On Feb. 23, the Newport-Costa Mesa Daily Pilot ran a pro-El Toro airport opinion piece by Shirley Conger of Corona del Mar.
Two days later, the paper ran a rebuttal letter from Jaysen Gillespie of Irvine. His thrust was that Newport Beach residents “might shoot themselves in the foot by beating the drum for more airport capacity.”
“Clearly, the easiest and most economical way to obtain more capacity is removal of restrictions on the use of John Wayne,” the letter read.
How did Gillespie, who does not live in the circulation area for the Pilot, know of Conger’s article and respond so quickly?
Gillespie says he read it on the El Toro info site, www.eltoroairport.org, and was well-armed with facts that he needed to counter the original pro-airport statements. He responded to the paper by e-mail.
This is one more example of how Web sites are reshaping political debate by expanding public awareness and participation.
Before the Internet, Pilot letters would have been read in the Newport Beach area and probably only responded to by those in the immediate vicinity.
Leonard Kranser
Editor
eltoroairport.org
