Briefly in the news

-- Paul Clinton

The Orange County Board of Supervisors officially placed the anti-El

Toro Airport Great Park initiative on the March ballot on Tuesday.

Dubbed “Measure W,” the initiative is the fourth major initiative

revolving around the closed El Toro Marine Air base, leading to 1994’s

Measure A, when voters first approved an airport there.

South County has mounted two unsuccessful attempts to roll back that

approval -- 1996’s Measure S, which was defeated at the polls, and 2000’s

Measure F, declared unconstitutional by a superior court judge.

If voters approve Measure W on March 5, known as the Orange County

Central Park and Nature Preserve Initiative, the base would be rezoned to

allow South County’s Great Park to be developed.