Soar

Re "Under SOAR, Farmland May Sprout Schools," March 14. Can we make a rule? All future news articles that address potential Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources fallout issues must contain at least one paragraph discussing how the issue has already played out in established "SOAR counties" such as Napa. Granted, Ventura County contains unique sociopolitical environs, but haven't other counties up north had to establish new schools since their SOAR passage? What actual effects have they experienced?

WASHINGTON - The richest 7% of American families saw their average wealth soar 28% from 2009 to 2011, while the remaining households lost 4% of their net worth over the same period, according to a new report. The analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Research Center draws on the most recent statistics on wealth. The findings throw into stark relief the dramatically uneven nature of the recovery. The economy officially emerged from recession in mid-2009, and since then, affluent families have benefited handsomely from recovering stock prices and surging gains in bonds.

The proposed Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources (SOAR) initiative would not restrict or take property rights, as opponents claim. SOAR would make a simple majority of the voters the authoritative body to approve rezoning agricultural and open-space land. SOAR opponents would have us believe that county residents do not know what is best for them. It apparently does not matter that the residents collectively have vastly more knowledge and experience than the handful of "experts" who currently control the rezoning process.

The nation's airlines reported more delayed flights and a higher rate of mishandled luggage in February while complaints by passengers jumped nearly 30%. Meanwhile, complaints against airport security agents dropped slightly. Airlines reported an on-time arrival rate of 79.6% in February, compared with an 86.2% rate in the same month in 2012, according to statistics released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The rate of delayed or mishandled bags grew to three bags for every 1,000 passengers in February from a rate of 2.64 bags in the same month last year, according to the federal agency.

There is something very ironic in the picture of jubilant Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources (SOAR) supporters wearing farmers' hats while carting their petitions to the courthouse. How many of those people are actually farmers? How many of those would be excited to see the investment [in] their land devalued? How many of those would be thrilled to know that if they could no longer make a profit in their business and would have to sell, they could not--for there would be no buyers?

Nice idea, saving open space in Ventura County. What is the price? Should government intrude into how land is used? Is it possible that limiting development will drive up prices to a point where sales of existing homes will become prohibitive? Although I live in Los Angeles, I dream of retiring to Ventura or Oxnard. That won't happen for me and many others if SOAR is passed. How far is it to Santa Maria? DON EVANS Los Angeles

Rep. Brad Sherman, indicating his support for the SOAR initiatives, was quoted on Sept. 3 as saying, "I know the difference between Van Nuys and Westlake and it should be kept that way." I oppose SOAR. Following is part of my letter to the congressman: Do you really believe Van Nuys would be as it is if it were developed under the myriad of current local, state and federal planning laws and controls now in effect? I think not. As you know, most of these laws were enacted post-1970, and most of Van Nuys developed pre-1970.

I would like to commend The Times for its attention to the potential impacts that the Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources measures could have on affordable housing in Thousand Oaks and Ventura County. It is time to focus on what ballot box planning measures really do and not be taken in with simplistic answers. Richard Francis said in an Aug. 19 article that housing wouldn't be a concern if SOAR passed. He said that each SOAR measure contains "an exemption for affordable housing."

Re "SOAR Buys Us Time," editorial, Nov. 8. In reading about the newly approved Save Open Space and Agricultural Resources measures, I was annoyed that the article ignored the reason that most of the families live in these smaller bedroom communities. We all moved out here because city life didn't provide the parks and large backyards that the smaller communities of Ventura County provide. In a perfect world there would be enough space for all of those to build their stacking apartments and others to build their large open parks.

It has long been the contention of the Ventura County Economic Development Assn. [VCEDA] that county Measure B, known as SOAR, is full of dangerous loopholes and unanticipated consequences. The self-serving proponents of Measure B are proposing rigid city urban restriction boundaries [CURBs] without any financial or physical impact study or public input. Voters are asked to simply ratify schemes that will affect the county's economic and social fabric for the next 20 to 30 years by approving arbitrary and rigid boundaries around our cities.

Candice Glover showed us -- twice -- why she undoubtedly belongs in the top three on "American Idol" on Wednesday night, no matter what Jimmy Iovine and the judges (save for Mariah Carey) said last week. In fact, the South Carolina 23-year-old soul singer proved she's right up there with Kree Harrison (sorry, Angie Miller and Amber Holcomb) as a worthy contender to win the whole thing. If I had to rank the remaining contestants at this point -- in terms of my own favorites-- it would look something like this: 1 and 2 (in no particular order)

SAN FRANCISCO -- Is mobile clicking for Facebook Inc.? Facebook's initial public stock offering in May was dashed after the social network said it wasn't making "any significant revenue" from mobile even though more than half of its users checked the service on mobile devices. With its stock price plunging, Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged in September: "We've had a bunch of missteps" in mobile. But in the background, Facebook has already powered up the turbo boosters.

This has been a bad couple of months for Boeing Co.'s 787 Dreamliner, but not for the company's stock price. Despite the January grounding of the Dreamliner by the Federal Aviation Administration, investors drove up shares of the aircraft maker to territory it had not seen since 2008. Boeing stock is up about 14% this year. FULL COVERAGE: Boeing's troubled Dreamliner The upswing has been fueled by confidence that the Dreamliner will soon be cleared to resume passenger flights, a move that would allow Boeing to deliver 787s to carriers worldwide.

Take a spin over Long Beach or Burbank in a World War II B-17 bomber and get an inkling of what U.S. servicemen experienced during active duty. Passengers who board the vintage aircraft, called the Movie Memphis Belle, can tour the glass nose, cockpit, bomb bay and gunner stations while in the air. "The flight in the B-17 is hands-on history, our heritage, not in mothballs or the pages of a dusty book," Scott Maher, director of operations for the Georgia-based Liberty Foundation , said in an email.

Hollywood remains a hot global commodity, according to a new industry report. Global movie ticket sales soared to new heights last year, climbing 6% to $34.7 billion, fueled mainly by growth in international box office revenue, according to a report by the Motion Picture Assn. of America, the chief lobbying arm for the major studios. International ticket sales reached $23.9 billion, up 6% compared to 2011 and up 32% over five years ago, driven by growth in Russia, Brazil, and China, which last year surpassed Japan as the world's largest international box office market for movies, the MPAA said in its annual survey of the industry.  China had $2.7 billion in movie ticket sales last year, while Japan had $2.4 billion.

JERUSALEM - Evoking the Jewish people's biblical struggle for freedom, President Obama called upon Israelis Thursday to sweep aside deep skepticism and embrace a Palestinian state as the only way to guarantee their nation's future. In a soaring speech in Jerusalem that was billed as the main event of his three-day Holy Land trip, Obama said in an auditorium of cheering university students that as the generation of Israel's founding fathers fades, it falls to them to write the young nation's next chapter.

Even before dawn breaks, workers at the lumberyard in Lynwood were bustling around, getting a move on the day. Men in yellow safety vests drove flatbed trucks stacked to the brim with planks of wood. Others were buzzing around in forklifts, ferrying more boards. It's a scene that had John Cencak smiling in satisfaction and relief. After years of anxiously waiting for the economy to rebound, the vice president of Jones Wholesale Lumber Cos. was seeing an upswing. "You see this new truck?"

Gun maker Smith & Wesson Holdings Corp. said its fiscal third-quarter earnings more than tripled from the previous year as Americans hurried to purchase firearms amid wrangling by lawmakers around the country over stricter weapons laws. Covering the three months ended Jan. 31, the results span a period in which a mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school that left 20 children dead elevated the national conversation on firearm restrictions. In response, some gun advocates have rushed to buy firearms in anticipation of tighter laws controlling the sale of guns and ammunition.