El Toro
In his Dec. 5 Viewpoint, “The Grounding of El Toro,” Monarch Beach airport fighter Leonard Kranser describes a victory over El Toro airport as an aroused public beating “City Hall.”
In reality, there is a threat to Monarch Beach residents from nearby John Wayne Airport. While fighting El Toro airport, South County unwittingly freed up valuable aviation airspace for John Wayne Airport.
The old approach into JWA over the Huntington Beach Pier conflicts with landings into Long Beach Airport. Thus pilots will discover the long, low approach into El Toro over Aliso Viejo is a better way to get into John Wayne. Pilots learning to turn after takeoff will be climbing out over Irvine, but these will be at higher altitudes than the landings over Monarch Beach.
El Toro is a natural site for an airport, and the airport is still there, with four giant runways.
Donald Nyre
Newport Beach
There is nothing at all impressive about the NIMBYs’ shallow and cheap victory against El Toro. They held not one, but four elections until they finally achieved their desired result. The first two times people voted for an airport; including a whopping 59% margin against Measure S.
Even with the Measure W “victory,” a mere 13 out of 34 Orange County cities voted for the Great Pork.
In the meantime, we get stuck with a non-revenue-producing, wino-inhabited park, which mostly will create jobs in lawn-mowing and leaf-blowing.
Forget the tunnel. It is not the responsibility of the Inland Empire to bail out South Orange County from its self-inflicted airport-capacity shortage.
J.C. Carter
Irvine
Re my Viewpoint:
Rick Reiff’s introductory comments were so generous that I want to be his adversary many additional times in the hopes of getting more of the same treatment.
Leonard Kranser
Editor
El Toro Info Site
Monarch Beach
JWA
The Orange County Taxpayers Association supports John Wayne Airport’s application to use a “passenger facility charge” to help pay for terminal building expansion, common-use terminal equipment, inline baggage screening and a new overnight aircraft parking apron.
Here’s why we support the charge:
The charge is not a tax. It is a user fee. OCTax favors user fees to fund public infrastructure. Those who do not fly from JWA would pay nothing.
Federal law limits the amount of the fee to $4.50 per outgoing passenger.
The charge would expire in 2021.
Most airports already have a passenger facility charge. JWA hasn’t applied for one until now because JWA hasn’t needed major improvements since Congress authorized the charge in 1990.
The proposed charge meets OCTax’s guidelines. It is “fair, understandable, cost effective and good for business.”
Reed L. Royalty
President
OCTax
Tax Planning
As Americans rush headlong into the holiday season, it’s important to remember that this is just as much the time for reviewing financial matters and minimizing taxes as it is for basting turkeys and buying gifts.
Tax savings and other financial advantages of charitable giving loom especially large for older Americans who can benefit from current rates of charitable gift annuities, which are always subject to change.
Charitable gift annuities allow donors to contribute cash or other assets to charities in exchange for fixed lifetime payments.
Cash and checks are by far the most common donation for those seeking to reduce taxes while supporting a cause. In general, the IRS allows deductions on cash gifts of up to 50% of adjusted gross income. This year, because of recent Katrina-related legislation, the adjusted gross income limit has been removed for federal income tax purposes.
Donors also may deduct gifts of appreciated property, including real estate and securities.
Many less obvious ways to achieve charitable deductions are available. Those over 59-1/2 years old, for example, may withdraw from their IRAs or other tax-favored retirement plans enough to fund their charitable gifts for the year. Although they must report the income on their tax returns, they may take a corresponding deduction for the charitable gift.
Options for charitable planned giving and the corresponding tax deductions are many and varied, but donors must act now and have all paperwork completed by Dec. 31 to potentially reduce their taxes while supporting their favorite charities.
Gail Robson
Director of Gift & Estate Planning
American Cancer Society
