

Now, do not get me wrong, some people would say that Larry Agran is lying, or at a minimum he has a hard time speaking the truth. The fact is he never lies. He doesn’t have to. To get to his thousands of jobs and billions of dollars he uses confusing and misleading terms like “Great Park-related infrastructure” or “Great Park-associated development.”

He wants you to believe the Great Park is the economic stimulus when it is really the 9,000 homes that will be built (not any time soon). This is like the rooster taking credit for the sun coming up.

Let’s look at the community column Agran wrote for the Daily Pilot last week. In this piece he argues that federal stimulus dollars (a.k.a your tax dollars) should be spent on the Great Park. To back up his claim he trots out a study — a study that was paid for by none other than the Great Park Corporation.

Good manipulators always have a good study to confirm what they want to say. When you dig into the 115-page study it becomes very clear that the actual park is a very small park of the economic activity in the area. In fact, the study says that only 313 of the 6,317 jobs Agran takes credit for are from the actual park, and those are the design and public relations jobs I discussed earlier.

I guess I could sum it up with the disclaimer on the last page of the study. “No warranty or representation is made… that any of the projected values or results contained in this study will actually be achieved.” When you hear something that just doesn’t sound right, go with your gut — especially when the numbers just don’t add up.


JIM RIGHEIMER is a Costa Mesa planning commissioner, a local developer and a GOP activist.

Agran-dizing Again

Emperor Agran of the People's Republic of Irvine had the gall to publish a letter in the Daily Pilot a pitch for federal porkulus funds for his Great Pork. Remember all the LIES.....er promises that this so called Great Pork would be TAX FREE????

Agran and his merry band of socialist thugs spent over a decade spreading fear, lies, hate, class envy, and filth against the already EXISTING El Toro International Airport.

If airports are so evil, why has the honorable Mr. Agran not uttered a peep about John Wayne which abuts Irvine? Why has the honorable Mr. Agran PERMITTED thousands upon thousands of housing units to be constructed oh so very near John Wayne. Aren't airports supposed to be "evil"?

That is because THE COUNTY not Irvine has control of the airport property. Therefore, the honorable Mr. Agran had to spend all these years and millions of taxpayers dollars demonizing El Toro International Airport so that he and his cronies could seize control of a $10 billion taxpayer asset.

Apparently his Great Pork ain't working out so well and is incredibly dependent upon a massive infusion of PUBLIC MONEY for the most minimal of park jewelry such as an ugly orange balloon on all of 30 acres. That is WHAT $100 million gets you!

Most of that money has been spent so far has been dedicated to talking about, writing about, advertising, exaggerating, and hyping up a virtually NON-EXISTANT park. Spew enough propoganda about it often enough, and gullible people start to believe it will become a park. The fact is 4 years after Irvine seized El Toro, there is very little progress to date. Lennar is not exactly on the road to recovery. This park is a mirage and a sham.

On the other hand, I see runways, hangars, a train station, and great freeway access. El Toro has been and continues to be the perfect site for an international airport for the flying public. (John Wayne should serve private and charter aircraft.)

Rather than grovel for money in a paper that serves the area where the Great Pork was thoroughly rejected. Why doesn't Mr. Agran simply pick up the phone and call LAWA and lease them the land for an airport. LAWA would bank roll his billion dollar park. All he has to do is ask.

In the meantime, the honorable Mr. Agran should refrain from using reprehensible socialist tactics to redistribute the wealth for what has been proven to be an utterly frivolous excuse for a "park". Wealth is created by entrepreneurs and economic engines such as El Toro, not by litigation and confiscation.




COMMUNITY COMMENTARY:
Great Park would be great opportunity for revenue
By Larry Agran
Updated: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 8:49 PM PDT

President Obama’s visit to Southern California was an excellent opportunity for city leaders to personally plead their case for funding of community and recreational facilities, which desperately need a portion of the stimulus dollars.

Unfortunately, city parks are not getting the attention they deserve. Although monies for national park improvements have been earmarked for the National Park Service, there is no money specifically designated for our metropolitan parks.

While tall skyscrapers, massive retail centers and new residential communities may garner more public attention and publicity, the fact is, parks matter.

Obama launched his administration with the boldest economic recovery program seen in America since Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal.

But where is the funding for our metropolitan parks? In Orange County, we are beginning development of the Orange County Great Park. The Great Park is the centerpiece of the redevelopment of the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. To fully understand the potential economic impacts the Great Park holds for Orange County and Southern California, Economic Research Associates (ERA) conducted an analysis of the public and private development in and around the park in the next 12 years.

The study reports that over the next 12 months alone, planning, construction and other private and public activity associated with building the Great Park could result in hundreds of jobs this summer, and thousands of jobs in the near-term, increasing to 31,532 jobs in 2020. Much of the preliminary work is “shovel ready.”

These projects include a “solar farm” providing renewable energy to the park and surrounding communities, a natural water treatment system with regional benefits to water quality, and a multimodal transit system using alternative fuel vehicles within the park and connecting to Amtrak and Metrolink service at the nearby Irvine Transportation Center.

The total dollar value of development and related activity projected is $23.9 billion with the average annual contribution to the regional GRP at $2.2 billion. Sales, property and income tax generated within the park and adjacent residential and commercial areas could amount to $123.4 million in 2020.

I am confident that many of the Great Park’s “green projects” will qualify for federal stimulus dollars in the areas of transit, transportation, renewable energy production and water quality improvement. National, state and local government officials nation- wide should take a close look at metropolitan parks as a logical place to invest federal stimulus dollars.
________________________________________


LARRY AGRAN is the mayor pro tem of Irvine and serves as chair of the Orange County Great Park Corporation.

No more talking about El Toro International Airport

I learned that having a blog where people talk about El Toro International Airport sure makes a lot of people upset and causes heartburn, even though it has been around for several decades.

Judging by all the acrimonious posts on this blog shows we have a very divided county. I was sure hoping that we could all have a healthy happy discussion about El Toro International Airport without all these personal attacks going on. I am disappointed with the lack of mature discourse found amongst our posters who either like airports or dislike airports.

Then it dawned on me that reminding some people that the Great Park is failing only makes them very upset. They do not like to be made aware of that fact, or that the dreaded runways are still intact. Some people really do have their heart set on the park and do not want to hear any bad news about it. They only want their news source to be from Irvine itself.

Some people really do believe Irvine is going to deliver on its promise for tax free world class park. So why should I disappoint them anymore. I say, let them believe in the Great Park. I will no longer ruin their happiness. I will let them envision lots of beautiful smiling happy people with lots of pretty balloons and endless entertainment. Talking about an airport only makes them upset and is a distraction from their eager anticipation of the Great Park. Like John Lennon said "Imagine".

It takes a pig to deliver the pork

After many tries, the Great Pork finally got some tax dollars. Irvine made this shameless grab for federal money despite the incessant lies they told during the infamous Great Pork campaign that NO TAXES would be required! North County did not buy that load of pig crap and soundly rejected Measure W. But the South County NIMBYs who were brainwashed and traumatized by irrational fear of El Toro fell for the Irvine lies and passed Measure W during a low turnout election.

The hangar that is being "refurbished" with this nearly half million in federal pork is to "honor aviation history" no less. Irvine is the same city that spent millions of dollars convincing the public that airports, airplanes, The Navy, The Marine Corps, pilots, baggage handlers, cargo, passengers, Newport Beach, North County, L.A., and anyone who even thinks about aviation is EVIL! Oh the irony!

After Irvine was rejected twice at the ballot box to use state taxdollars for their utterly frivolous budget busting great pork, Comrad Barbie Boxer came to the rescue for Comrad Agran and delivered some pork. In addition, while Boxer visited El Toro she put her ignorance on public display about the military, by calling El Toro an "Air Force Base".

But being the commie she is, she hates the military and any trace of it. She also has no respect the for businesses that make this country prosperous. It is them, NOT the wealth redistributing government bureaucrats that make America great. Then Comrad Boxer had the gall in 2004 to challenge the election results of George W. Bush who was the rightful winner. She is an embarrassment to our fine state. No wonder why she and Agran are political soul mates.

In the future, Irvine might not get so lucky with federal pork from the taxpayers. A big thanks is due to Oklahoma Senator Coburn for exposing the great pork to the entire nation for the scam that it is. Then as long as the Demorats keep racking up deficits and raising taxes on the real wealth producers and job creators of this country, they will surely be voted out next election. The stock market has not exactly improved since they gained control of Washington D.C.

Timidity does not get us very far in Orange County.

Take a look at this great ad by Cessna. They encourage business executives to be bold. These are the people who produce wealth and create jobs in the first place. Their time is valuable and they do not have time to use public transit aircraft and share limited runway space and airspace, most especially in Orange County.

I have always stated that John Wayne should be for private aircraft to primarily serve the business community while El Toro International Airport would serve the flying public and cargo. So lets put to rest the tired old conspiracy theory incessantly repeated by brainwashed NIMBYs that wealthy Newport Beach special interests just want to move the noise 7 miles down the road.

The fact is, we do not want to have our homes and businesses condemned here to enlarge the size of John Wayne which rests on a mere 500 acres. It does not take a PhD in economics to figure out that it is far more expensive to buy out a prestigious area like Newport Beach then it would be to simply turn on the lights at the 4700 acre El Toro Airport. Besides, the Great Pork is not making much progress and will not anytime soon due to reliance on Lennar and the public trough which is running dry.

Most of those so bitterly opposed to El Toro hate Newport Beach far more than they love their own children. The class warfare activist NIMBYs who are anti business radical environmentalist wealth confiscators, have no idea how to run a business. They got deep discounts on their homes because of the military jets and many of which were financed by sub prime loans, designed for people who have no business owning a home in the first place.

These anti-business radicals sign the back of a check far more often than they sign the front of a check. They do not know about wealth being produced. They only know about socialist redistribution and class warfare against those who provide the jobs.

If the NIMBYs wanted a better future for their children they would support economic engines like El Toro which would pump billions into the economy and create jobs. The Great Pork may get some porkulus from the federal government. But that will only aid a select few on the park board and will not help the economy and the children of the uninformed NIMBYs who suffer from a decade plus of Agran led brainwashing.

Then we have the Bush tax cuts which could expire thanks to Obama's not so centrist economic policies. This will mean fewer, not more jobs will be created. Should the top tax rate actually increase from 35% to 39.6% this will be another $46,000 in punitive taxes for every million dollars of wealth created.

This same $46,000 could provide a job for someone who would spend money and truly stimulate the local economy. Otherwise, by the time the government gets done confiscating and redistributing the wealth, there is little left that reaches the local level. Dollar for dollar, businesses create more jobs than government does. In addition private sector jobs are based on supply and demand not make work jobs to create more Democrats.

The Laguna Beach City Council is clueless again!

First, the city of Laguna Beach was snookered by the city of Irvine into wasting millions of tax dollars into opposing El Toro. Irvine lied to them and tricked them into thinking that jets from El Toro would go over their city, which they would not.

However, once John Wayne flights increased, there were howls of protest out of Laguna Beach about this. What poetic justice that was! You see folks, flights from John Wayne actually do go over Laguna Beach! Imagine that! Today, Irvine has a worthless great pork that provides very little economic stimulus, unlike an airport would, and is of no benefit to the clueless denizens of Laguna Beach.

Now Laguna Beach is clueless again, and wants to go against the will of California voters and overturn proposition 8, which bans gay marriage. It is well known that Laguna Beach is full of liberals and those who practice alternative lifestyles. I really don't care, so long as they keep it to themselves and away from Newport Beach. Heck they can open more gay bars for all I care. But they should not go around trying to redefine marriage, which is a centuries long tradition between a man and a woman. The majority of the state does not share Laguna Beach's "values".

Nyre is on Fire! Keep them letters coming!

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am finally back from a long vacation where I traveled on my yacht. I did not have regular access to the internet. Thus, this blog was not maintained regularly. But judging by the participation on here by our audience, El Toro is alive and well in the hearts and minds of everybody. If it was really dead as the NIMBYs so wrongly claim, they would not be on here incessantly spreading more lies and class warfare. Economic necessity along with the failure of the great pork dictates that the re-opening of El Toro International Airport is only a matter of time. Resistance is futile.

Anyhow, here is a great letter that appeared in the Daily Pilot by the great Donald Nyre reminding Daily Pilot readers of the need for El Toro. As a traveling businessman, I do not feel that John Wayne should die on the vine entirely, and should remain open for private aircraft, while the flying public makes use of the much larger El Toro facilities. 10,000 foot runways and a 4700 acre base are better suited for such purposes.

As one whose time is valuable, I prefer to fly privately and not be forced to share the runways and airspace with the masses. I also would not be willing to share Newport Harbor with commercial passenger ships. It is nice to have my own boat space to come and go as I please. One day John Wayne Airport will also be that way.



Here’s an idea: Let JWA die on the vine

Local activists’ eloquent pleas for a regional solution to air traffic demand wisely point out that John Wayne Airport already is the second largest provider of service in the Los Angeles area behind LAX, (“Better transportation solution to airport woes,” Jan. 21.)

They point out that 30% of users are vacationers, and if better surface transportation were available, people could land at some airport out in the sticks and ride the train to their destinations.

Ontario Airport ranks high on the list of airports out in the sticks that does not attract customers, because it does not have a train connecting the airport to tourist destinations of Anaheim and Newport Beach. As long as there is LAX or JWA, passengers will continue to use them, with, or without, a train.

Los Angeles opened Ontario as a reliever airport when LAX is fogged in.

It was not intended to be a destination airport. Similarly, I have been denied landing at San Diego’s Lindbergh Field and had to land at Ontario. Of course we all hated it because we wanted to land in San Diego.

By contrast to airports out in the sticks, Los Angeles has its eye on the closed El Toro International Airport, which is in an area with a proven track record for attracting passengers. I believe a regional solution to our air transportation problem is to open El Toro International Airport, let Los Angeles run it, and let dinky John Wayne Airport die on the vine.

DONALD NYRE

Newport Beach

LAWA Money Could Clean up El Toro!

The Register featured an article about the toxic waste at El Toro and gave mention to two great websites in the process.
www.eltoronow.com and www.salem-news.com
This will surely generate lots of publicity about why a Great Pork is the least acceptable use of a former military airport. During the previous El Toro debates, Emperor Agran and his merry band of NIMBYs were saying the land was "too toxic" for an airport.....but would like us to believe it is clean enough for park and residential uses. PLEASE!

Los Angeles World Airports has previously offered the Navy 2 billion dollars to lease El Toro and 300 million to the Navy to clean it up. Instead the property was sold to Lennar for pennies on the dollar and they are still bleeding money like crazy. The fact is the real estate market has a glut of housing, especially here in Orange County. Adding even more houses will not dig Lennar out of its predicament.

However, selling or leasing the El Toro property to Los Angeles World Airport Authority will reverse Lennar's downward slide. We are talking about a potential multi billion dollar stimulus package from Los Angeles. Don't look for this kind of help from the Obama administration and Washington D.C. as Orange County is Republican Country!

Re-opening El Toro International Airport will get the base cleaned up, create 90,000 jobs, result in shorter commutes, cheaper fares, and take cargo trucks off the road to LAX. There would even be plenty of land for Larry Agran to finally realize his dream of a Great Park.

In addition, there will be an increase in economic activity and these new jobs will create more demand for housing and raise everyone's property values. Otherwise, adding thousands of new homes on a superfund site no less without an accompanying economic catalyst like an airport will further retard local economic growth.