Southern California Regional Airport Authority

The County Board of Supervisors, ending a long holdout, is expected to vote today to join the regional planning organization that is searching for a place for a new Southland airport. The board turned down an invitation to join the Southern California Regional Airport Authority years ago, but the supervisors commissioned their own study group to investigate Orange County airport proposals.

The effort to create a regional network of airports -- a concept designed to take the pressure off Los Angeles International Airport -- has collapsed again. Three members of the Southern California Regional Airport Authority, the only three who bothered to join, agreed this week to pull the plug. "We need to move on," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, who added that most of the problems at the agency stemmed from a refusal by Orange and Riverside counties to participate.

The effort to create a regional network of airports -- a concept designed to take the pressure off Los Angeles International Airport -- has collapsed again. Three members of the Southern California Regional Airport Authority, the only three who bothered to join, agreed this week to pull the plug. "We need to move on," said Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe, who added that most of the problems at the agency stemmed from a refusal by Orange and Riverside counties to participate.

It was a fitting epitaph. When asked recently what had become of a 17-year-old agency created to resolve Southern California's airport capacity woes, City Councilman Hal Bernson swung his right hand up and then down in a crash-and-burn motion. The Southern California Regional Airport Authority has disappeared from the radar -- again. In 1985, and again in 1991, lawmakers concerned about the inevitability of an air-traffic jam tried to get the agency off the ground.

A majority of the five county supervisors say they will support a proposal to rejoin the Southern California Assn. of Governments, a powerful regional planning organization that Orange County left in 1989. The suggestion to rejoin the group and begin paying dues again came from Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, who asked the board to take that step in order to ensure that the county does not lose its voice on regional issues such as transportation, air quality and growth management.

It was a fitting epitaph. When asked recently what had become of a 17-year-old agency created to resolve Southern California's airport capacity woes, City Councilman Hal Bernson swung his right hand up and then down in a crash-and-burn motion. The Southern California Regional Airport Authority has disappeared from the radar -- again. In 1985, and again in 1991, lawmakers concerned about the inevitability of an air-traffic jam tried to get the agency off the ground.

Councilman Henry W. Wedaa said he will seek reelection in November. He has been active in the region's clean-air efforts, serving on the South Coast Air Quality Management District board in various capacities. He is now vice chairman of the Air Quality board. Wedaa is also chairman of the Southern California Assn. of Governments aviation committee and serves on the Southern California Regional Airport Authority. Wedaa, 66, has served on the City Council since 1970.

The Times made a big mistake in heading Lars De Jounge's letter (Feb. 23) "El Toro Logical Choice for Commercial Air Use, Maybe as Low-Security Prison." Nothing could be further from the truth, as it was studied by the airport site coalition and rejected completely more than two years ago. Even Congress voted against joint use. The only site approved in all of Southern California that meets all the criteria for the sorely needed international airport to serve the four southern counties is at the beachfront of Las Pulgas Canyon halfway between San Clemente and Oceanside.

The new airport noise regulations adopted by the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday reinforce what nearly everyone already knows: Orange County needs a new facility to relieve John Wayne Airport. But that's where the consensus ends. For years, the Board of Supervisors has resisted efforts to build a new local airport, arguing that George Air Force Base in the desert near Victorville is a better idea because it is closing soon.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe is warning that any plan to expand Los Angeles International Airport that includes extending a runway into the Westchester business district is unacceptable. Knabe, whose district includes communities around LAX, praised Los Angeles Mayor James K. Hahn for taking a new approach to expansion of the airport.

County Supervisor Thomas F. Riley said Tuesday that he will try to persuade neighboring officials to choose San Bernardino County as home to a regional airport because he does not believe any workable sites exist in Orange County. Riley will attend his first meeting today in Ontario as the county's representative to the Southern California Regional Airport Authority.

A majority of the five county supervisors say they will support a proposal to rejoin the Southern California Assn. of Governments, a powerful regional planning organization that Orange County left in 1989. The suggestion to rejoin the group and begin paying dues again came from Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, who asked the board to take that step in order to ensure that the county does not lose its voice on regional issues such as transportation, air quality and growth management.

Continued expansion of Los Angeles International Airport should be blocked to avoid increasing smog, noise pollution and traffic congestion in the area, City Council President Pat Russell said Thursday. Russell, who represents the area surrounding the airport, urged the council to take a more active role with other agencies in pushing for expansion of other area airports to lighten the load on the nation's third-busiest airport.