Weekend Housekeeping

It's time for a little weekend housekeeping, following up on a few earlier posts.

CIVIL WAR RE-ENACTMENT PUSHED BACK TO THE FALL
In an earlier post I mentioned that the Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commission would hear a proposal from a couple groups of Civil War "re-enacters" to provide a weekend-long event at Fairview Park the first weekend of April. At the time I thought that weekend might be pushing the envelope. It turns out I was correct.

During the presentation it was determined that the short time between now and the beginning of April didn't give adequate time for all the necessary permits, etc. So, this extravaganza has been pushed out to October of this year. Actually, considering the proximity to the elections in November, that might be a perfect time for this event. The way recent election campaigns have gone in this city, it might be looking a lot like Civil War in our town by that time.

BACK TO SQUARE ONE ON ANNEXATION
Regarding the probable annexation by Newport Beach of the Santa Ana Country Club and nearby neighborhoods - all of which currently reside in Costa Mesa's sphere of influence - things have taken a new twist. Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman John Moorlach - a Costa Mesa resident - has decided to stall the proceedings by not putting forward the tax plans essential to this process.
COLD WATER ON EMOTIONS
So, after the shouts of glee by the members of the country club, their neighbors and most residents of Newport Beach and the wailing and gnashing of teeth by Costa Mesa officials, we're back to square one. That means all that rancor that was created by this issue between our two cities went for naught. The residents and country club are stuck in no-man's-land and remain islands of country territory. The animosity between our two city councils has intensified, as witnessed by recent public pronouncements of some elected officials, and we still have a truck-load of common-interest projects ahead of us. And, of course, this scab will be ripped off again if and when the annexation issue is re-visited.

MOORLACH ON A ROLL - AWG NEEDS BETTER PR
That self-same person, John Moorlach, then told the assembled masses at the Airport Working Group annual meeting that they needed a better public relations effort regarding the possible (probable) expansion of John Wayne Airport. That cavalier assessment of their efforts certainly rankled attendees, but he might be right. Negotiations for an extension of the current caps on the airport cannot even begin until 2011. I'm sure most of the hard-working attendees at the meeting hoped Moorlach would stand up and say he was going to fight, tooth and nail, to prohibit any further expansion of the airport. He didn't do that. You can read Joe Bell's column on the subject HERE.

HOLD YOUR NOSE AND "GO LOCAL"
So, those of us currently being adversely affected by the present traffic load need to take the lead and ramp up the rhetoric and help find alternatives to the expansion of John Wayne Airport. We need to find alternatives to the current scheme - something called "Go Local" - that would attempt to entice us to climb aboard crowded, smelly buses to airports in the hinterlands - San Bernardino and Ontario - instead of boarding flights at John Wayne for our exotic destinations.

THE CAMP PENDLETON ALTERNATIVE
One alternative, the creation of a regional international airport at Camp Pendleton, has been espoused by myself and another local blog writer for a couple years. As distasteful as it is for me to agree with anything that guy says, he's got it right this time. It makes a lot of sense, since it could resolve traffic volume problems not only for John Wayne Airport, but San Diego's Lindbergh Field, too. So far, that proposal has gotten nowhere.

THE GREAT FIASCO, ER, PARK FALTERS
And, of course, the great frustration in all this is that there sits El Toro, runways still 98% intact, just waiting to be converted into an International Airport! Rumors of the financial difficulties and potential demise of the successful bidder, Lennar, only add to that frustration. And, the ongoing allegations of corruption swirling around the whole Great Fiasco, er, Park further add to it. Maybe we can make a deal with the Emperor Agran. Maybe we can agree to name the new airport at El Toro for him. Do you think that might assuage his ego enough that he will throw in the towel and support the best use of that chunk of Orange County? Nah, neither do I.

That's it for now....