Dazed and confused by JWA situation...

Dazed and confused

by JWA situation

I felt both greatly confused, amused and roused after reading and

rereading news of the recent John Wayne Airport Settlement Agreement

extension dealings (“OK likely on new JWA deal,” Dec. 10, and “City,

county sign off on new JWA agreement,” Dec. 11).

After fighting tirelessly for over six years, I am confused as to

how, on one hand, the elected officials of Newport Beach and the

majority of the County of Orange Board of Supervisors could preach

and sing the need for a 30-million-annual-passenger El Toro

International airport, then so quickly discarded all such notions, in

addition to an untold $60 million plus, then while speaking from a

different face, present a new notion that a mere slight expansion of

John Wayne will now more than meet Orange County’s future needs for

the next 15 years.

One can’t help but feel amused after reading Newport Beach Mayor

Tod Ridgeway’s and Newport Beach City Atty. Bob Burnham’s comments

that claim that “there may actually be a diminished number of flights

out of JWA,” due to efficiently loading more passengers on existing

flights. And since Newport Beach claims that the new settlement

agreement deal “pleases everyone,” why then didn’t Newport Beach save

years of fighting and over $12 million plus to simply craft this deal

in the first place?

To suddenly say that a temporal, superficial expansion of John

Wayne now is all that is needed to meet our needs makes the elected

officials of Newport Beach complete and total fools.

And for former Newport Beach Councilwoman Norma Glover to say that

[the new settlement agreement] “would not adversely impact residents”

is downright laughable. Just which residents are she referring to?

Obviously, South County residents, and not those in Newport Beach and

rest of the residents in the John Wayne flight path corridor.

The soon-to-be-annexed-to- Newport-Beach Santa Ana Heights

residents will surely be adversely impacted by an additional 2

million annual passenger expansion, roughly the size of the entire

capacity served by Long Beach Airport, being dumped onto their

already burdened back yards. And the notion that less flights may

occur, resulting in projected less adverse impacts, is in fact false.

Planes bearing more passengers may yield greater efficiency to the

airlines, resulting in fewer flights, but will also mean that those

same planes will now be more heavily laden, which will translate to

louder take-offs, hence higher levels of noise pollution to Santa Ana

Heights and Eastbluff communities, the two closest communities under

John Wayne’s departure corridor.

And lastly, the intelligent, educated residents who have done

their own math work will see that the entire airport war and recent

John Wayne expansion plans as spearheaded by Norma Glover just don’t

add up. Glover personally used all her force to prevent any

reasonable airport alternative from replacing the county’s flawed

airport plan, stonewalling every local official or volunteer group

that did not side with her strategy and convinced the Board of

Supervisors majority to follow in lock step.

I feel that it is only fitting to once again rename Orange County

Airport. This time, rather than rename the airport after a staunch

anti-airport individual of celebrity status, it should be renamed

after someone who supports expansion of the facility. In John Wayne

Airport’s case, it should be rededicated the Norma Glover

International Airport upon completion of the 20-gate expansion plans.

RUSSELL NIEWIAROWSKI

Santa Ana Heights

City Council races

are out of control

Of all elections, the one for City Council should be the most

personal, the one least impacted by hired guns. The cost of running

is out of line, and it seems ludicrous to me that anyone running for

City Council should feel the necessity of hiring a political

consultant. I’m sure that the cost and the dirty tricks discourage

many capable people who might otherwise be interested in serving

their community.

NANCY GARDNER

Corona del Mar

Bridge at 19th Street deserves a look

I believe the Westside is the most critical issue in town right

now and has been for a long time, and we need to address it

immediately. I further believe that we can’t address the whole

Westside issue until we determine whether 19th Street is going to be

extended to Brookhurst Street. It will change the complexion of the

whole development of the Westside, whether it’s going to be privately

developed or the government’s going to have to do it through

redevelopment. I don’t think we understand the ramifications of

extending 19th Street, and that needs to be studied. I believe we

need a fair, honest study and an all-comprehensive study.

ROBERT GRAHAM

Costa Mesa

* Robert Graham is a longtime advocate of a bridge at 19th

Street.

Water quality is improving in Newport

Re: editorial, “Good, clean news from the Dunes,” Thursday.

Thank you, Daily Pilot, for pointing out the good things happening

with Newport Beach water quality. The residents have indeed put water

quality way up on the priority list, and the city has responded with

actions such as you described. More innovative ideas are being

considered each day by city government and staff to deal with the end

result of urban runoff, but the real long-term solution rests with

the residents of Newport Beach, as well as all of the residents of

the watershed extending all of the way to the San Bernardino

Mountains.

Urban runoff (officially, non-point source water pollution) is a

complex problem to deal with since, by definition, it comes from many

sources. One component can be addressed simply and immediately --

that is the part we as individuals contribute. The city has an

excellent Web site in place, www.cleanwaternewport.com, which points

out the many things to be aware of and what each of us can easily do

and manage. I encourage the Pilot to publish an article pointing out

what each citizen can do to reduce water pollution.

With 45 miles of shoreline and our ocean/bay-based economy, it is

in our best interest that contaminates and trash in runoff be

minimized. We must set, by example, the standard of behavior that we

expect from our neighbors upstream. It all runs downhill, and Newport

Beach and our precious waters are at the “end of the pipe.”

DENNIS BAKER

Board President, Earth

Resource Foundation, Costa

Mesa and Newport Beach

Coast/Bay Water Quality

Citizens Advisory Committee

member

Corona del Mar