Regional Airports
News reports breathlessly announce that one local airport or another had a record month, is headed toward a record year, or is up X percent over last year. What these single-airport statistics overlook is a context that reveals no growth in this region’s air travel in the past five years.
Comparing the first six months of the year,the latest data available,the total number of passengers using all of our region’s airports in 2005 still is less than it was in the pre-9/11 periods of 2000 and 2001. Passengers are playing musical chairs, choosing different airports in order to avoid traffic and security hassles.
For the January-to-June periods, 2001 vs. 2005, Long Beach Airport and John Wayne each saw traffic increases of more than a million passengers. Burbank is up a quarter million. These are fliers who abandoned LAX, where domestic passenger use dropped by nearly 3 million.
Fortunately for the folks near JWA, this increase in passengers has occurred, so far, with zero increase in the number of flights. An amendment to the Settlement Agreement between the county and Newport Beach has facilitated the airlines selling previously empty seats on their planes.
John Wayne may see limited growth in the number of flights in the future as the terminal expands. However, Long Beach also is expanding and considering a proposal to fill 22 unused daily flight slots with low-priced regional jets to Las Vegas and other close-by cities.
Surveys show that most passengers at John Wayne are from populous North Orange County and the county’s top aviation draw, Disneyland. Los Angeles County residents also use JWA. If more destinations and better fares are available, hundreds of thousands of them may defect to nearby Long Beach in another round of musical chairs.
Then someday, as ground access improves, OC travelers who largely shun Ontario International Airport even may go there.
Leonard Kranser
Editor
El Toro Info Site
www.eltoroairport.org
Paycheck Initiative
We now know, from intelligence records seized in the Soviet Union after the fall of communism, that the Russians were trying to turn Hollywood into their propaganda operation to lull us into believing that they were not trying to take over our country.
While the Russians did not succeed nationwide, they did leave a remnant of socialists in California, and unfortunately many of them now are elected to the California Legislature.
The current effort of the “ruling left” in Sacramento, and their allies in the press and public employee unions, is to damage Gov. Schwarzenegger’s credibility going into the November election.
The “paycheck protection” initiative on the November ballot is designed to eliminate the ability of the public employee unions to require every single state employee to pay them money, even if that employee doesn’t agree with the union.
The current system allows the public employee unions to take that money, spend it on the left wing politicians in Sacramento, and then use the influence that the money gives these unions over the politicians to get more state employees to pay the unions more money, to get more influence, and so on. You and I pay the tax bill for this scheme, and the union and political bosses get the benefit.
These bosses fear Gov. Schwarzenegger will come out in favor of the paycheck protection initiative, and his popularity will push it over the top. So they are working overtime to destroy his reputation, his credibility, and his influence.
In an extreme demonstration of arrogance, the unions are forcing additional assessments on their membership to fight paycheck-protection and the other initiatives the governor supports.
The California Teachers Union has assessed its membership additional dues sufficient to raise $50 million. The California Correctional Peace Officers Association is assessing its membership $30 million, and other public employee unions are in the process of following suit. They expect to raise $200 million in all.
It appears that in the short term their strategy has had an effect. The press has been relentless in its attack of Schwarzenegger, and the television commercials have not let up. The only hope for this state is that people are smart enough to see through the hype. That really is the only way to stop the Russians from actually coming.
Assemblyman Ray Haynes
R-Temecula
Bob Novak
Re Rick Reiff’s Aug. 8 Comment, “Let it Out”:
We liberals are just “aflutter” over Novak cursing and walking?
I think not. We are used to seeing Novak blow up on “Crossfire.” What we are totally puzzled over is why he is walking the streets!
Novak publicly outed Plame, a federal felony. The reporter who has been in jail for several weeks now never even published her article, never “outed” anyone, just refused to name a source that she never used publicly.
While I agree that Mr. Rove should be prosecuted for outing a CIA undercover operative for purely political reasons, Novak should be in the adjoining cell, not blustering around in his normal funk.
And as for “media allies,” as a liberal I do not recognize any media outlet that is entirely committed to the philosophy and causes of one political party,except Fox, but then again, I don’t consider what it turns out to be news, just propaganda.
Ed St. Amour
Mesa Verde
Energy Loans
In an unusually fast process,so fast that it has rendered moot my letter to the editor last week,the California Public Utilities Commission has issued a draft decision which approves in general the new 2006-2008 energy efficiency programs offered by the California investor-owned utilities.
In practical terms this means that thanks to on-bill financing, small businesses in California now will find it much easier to acquire and put into use energy-efficient equipment.
Small Business California applauds this fast moving process and more information about the program can be gained by calling me at (510) 459-9683.
Hank Ryan
Executive Director
Small Business California
San Francisco
