Once again, Palmdale Airport ignored

Editorial Focus: The heat is on to expand Los Angeles International Airport, and once again Palmdale Regional appears to be taken lightly - if at all - in downtown L.A. It is imperative that this time the Antelope Valley get the attention of the Department of Airports - or face another 20 years of frustration.

This time the DOA put it in writing - or rather didn't. The name Palmdale shows up exactly once in the brochure, a paragraph enumerating the holdings of the Department of Airports.

The brochure's historical time line, "Los Angeles and LAX: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," recalls the election of Tom Bradley, the end of the Vietnam War and the 50th anniversary of LAX, but makes no mention of the acquisition of 17,000 acres for what was then called "Palmdale Intercontinental Airport."

No, this latest publication from the Department of Airports, slated to be the first in a series, is all about promoting expansion of L.A.'s jetport by the beach.

LAX has a non-relationship with Palmdale, and the new brochure only underscores the need for Antelope Valley people to work overtime at getting the full and undivided attention of the Los Angeles Department of Airports Commission and its staff.

It won't be easy.

Although the cadre of consultants working on the new 20-year LAX Master Plan will be falling all over themselves to receive public comment, it is only sensible to be somewhat skeptical about the way in which comment and information will be used.

If this long-range planning job is to be anything other than a public relations exercise in pushing through a foregone conclusion for massive new construction at LAX - to the detriment of everybody - Palmdale Regional Airport's part in the plan must be completely and fairly addressed by planners.

Antelope Valley's city officials, working through their regional partnership, should take a hard look at whether our region of Los Angeles County is receiving the attention it justly deserves in this long-range study. And chambers of commerce and the Antelope Valley Board of Trade need also to be involved in militating for airport planning that won't simply stop at Foothill Boulevard.

And individual citizens need to let their feelings be known on this issue as well. Dan Garcia is president of the L.A. DOA and chairman of the LAX Master Plan. Correspondence may be sent to him at: LAX Master Plan Team, P.O. Box 92216, Los Angeles, CA 90009-2216. The fax number is (310) 646-1891, and the voice number is (310) 646-7690.

It's time for the whole Antelope Valley to join the standing Palmdale Regional Airport Advisory Committee in getting LAX to follow through on developing its greatest asset.

When this new master plan is adopted, the Antelope Valley either will be an integral part of it - or kept circling the crowded LAX terminal for another 20 years.