Even worse is the reason for the parking lot — to divert the extra parking that comes with the expansion of John Wayne Airport.
To not understand why that's troublesome is to not understand the history of the airport. Residents near John Wayne and beyond in Newport Beach have for years clamored for and won controls over the airport and its accompanying noise. They fought valiantly to convert the closed El Toro Marine Corps air station into an airport to alleviate the pressures on John Wayne to no avail.
To lose a valued recreational spot in the golf course to the creep of the airport would be a clear slap in the face to Newport Beach, not to mention the owners of the golf course who have built a thriving business that would be taken away.
Airport officials need to abandon this ill-conceived and unfair proposition now. They should do the fair and correct thing and renew the lease on the golf course and seek space for more parking elsewhere.
To do otherwise will spark the wrath of not only golfers, but of the entire Newport-Mesa community — something we're sure the airport leaders don't want.
A right idea sends the wrong message
When some Newport-Mesa Unified School District teachers recently called in sick to send a message to administrators as they negotiate pay increases, they sent a message to their students too.
And it was a poor one.
The teachers were telling their kids that their education is a pawn in the struggle with their bosses for a pay hike. Certainly, we understand that wasn't the message they meant to send, but we can't help but feel that's the one many kids and their parents got.
We fully support the teachers in their push for a raise. It's inexcusable that our teachers are the lowest paid compared with Orange County's other unified school districts, especially in a district with so many affluent residents.
