READERS RESPOND -- Why the discrepancy between Newport Beach and

county opinion on El Toro?

I’m not so impressed by the apparent discrepancy in opinions of the

proposed El Toro airport, as expressed by citizens of Newport Beach and

Costa Mesa compared with those countywide. People in general don’t want

to live next to an airport.

The citizens of Orange County need to take three steps regarding

future airport transportation:

1. Work to maintain the restrictions on numbers of flights and times

of flights out of John Wayne Airport.

2. Work to ensure that the proposed El Toro airport is never built.

3. Use the funds that would have been spent to develop an airport at

El Toro or to expand John Wayne Airport to build a light-rail

transportation system to the Ontario airport. The Ontario airport is

underutilized, and evidence indicates that that airport is looking for

additional activity.

RICHARD ROBERTSON

Costa Mesa

As Regis Philbin might ask George Argyros and the millionaire

developers of Newport Beach about the airport at El Toro: “Do you want to

do a 50-50 or call someone with your last lifeline? So, is that your

final, final answer?”

RON WINSHIP

Newport Beach

In my opinion, one of the reasons is that the Newport Beach survey was

unreliable, inaccurate and biased in its formulation and execution.

According to the article (“Survey says residents welcome El Toro,” June

21), the survey was requested by and paid for by the city of Newport

Beach.

The city is spending more than $3 million to promote an El Toro

airport.

Citizens for the Jobs and the Economy, a pro-El Toro group oversaw the

polling. Do you honestly think the city and a pro-El Toro group would

formulate, conduct and publish a survey that was unfavorable to them? A

little study of the mailings and ads of the pro-El Toro group will show

widespread distortions of facts, inappropriate extrapolations of data,

misleading arguments and out-of-context quotes.

Bruce Nestande, president of the pro-airport group, refused to reveal

the name of the polling firm that conducted the survey. How can we

determine the reliability and credentials of this unnamed firm? The phone

survey was conducted with 250 households. No information is given as to

how these households were selected. Is it possible that the unnamed

firm used a reverse telephone directory to select addresses most

adversely affects by John Wayne Airport for their survey?

The Daily Pilot should also be faulted for again using inaccurate and

misleading headlines and news reports. Contrary to the headlines in the

June 26 Community Forum, it was not 80% of the city’s residents but 80%

of the 250 responses reported in the telephone survey that were in favor

of an airport at El Toro and continued restrictions at JWA.

WAYNE J. SUBCASKY

Newport Beach

Who’s kidding who, or trying to?

There’s no discrepancy. It’s because of the slick media and millions

from some of the South County cities and the zealots who administrate

them. The whole program is about money, greed and 18,000 acres that the

above people want to develop. Wake up, Orange Countians, and smell the

coffee.

CORTLAND SPARRE

Balboa Peninsula