BeaconMediaNews.com
4 MARCH 5, 2012 - MARCH 11, 2012
El Monte Marks Leap Year with a To Gain Control or Not to Gain Control: The Ontario Airport Ongoing Controversy Blood Drive By Krishna Rajagopalan
Donor Nancy Penunuri and technician Jesus Guzman at the blood drive. -Photo by Dena Burroughs
El Monte did not waste the extra day brought along by the leap year. Instead, by 7 a.m. on Wednesday technicians and volunteers were set up for the blood drive, scheduled until 1 p.m. at the Grace T. Black Auditorium, to benefit the American Red Cross. Around 9 a.m. Nancy Penunuri rested on a gurney as technician Jesus Guzman prepared her to donate
blood. It was rather quiet around them, but this blood drive promised to be even more successful than the last one back in September. This time close to 60 people had set appointments to donate and more were expected as walk-ins. It is always a selfless act to invest the time and the physical resources to help out the Red Cross, but it must be said that, in appreciation, the
City of El Monte had some nifty “thank-yous” for the donors, who were to walk away with tickets to the Grammy Museum in downtown LA, tickets for an LA Galaxy game, and for free food at Mimi’s Café. And, as in past times, this blood drive was a joint effort supported by the local businesses that provided coffee, pastries, and fruit to keep the donors strong.
The recent controversy between the Ontario Airport and Los Angeles World Airports has stirred up quite a bit of discussion. For a while, Los Angeles World Airports, which owns Ontario Airport, has been charging very high passenger fees, which turns off potential Ontario Airport passengers. Those passengers end up going to LAX because passenger fees are dramatically lower at LAX than at Ontario Airport. Ontario Airport officials are concerned that their airport may be forced to shut down if this trend continues. Los Angeles World Airport officials instead blame the current recession and changing business models for the lack of passengers at Ontario Airport. However, LAX refuses to give up control because it wants to use those funds from Ontario to modernize LAX. Passengers who live in South El Monte will have to commute to LAX, which is much farther for them than Ontario Airport. Currently, residents in the San Gabriel Valley, particularly South El Monte and Monrovia, use Ontario Airport as their choice for travel. The San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership met on Feb. 1st to
execute a strategy of support for the city of Ontario to gain control of the airport, but nothing has been decided. Ontario officials argue that an estimated 8,000 airport-related jobs and $400 million in yearly business activity have been lost. For travelers, Ontario was a popular discount airport before the economic crash. Now, there are 47% fewer flights and about 60% fewer destinations. If Ontario Airport becomes busier as a result of Ontario gaining control over their airport, Los Angeles World Airport officials fear that that LAX may lose business. Four years ago, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said that the savings from closing Palmdale Airport — an estimated $7 annually — would go towards Ontario International Airport , yet nothing has come of that plan. In addition, the idea of Ontario taking control of its own airport has the support of twenty agencies including the Southern California Association of Governments, a powerful regional planning agency. After three decades of stable growth and earning a Forbes rating as one of the nation's top "alternative airports," Ontario In-
ternational is now among the fastest declining midsize airports in the country. Recently, a business passenger was traveling out of Ontario International, and was shocked to see an empty terminal and turned to the skycap who said that the airport was indeed open. All of the food outlets and shops were closed, and there were very few passengers in the middle of the day. The airport is expected to lose an additional 200,000 passengers, setting it back to the 1987 levels when Ronald Reagan was president. To put it into perspective, nationally, Cincinnati is the only airport losing passengers at this rate. Inland Empire officials argue that while Los Angeles has had 12.4% to 13% unemployment, LAX has still managed to grow. Their efforts to reclaim the ownership of Ontario Airport has been galvanized by their disillusionment with Los Angeles World Airports that acquired Ontario Airport virtually free in 1985 (after operating it for nearly two decades). Ultimately, a compromise must be reached between the two entities in order for them to best meet the needs of their passengers.
City of El Monte Temporarily Suspends Commission Meetings Until July 1 The city of El Monte has temporarily suspended discretionary commission meetings in order to evaluate their effectiveness to ensure city government functions optimally, particularly during this economic downturn. Letters will be sent over the next few days to current commissioners, thanking them for their years of service, but also informing them of the city’s desire to realign the commissions to the city’s current needs and objectives. Over the last few years, the city has undertaken a number of initiatives designed to streamline local government and adjust staff assignments to better
serve the community’s residents and businesses. The efforts have also served to decrease city government costs during this economic downturn, while keeping budgetary hits away from community programs. In keeping with these efforts to create more efficient and effective government operations, the city is now taking a look at discretionary Commissions to determine whether their scope and work plans are in line with current city needs. To this end, the city will also evaluate fiscal impacts of Commissions and the requisite staffing through the end of the fiscal year. Commissions under review include the
Beautification Committee, Community Cultural Commission, Community Services, Veterans and Homeless Affairs and the Patriotic Commission. The City Council has set a deadline of July1 to ensure the process is addressed in a timely manner. The City, however, will continue to accept applications from persons interested in serving on one of El Monte’s Commissions once meetings resume. Applications are available in the City Manager’s Office in City Hall, 11333 Valley Boulevard, El Monte, or available to download on the City’s web site: www.elmonteca. gov.