Patience Running Thin in El Toro Debate

I am a proponent of the El Toro airport. Until today, I’ve tried the “mediation through moderation” approach to bringing the parties to the table--the same approach espoused by the Board of Supervisors in their 4-1 vote in December.

But when I read the July 1 Times article on Measure A being upheld, I realize nothing short of a 2-by-4 is going to wake up people like Lake Forest Councilman Richard T. Dixon and that I’ve been patient long enough.

We are not dealing with what Dixon calls ballot-box planning here. What is confronting him is the decision of the majority of the citizens of Orange County to have an airport at El Toro. This majority reads, listens, assesses, thinks and is able to arrive at decisions independently. They are not being manipulated by sinister forces at work, as Dixon implies.

His arrogance is appalling.

LAWRENCE FARRINGTON

Newport Beach

* Re “It’s Time to Quit Guessing and Put El Toro to a Real Test,” June 29 op-ed column:

The authors, Karen Byers and Alan Ellstrand, are to be highly commended for identifying the key point of the debate for or against the proposed El Toro commercial airport: an actual test of the flight conditions recommended by the proponents of the airport.

Airport proponents should be anxious to have the test conducted by the heaviest aircraft available to demonstrate to dubious south Orange County residents once and for all that around-the-clock commercial aircraft operation will not be damaging to the health and economic welfare of south Orange County.

Since the proposed airport would cost hundreds of millions of dollars, the proposed $300,000 test seems a reasonable price to pay.

The publicity campaign authorized by the Orange County Board of Supervisors would be unnecessary; that money could cover a third of the cost of the test.

The test should be conducted under the auspices of the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure the results are unbiased. Let’s have an actual test to settle the matter.

R. CHARLTON JOHNSON

Laguna Hills

* The article by Byers and Ellstrand on the proposed El Toro airport makes perfect sense in calling for a 48-hour test of this faulty proposal.

A majority of the Orange County supervisors let themselves be rushed into a premature decision on this extremely important issue.

I know from living at Leisure World that when airplanes land at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station the noise is deafening. Residents here were looking forward to the end of this noisy problem, but instead of a quieter environment, the county government seems determined to destroy the very beauty and peacefulness that brought tens of thousands of people here in the first place.

If airplanes were to fly directly overhead 24 hours a day, it would be the end of Leisure World. There has been deception and lack of true study on this airport proposal right from the beginning. The very least the supervisors can do is stage a realistic 48-hour test. They would not want to live here themselves with the tremendous noise, as they would soon see if they conduct this test.

ELSIE PEARSON

Laguna Hills

* Might there be a lesson in that two of Orange County’s major current messes may be linked to one monumental ego?

American Bar Assn. accreditation of the Chapman University Law School was widely, though erroneously, believed to be a “done deal” and students eagerly enrolled. A landmark building at Chapman is the Argyros Forum in honor of its powerful and generous trustee.

Now, after two years of operation, ABA accreditation has not been granted Chapman and many students are faced with not being allowed to take the California Bar exam (July 10). There is talk by students of suing for being misled. New enrollment is falling drastically short of rosy forecasts and some current students are leaving.

The El Toro commercial airport has been presented as a “done deal,” which has preempted much opposition to the plan. A leading proponent is George Argyros, who endowed Measure A. Fortunately, citizens all over the county are waking up to the fact that it is a lousy plan supported by a seriously flawed environmental impact report being rammed through by special interests.

The lesson? Don’t be misled that power is a guarantee of success where performance is lacking.

TRISTAN KROGIUS

Dana Point