One good Turner deserves another

Bill Turner’s commentary, “Wasting an asset at El Toro” on Tuesday,

expresses well the anger and bitterness many of us feel about the El

Toro airport “give-away.” How Orange County and the federal

government can sanction such a destructive course of action is

amazing.

Additional information about the motives of some of the

anti-airport forces explain the situation better. Irvine’s plan is to

develop about 3,000 acres of former Marine base land. Because of its

location, this property -- when fully developed -- is estimated to be

valued at about $20 million per acre, or $60 billion total.

Unmentioned in most reports is the freeing of the 14,000-acre

buffer zone. Using the same estimated value after development, this

comes to $280 billion.

These sums will accrue to a few wealthy developers and provide

more income to the city of Irvine. However, the taxpayers will have

to foot the bill for excess traffic generated by these developments,

congestion and environmental costs.

Nevertheless, the need for the El Toro airport continues to rise.

Without it, there will be shortfall of nearly 20% in airport

capacity.

SHIRLEY A. CONGER

Corona del Mar

In “Wasting an asset at El Toro” in Tuesday’s Forum section,

author Bill Turner once again rehashes the same tired, stale

assortment of distortions, misstatements and lies spewed by the

county and Newport Beach for the last decade.

However, the underlying message in his essay is crystal clear to

anyone who has followed the El Toro battle with even casual interest.

When the results of an election favor Newport-Mesa, as did Measure A,

it is a voter “mandate;” no matter how narrow the margin of victory.

But when the same voters reject the Newport-Mesa agenda -- with

passage of measures F and W, the defeat of Supervisor Cynthia Coad,

tackling of illegal campaign spending by Newport Beach and the Orange

County Local Agency Formation Commission approval of El Toro’s

annexation to Irvine -- the decisions were always made by

ill-informed, incompetent voters hoodwinked by South County.

Turner needs to return to his high school civics books to remind

himself that our democratic system was designed to be the voice of

all citizens, and is not a failure when Newport-Mesa doesn’t get its

way.

RICHARD SODEN

Lake Forest