El Toro cont’d
Roger Gibb’s June 19 letter attacking me and the proposed Great Park at El Toro has a familiar ring to it. It’s the same kind of negative nonsense the pro-airport, pro-development crowd has been spouting for years now.
In the 1980s, when development was rampant in Irvine and our precious open space was vanishing, thousands of us joined together in a remarkable open space preservation movement. I was mayor at the time, and I recall the naysayers who fought us every step of the way. But we persisted. The result? By an 87% majority, Irvine voters in 1988 adopted a sweeping open space preservation plan, setting aside 8,500 acres of hillsides, canyons and agricultural lands to remain forever free of development.
In the 1990s, when the pro-airport, pro-development crowd was telling us that El Toro International Airport was a “done deal,” thousands of us organized the biggest, boldest grassroots movement in Orange Country history. The result? With a thunderous 67.3% majority this past March 7, voters said “yes” to Measure F and “no” to El Toro International Airport.
Now that we’ve gained the upper hand, we have an opportunity to finally bury the airport by replacing it with a magnificent Great Park at El Toro. The 2,500-acre Great Park we envision will be more than twice as large and every bit as beautiful as San Diego’s Balboa Park. Contrary to what Mr. Gibb and the other professional pessimists contend, the Great Park,located just minutes away from every Orange County household,will not only enhance the environment; it will actually generate revenue and create wealth far in excess of any public costs.
Mr. Gibb is of course free to ally himself with the developers and the pro-airport diehards. As for me, I’ll happily stick with the people of Orange County who overwhelmingly prefer a Great Park at El Toro.
Larry Agran
Irvine City Councilmember
Editor’s note: In addition to submitting the above letter, Agran pointed out that Gibb’s letter referred to Agran’s arrest on March 31, 1992, in connection with his protest of being excluded from a televised presidential primary debate, without also stating that he was subsequently acquitted. Agran asked that the Business Journal “do the honorable thing by apologizing and setting the record straight.”
Here it comes,your June 26 editorial, the latest ploy from the pro-airport side: “Los Angeles officials are considering a tax on OC residents using LAX.” Later in the same article: “I’ve heard more El Toro airport opponents promoting the idea of ‘maxing out’ John Wayne ”
Conjecture at best, these statements are ludicrous. The trail of distortions is becoming a superhighway. Recall the Airport Working Group’s threat to Tustin residents prior to voting on Measure F that its passage will guarantee more JWA flights over that city, or the EIR advocating that El Toro flights could safely take off toward the mountains, with a tailwind, uphill, on old runways.
Where will it end?
Dave Mulnard
Tustin
The proposed airport at El Toro would dump tons of pollution into the skies over most of the county, every day. Airport ground traffic would pump another very large dose of hydrocarbon poisons into the local skies, and terminally clog our roads
It’s up to us to protect our neighborhoods, our schools, our parks and beaches, our kids, our health! It’s time for an El Toro Tea Party!
It’s not a new airport we need,it’s three new supervisors!
Michael Smith
Mission Viejo
Shedding Light on Credit Scores
Californians interested in buying a home, refinancing or getting a second mortgage should pay close attention to a debate in our state’s Capitol. The Assembly Banking Committee will soon decide whether consumers have the right to know their “credit scores.” If approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Gray Davis, California will have the most comprehensive consumer credit-disclosure law in the country.
Sponsored by a diverse coalition led by the California Association of Realtors and the Consumers Union, SB 1607 (Figueroa) will give consumers access to their credit scores and the top four factors used to develop them.
To understand this legislation and its impact you must understand the history of credit scores.
Many industries have used credit scores to determine a borrower’s risk. Mortgage lenders started using credit scores to automate lending decisions on the Internet and this technological explosion resulted in almost all mortgage-lending decisions being based solely on the applicant’s credit score. Unfortunately, applicants were left in the dark. To add insult to injury, consumers unknowingly hurt their score by consolidating debt, applying for on-line loans, having too many open lines of credit or even by paying off old debts.
Realtors and consumer organizations have asked the lending industry to make credit scores public for years, but met resistance through claims of “proprietary information” or “contractual conflicts.” However, SB 1607 triggered a series of actions.
First, E-Loan, an on-line lender, broke ranks and provided credit scores over the Internet. Thousands of consumers flocked to the site.
But Fair, Isaac (a software company that develops formulas to generate FICO scores) stopped E-Loan by filing a breach-of-contract suit. Next, Fannie Mae decided to stop using FICO scores and create its own “transparent” system. Soon after, credit bureaus Trans Union and Experian separately decided to develop their own ranking system. Finally, with pressure mounting, Fair, Isaac posted a list of factors used to create credit scores and the weight each factor carries in determining the FICO score.
Great news, but consumers still don’t have access to their credit scores. Alternative systems, lists of factors and Web sites won’t give consumers their scores. Industry players are posturing or pointing the finger. That is why it is crucial that SB 1607 be approved.
The lending industry has made significant progress towards shedding light on the credit scoring system, but the game is only half over. Access to credit scores should not be a privilege, it should be a right!
Richard F. Gaylord
(Gaylord, of Long Beach, is president of the California Association of Realtors.)
Neutral Reporting
Why can’t the media remain neutral, at least on issues that can effect the understanding and rights of the American public? They should state the facts, and let the public form their own opinions. This is true reporting, without giving cause to form a biased opinion. We need to be informed through your honesty, and your integrity will be established.
K. E. Miller
Long Beach
