“Rick, I could not believe your meek and mild response to the passage of Measure F. Where is the strut, the boosterism? You teased your readers with a promise of your own proposal. Please don’t offer some version of “Why can’t we all get along?”
Could it be that you are so busy with the CHOC Follies that you have just run out of steam?
Unfortunately, the county (Mittermeier and BOS) have done such a bad job that the project may be dead. But I tend to think of this as just the start of a new phase in the long saga.
Bill Mitchell
Lawyer
Tustin
Editor’s Note: My proposal is on the page opposite.
It would appear that the election results demonstrated that this El Toro airport idea isn’t nearly as popular as supervisors Coad, Smith and Silva tried to sell.
It clearly wasn’t just the eight “South County cities.” Only two cities out of 33 approved it and Costa Mesa was about 51%-49% opposed. That only left Newport Beach solidly voting against Measure F. Should this county be run by what the majority in one city want, even if it is the home of George Argyros? Why do our elected officials have such a hard time understanding the will of the people?
As for your Feb. 21 editorial extolling the benefits of an El Toro airport through the elimination of a “John Wayne airport tax” and cost savings associated with having a close-by airport: What makes you so sure that there wouldn’t be an “El Toro airport tax”? You can rest assured that whatever the projected costs for building El Toro Airport, the final costs will be substantially higher. As far as the “convenience cost,” I now have that with JWA.
The fact is that “quality of life” also has an economic factor. I think that the quality-of-life costs associated with an El Toro commercial airport far outweigh the cost benefits you raised in your editorial.
Rolf Neuschaefer
Dana Point
A university geared to computer, biomed and other sciences on the site where the El Toro Marine Air Station once resided would promote more high-tech companies to move into the area. They need skilled people to fill the jobs they bring with them. Not only does a university provide these types of employees after they graduate, but even beforehand they are a good source for cheap labor, providing the student good work experience and helping the employer and future employee to see what each has to offer. The university can also do research for the companies in the area.
Science is on the edge of making more discoveries in the next 10 years in medicine, biology and computers than ever before. All of us working in the technology fields find it very hard to keep up. So, can you imagine the effect a new university in place of the El Toro airport would have on our community and the world?
The Marines left behind a record of great achievements. I believe the replacement for them could equally bring pride and recognition for future records of great achievements. Our imagination is the only limit to our future. And, of course, good sound judgment in choosing the proper course for the future development of this land.
Ron Grater
Software engineering consultant
Rancho Santa Margarita
The Colton Case
Dave Colton’s profession of innocence in the Hill Williams matter, as reported in Murray Coleman’s March 6 article, is ludicrous. Dave Colton was charged with a $23.6 million judgment in the eyes of the court.
I smell a rat. Remember, Dave Colton’s judgment was larger than Don Williams’ $20 million judgment. Dave had the specific job of managing underwriter as a broker/dealer to raise all the capital through the broker/dealer network and be responsible for the collateral behind the notes sold to the public. Ultimately, the notes were sacrificed as the collateral backing the notes was inflated to complete value, not actual value.
The depression of the early 1990s did not aid in Don Williams’ master plan to develop assets. Nevertheless, the attempt to provide the court with a jailhouse letter is repugnant and insulting to all who really know the story. We paid the price for this folly!
Thomas E. Burns III and Nancy K. Burns
Registered principal and investors
Lake Forest
