Riordan backs airport concept at El Toro base

That statement came from Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan, who last week visited Irvine in Orange County and offered his support toward converting the El Toro Marine base into a commercial "international" airport.

This is the same top-ranked L.A. city official who is eager to stuff 40 million more people into the tight sausage skin that is Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

The mayor is working to boost the L.A. Basin economy by creating more traffic and more positions at LAX. The quote at the top of this column from Riordan refers to the "need" for jobs in Orange County.

Antelope Valley, half of which is in Los Angeles County, has an even more serious need for jobs. It's estimated that 47,000 AV residents drive to their work in L.A. The Palmdale Regional Airport could create thousands of badly needed jobs early in the 21st century.

(Antelope Valley does not have any environmentalist multimillionaires who sit in their beach houses.)

Years ago, Los Angeles had a mayor named Sam Yorty who frequently traveled to foreign countries. He was described as the only mayor in America who had a foreign policy.

Riordan, on the other hand, apparently sticks so close to his office in downtown City Hall that he makes news when he ventures as far as San Fernando Valley - a region that is talking seriously about breaking away from L.A. city.

Now, when he goes all the way to Orange County, it is big news.

Furthermore, it's ironic - and, frankly, disgusting and shortsighted - that Mayor Riordan is totally disinterested in the L.A. cityowned 17,400 acres of airport property at Palmdale.

We are surprised to learn he is encouraging Orange County leaders to develop El Toro for commercial airline traffic while he continues to advocate expanding 3,000acre LAX so it can increase its annual passenger count from 60 million to 100 million.

We're not sure that Mayor Riordan has ever been to Palmdale to see the sprawling high-desert airport property purchased by his city.

Inside Out hereby invites His Honor to visit Palmdale to see the Palmdale Regional Airport terminal on Air Force Plant 42 and drive across the vast reaches of the wholly-owned city property to the east.

We encourage the Palmdale Regional Airport Advisory Council to extend a formal invitation to Mayor Riordan and offer to send a limo for him. We believe that he will find travel from L.A. City Hall faster and less congested than driving deep into the heart of Orange County, or to LAX, for that matter.

Many Orange County residents oppose the commercialization of El Toro.

In the name of common sense, why not develop Palmdale Airport on land twice the size of Manhattan Island. The L.A. city-owned airport property was extensively examined in the 1970s when an environmental impact report was drawn up at great expense to Los Angeles World Airports.

Noise problems were mitigated by the expansive land acquisition project begun more than 30 years ago.

Now it's time to put that land to the best use possible for the people of Southern California.