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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
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A South County airport supporter speaks up, in Letters



El Toro, Cont’d

An open letter to Supervisor Wilson:

I attended the Aug. 15 community open house at Saddleback Community Church, where I happen to be a member. I attempted to listen to the county’s “Just the Facts” presentation and the questions and comments of those who attended. I was completely appalled by the behavior at the open house of not only my fellow residents, but of yourself and, especially, Supervisor Spitzer.

It was very clear to me that no one there was interested in hearing what the county representatives had to say. I appreciated what you and some others said, that essentially you did not want an airport at El Toro simply because it was the will of the majority of your constituents (no matter what the facts may say). I appreciate this honesty, but to belittle and discredit professionals in the field of aviation, safety, environment, noise and traffic I find to be deplorable. To discredit the credibility of Tom Wall, who is an expert on aviation, a resident of Irvine, and who has flown in and out of El Toro on numerous occasions, as merely a “hired gun” public speaker is deceitful. Contrary to your and Supervisor Spitzer’s comments, Tom Wall is probably the most qualified expert to speak on how and why a commercial airport at El Toro makes sense.

I found it amusing when Supervisor Spitzer referred to the “Just the Facts” presentation and presenters as being full of doubletalk and not being truthful. He should have had a mirror in front of his face. It was crystal clear to me that Supervisor Spitzer is not interested in the facts, but only interested in advancing his own political agenda.

I am a South Orange County resident who plans on raising his family here and being here for many years who is strongly in favor of the airport and open-space plan at El Toro. Bottom line is that an airport at El Toro is in the overall best interests of South Orange County, Orange County as a whole, the Southern California region and the state of California.


Terry W. Thompson

Rancho Santa Margarita


Energy, Cont’d

Governor Davis has made no secret that he believes that swashbuckling, cattle-rustling energy barons from Texas are to blame for our energy crisis. While Texas power companies make for good bad guys in the governor’s transparent Kabuki theater of blame, readers may be interested to see who really provides power to Californians (percentages have been rounded up, resulting in slightly more than 100%):

18%,Pacific Gas & Electric (California)

15%,Southern California Edison (Cali-

fornia)

11%,imported power from the Northwest,

including Canada

10%,Los Angeles Department of Water &

Power (California)

10%,imported power from the Southwest

7%,State and Federal Agencies

6%,AES (power company)

5%,municipal utilities and irrigation dis-

tricts

5%,Reliant (power company)

4%,Duke (power company)

4%,Southern (power company)

4%,Dynegy (power company)

1%,Sacramento Municipal Utility Dis-

trict (California)

1%,Calpine (power company)

1%,San Diego Gas & Electric (Califor-

nia)

(Where’s Enron? It operates in California as a middleman, not as a significant producer of power.)

It should be noted that of this list, only Dynegy and Reliant are from Texas. These two companies represent a total of 9% of California’s energy portfolio. By comparison, Georgia-based Southern (Mirant), Virginia’s AES, and North Carolina’s Duke Energy, have a 14% share of our energy portfolio.

This list does not focus on who is gaming the market. However, every provider listed benefited from skyrocketing energy prices. In trying to identify those power producers who used market power to ring up high profits on Californians, we should include all power producers in our investigations. State and federal agencies, independent power companies, utilities, municipal utilities, and even local irrigation districts could be guilty of gouging consumers. Davis’s focusing on only those companies from Texas does everyone in this state a disservice and is a misrepresentation of fact.


Assemblyman Bill Leonard

Republican, 63rd District

Rancho Cucamonga

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