3-2
NOTHING ABOUT EL TORO CAN EVER BE TAKEN FOR GRANTED. THAT’S why last week’s 3-2 vote by the supervisors to move forward with a commercial airport, while expected, still elicited a collective sigh of relief from airport supporters. It’s a significant achievement that clears the way for the handoff of the airfield from the federal government to the county.
But nothing about El Toro can ever be celebrated for long, either. No sooner was the vote taken than anti-airport forces were vowing litigation and at least one ballot challenge. Airport supporters must still win over some hearts and minds before El Toro can fly.
Moreover, the Air Line Pilots Association breathed life into the V-plan, the Charles Griffin-Russell Niewiarowski-Bob McGowan creature that refuses to go away. The pilots endorsed the V-plan as a better way than the county’s plan to fly in and out of El Toro; V-plan proponents said they will take their case to north OC cities and maybe to the voters, too. There are things to say for the V-plan, but there are also things to say against it, the biggest objection being political: It sends planes directly over the million-dollar homes The Irvine Company is building in Shady Canyon. Airport backers have enough problems without turning the neutral giant into an active foe.
Note, though, that for all the objections they’re raising, the pilots’ union and the V-plan folks favor an El Toro airport, just a different one than the county’s.
So the county’s make-do airport plan slowly lurches forward, taxiing over each procedural hurdle as if it were a bump on a runway. Approaching on the horizon is the Great Park initiative.
Clearing that will require some liftoff.
Mail Drop
“NEITHER SNOW NOR RAIN NOR HEAT NOR GLOOM OF NIGHT STAYS these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”
Obviously, anthrax isn’t covered by this guarantee.
Eyewash
I’M A WINNER!
I’m also an aggrieved party. I became aware of this when a letter with legal documents arrived recently, notifying me that as a buyer of Acuvue reusable contact lenses, I was entitled to reparations from Johnson & Johnson.
J & J;, you see, was sued by lens wearers who didn’t like how much they were paying for the product. The class-action suit contended that the company’s Acuvue reusable lenses and one-day lenses were pretty much the same thing, yet J & J; charged much more for the reusables and didn’t let on that the one-days could actually be worn for more than a day. I blinked in amazement to think there are people who watch for this sort of thing.
J & J; said the suit was hooey, but settled anyway, agreeing to rebates that were publicized as possibly costing more than $800 million. That’s a lot of eyeball covers, but roughly half of the rebates are coupons for future purchases of Acuvue lenses, which should help J & J; retain customers.
Alas, there’s a catch for the winners like me. In order to claim a piece of this optical pie, I was supposed to fill out forms, track down records and attach old receipts. Forget it. I indicated that I couldn’t get the information and just submitted a best guess of how many lenses I’d purchased over the past seven years.
I hope it flies. If it does, I’ll get a couple hundred dollars in cash and coupons. If it doesn’t fly, maybe I’ll get less, maybe I’ll get nothing, maybe I’ll sue somebody.
What’s certain is the plaintiffs’ lawyers get about $20 million.
