John Wayne Airport

Airports across the country are shelving or downsizing planned expansions because of a sharp drop in passengers, yet John Wayne Airport in Orange County is proceeding with a $652-million terminal project -- its first major improvement since 1990. John Wayne officials say the project will meet future demands for air travel and maintain the airport's position as an attractive alternative to the much larger Los Angeles International Airport, which handled more than 61 million travelers last year.

If a "Snakes on a Plane" sequel is ever filmed at John Wayne Airport, actor Samuel L. Jackson had better watch his tongue -- unless a potty-mouthed dance student wins a free-speech lawsuit filed against Orange County this month. Last summer, Elizabeth Venable of Riverside was cited for disorderly conduct after she allegedly yelled numerous obscenities to a friend while exiting the airport's baggage claim area.

Disorderly-conduct charges have been dropped against a 26-year-old dance student who used profanity at John Wayne Airport, officials said. A related free-speech lawsuit challenging Orange County's law governing conduct in airports is still pending, but settlement negotiations are underway, the student's lawyer said Thursday.

Orange County is considering ripping out the back nine of a popular Newport Beach executive golf course for overflow parking at John Wayne Airport, unsettling golfers hooked on the club's convenience and inexpensive greens fees. As word quickly spread, golfers began signing petitions urging county and airport officials to keep all 18 holes of Newport Beach Golf Course in play. "More parking is a waste of space," said Doug McCready, 61, an Orange resident who has played there for decades.

Travelers using John Wayne Airport will have another nonstop option starting in September. American Airlines is adding one direct flight a day between Orange County and Austin, Texas, the Fort Worth-based carrier announced Monday. Currently the airport offers nonstop flights to 23 destinations, spokeswoman Jenny Wedge said. The airport itself is also expanding, having begun construction in December on a parking garage and a third terminal to be completed by 2010. John Wayne handles about 9.

When Orange County supervisors voted in 2004 to expand John Wayne Airport to accommodate burgeoning air travel, they had no idea that escalating energy and labor costs would far outpace their allocation. Those costs hit home Saturday, as airport officials revealed that the price of the airport's improvements has ballooned $135 million dollars over budget. Originally set to cost about $435 million, the airport's new look will now run $570 million.

Even as the concrete dried, airport planners realized the new terminals at John Wayne Airport would not be enough to support passenger growth. Now, 17 years later, the number of passengers pouring into John Wayne is setting records, and a half-billion-dollar expansion project to handle more travelers with a third terminal, added parking and a customs office to inaugurate international flights has begun. The work is expected to be completed in four years.

Rapper and actor Snoop Dogg will be picking up trash and cleaning toilets at an Orange County park to satisfy community service obligations ordered after he pleaded guilty to carrying an illegal police baton aboard an airplane at John Wayne Airport last year. Deputy Dist. Atty. Andre Manssourian said Thursday that he gave the artist a list of options available to defendants performing community service. The name of the park will not be disclosed to prevent disruptions.

A Los Angeles paving firm and a company that managed projects for Orange County's John Wayne Airport will pay $2.5 million to the county to settle a federal whistleblower lawsuit alleging that company officials conspired to pad invoices and keep the cash. At issue were paving contracts awarded to Sequel Contractors Inc. through JHTM & Associates of Orange County, which oversaw the county's airport work. The lawsuit alleged that Sequel inflated its bills by $1.

Hundreds of travelers got late starts early Monday after back-to-back power outages shut down security screenings at John Wayne Airport. The first came at 5:48 a.m., just as the day's first passengers were arriving, said Jenny Wedge, a spokeswoman for the airport. A generator kicked in, and the airport was operating on the generator when main power was lost again 15 minutes later, said a spokesman for Southern California Edison.