STEVE SMITH -- What’s Up

So now, a contingent including Costa Mesa City Councilman Chris Steel

is spending money to go to Washington to lobby for an airport in El Toro.

Funny, I thought that’s why we had local representation.

The timing of the county delegation is poor, for ultimately it may not

be political connections, developer clout or infrastructure needs that

dictate whether another airport is built. In the end, it may be whether

we’ll be able to afford to fly on the planes that El Toro is supposed to

support.

At the gas station where I regularly pump my dead dinosaurs, I paid

$1.78 per gallon three days ago and that was cheap compared to other

stations I’ve seen. Now we’re being told that gas will “definitely” be at

$2.00 by summer and perhaps even $2.50. One analyst stated that $3 per

gallon within the next year is likely.

The higher price of fuel is already having an effect on the Smiths. In

the middle of planning a Hawaii vacation, we had to punt due to the

dramatically higher fares. Yes, I know, life is tough. I suspect that

there are many more families like ours who are having second thoughts

about their flying vacations due to the higher fares. Each traveler has a

point at which they will seek alternative methods of achieving the same

goal, whether it is a vacation or a sales call.

There was another time when higher air fares provided a selective

reduction in flyers and air travel was a luxury for most Americans. As

the fares go up, look for less business travel and less air cargo, too.

This energy shortage is not yet a crisis, but it’s close. Only six

months ago the extent of our energy woes hit the front pages and now we

discover that oil profits have surged while companies such as United

Parcel Service tack a fuel surcharge onto all of its shipments to help

pay for its higher energy costs. Once again, Mr. And Mrs. John Doe are

paying for all of it.

Here in Costa Mesa, Vice Mayor Linda Dixon revealed the city’s single

largest power consumer. “The traffic lights and street lights use the

most energy,” said Dixon, “And there’s nothing we can do about that. When

you stop and think about it, that’s frightening.”

That is frightening. Those traffic lights must be on 24/7/365, and the

street lights must come on at dusk and go off at dawn.

So, I have a plan. I’d like to see the city councils of Newport Beach

and Costa Mesa formally request -- not demand -- that local businesses

turn off their exterior sign lights when the operation is closed for

business. When I floated the idea to Dixon, she said: “I think it would

be a great program. I have noticed many businesses are currently doing

that on their own. Stater Brothers and Sav-On are doing it. I even went

past a McDonald’s and they were doing it.”

I called the Sav-On drugstore at Baker and Fairview to which Dixon

referred me and was told that, yes, their exterior sign was dark after

closing. Frank Bianchini, owner of Metro Car Wash, is turning of his

signs at night and is actively encouraging other business owners to do

the same.

Ed Fawcett, the president of the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce also

likes the idea. “I would embrace any kind of conservation,” he said.

On June 7, the chamber and Southern California Edison are hosting a

breakfast to show businesses how they can reduce their power consumption.

For more information, call (714) 885-9090.

The idea is to encourage businesses to conserve energy, not just

during this shortage but always, even if we believe that this “crisis” is

no more real than past energy crises, or than a coffee shortage or a meat

shortage (coming soon to a market near you). I’d like to see Newport-Mesa

become the first energy-wise community in the state by aggressively

encouraging businesses to turn off their exterior signage when they close

for the evening.

Costa Mesa and Newport Beach should lead the state in this voluntary

compliance program. For reducing consumption, the two cities should be

last on the list of rolling blackout candidates should the need arise

this summer.

It’s not rocket science. Businesses, turn off your signs when you

close up for the night. Power suppliers, reward us for our conservation

efforts by reducing or eliminating our likelihood of a blackout.

Whatever that contingent hopes to accomplish won’t matter a whit as

long as gas prices climb, and they surely will. And it seems to me that

compared to the threat of blackouts in a matter of weeks, flying 6,000

miles to lobby for an airport that is years away is not an intelligent

use of people or resources.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and freelance writer. Readers

may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at (949) 642-6086.