Cox keeps Newport in dredging projects

Rep. Chris Cox may have helped sink plans for an airport at the

former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station -- though, to be fair, he did

help ink the John Wayne Airport Settlement Agreement extension -- but

he’s made sure that Newport Beach boaters have no problems navigating

the city’s waterways.

Heck, call him Mr. Dredging. Cox, like in past years, continues to

find federal funding for dredging projects in Newport Beach. The

latest, roughly $2 million, will dredge waterways in Newport Harbor

and dredge to help restore the ecology of the Back Bay.

Cox also secured another $1 million toward a cover for the Big

Canyon Reservoir.

Cox’s dredging efforts have been noticed -- so noticed that

leaders of Newport Beach, as well as of the county, toasted the

14-year congressman last month against a Back Bay backdrop.

It was there that he said, “This is, in fact, a celebration of the

return of a significant portion of our tax dollars back home. We have

been more successful in the past year obtaining federal funding for

Newport Beach than in all my years in Congress.”

And that has been Cox’s strength in Congress: helping return

Newport Beach taxes to Newport for mostly dredging projects.

In October 2000, the congressman helped ferry legislation through

the House that will give the city $21 million over the next two

decades to consistently remove sediment from the bay.

What Cox’s efforts do is alleviate at least one worry from the

minds of city officials. Instead of searching for money for dredging

projects, Cox constantly sends through legislation with a million

here and a million there.

Cox has become the go-to guy when it comes to water-related

projects in Newport Beach and, for that, he should constantly be

applauded.