I thought the new pattern was required for safer spacing at LAX and that it was a regulation.

Sent.

I'm thinking it's only a matter of time before we get a radioactive waste dump.

Why not?

Venice seems to be a dumping ground for everything else.

It appears that the Santa Monica Airport Survey is no longer on the VNC website – sorry about the false alert…

Be Alert!

The world needs more lerts

Rick

The FAA decision will, apparently, be based on factors unrelated to the noise situation, but yes, the FAA has said (in a letter responding to Henry Waxman's  letter to the FAA opposing the test pattern, posted on his website) that the test pattern resulted in fewer delays at LAX and at SMO.  So far, then, this test pattern seems to be presenting a real opportunity to finally get more of the impacts from Santa Monica Airport back where they belong:  in Santa Monica.

But the City of Santa Monica is relentless in protecting its interests, and even if you've seen other battles with Santa Monica over other issues, wait until you see them in action on this Airport!  They will use everything they've got to make sure the noise and pollution is kept out of Santa Monica.

The FAA, like all federal agencies, bends to political pressures from the Congress.  Waxman (representing Santa Monica and points east, of course) has already written a letter to the FAA against the test pattern.  Jane Harman (representing Venice and points south)  needs to represent her constituents and write a similar letter to the FAA supporting the test pattern.  That's why the email to her is especially important!

The reason Venice continues to be the dumping ground of choice for whatever you want to get rid of is lack of political pressure.  So we need to apply some! 

The pomposity of Santa Monicans is endless.  They bought those homes in Sunset Park knowing full well that planes flew over them and then got together and got it switched to have them fly over Venice and here we are fighting to send them back.  Yuck.  Does anyone remember not that long ago, when they opened their new "doggy park" at the east end of Santa Monica Airport that borders Mar Vista…and a few people who lived "across the line" in Mar Vista took their dogs to the park and were ousted because only people who could show proof of living in Santa Monica could enter the park… OMG … Luckily the folks who were ousted went to the LA Times etc and the story shone an ugly light on Santa Monica being the westside snobs.

Thing is, Santa Monica has Santa Monica Daily Newspaper to help it's residents organize.

Venice just has The Beachturd.

"Last month, the Ocean Park Association and the Friends of Sunset Park, the neighborhood groups that represent the areas closest to the airport, together spent $1,300 on fliers that went to 10,000 households, notifying residents about the flight test and explaining how to submit noise complaints, said Zina Josephs, chair of Friends of Sunset Park."

http://www.smdp.com/Articles-c…..t_SMO.html

Snap!

Here's the contact person in Harman's office who is handling this issue.  It will be interesting to see how vigorously they represent Venice, given Waxman's public posture on this.  Just click and email ASAP!

Diane.Moss@mail.house.gov

I sent the following e-mail to Diane in Rep. Harmon's office. There have been a number of people in the community pushing to get some relief from the plane noise in Venice. Apparently, there was a time when the flight paths were more over Santa Monica, but the residents there were able to lobby to move them over Venice….another example of Vencie being the dumping ground for West side problems.

Great email to Harman's staffer!  And yes, this issue is indeed a bear, but this test pattern provides a real opportunity to get more of the SMO air traffic out of Venice!

Also, yes, there have been periods when fewer of the SMO impacts have been dumped on Venice:  in the '80s, a new flight path was negotiated with the City of Santa Monica (only because of enormous political pressure from the City of Los Angeles, primarily resulting from an uprising in Venice!). We called for complete elimination of the immediate (and dangerous) left hand turn upon departure, over the Penmar Golf Course, which is how Santa Monica gets most of the planes over Venice.  We ended up having to compromise with a "fan pattern," which split the departures between Santa Monica and Venice….not ideal, but the best we could do at the time.  Even this compromise, though, was fought tooth and nail in Santa Monica, needless to say, and was short lived, as Santa Monica apparently shelved the "fan pattern," without public notice, when no one (least of all in the Council office at the time) was paying attention.

The issue is a bear only because Santa Monica does whatever it takes to keep the planes outside Santa Monica.  Even compromises (like the "fan pattern" was) are subverted.

Maybe this will be different?  Following is the press release sent out by Bill Rosendahl, just yesterday, before the plane crash, urging that the test pattern be made permanent.  Support like this could make all the difference, but the pressure must be kept up on Jane Harman, who has to step up to the plate and vigorously advocate for her Venice constituents in the same way that Henry Waxman does for his Santa Monica constituents.   And don't forget to email Santa Monica, who by agreement with the FAA will be compiling the input they receive for forwarding to the FAA.  Those addresses again:

Harman:  Diane.Moss@mail.house.gov

Santa Monica:  noise@smgov.net

This is an on-going battle since the 1960s that peaked in the late 1970's with the Federal Court compromise. I always found it remarkable that Santa Monica residents didn't scream and yell when Douglas Aircraft were producing and delivering production  commercial airplanes including DC-3's DC-4's, DC-6's and some DC-7's, all taking off from Santa Monica Airport. Maybe it's because many of them were employed at Douglas. Those larger planes are the reason the runway was lengthened in the early 1950's and 4 engine prop planes for sure shook those SM homes pretty substantially. I personally remember.  But the folks who moved in after Douglas moved their operations to Long Beach have been the screamers against the planes. They were the ones that basically forced the planes to migrate south over Venice in the Federal Court compromise.

Then there are the jets which are so inefficient idling  that they produce a neighborhood wide smell of a thousand charcoal barbecues being started at once with charcoal lighter fluid. It stinks, and I can't blame the folks who live east of the airport. Every extra minute of breathing those fumes is nauseating. so get them off the ground quick. so the new FAA rules would be at least better for them.

Traditionally only the piston engine put-puts were supposed to make a course correction and fly over the Penmar Golf Course  and out along Rose Ave. if they were using a straight out departure. This was felt to be necessary because the put-puts are so slow in comparison to the twins and jets. 

The twins and jets were supposed to use a straight out runway 21 (210 degrees of the compass) departure which would take them over Santa Monica. So all the recent brouhaha is about asking the faster jets and twins to do what they were supposed to do all along. Somewhere over the years the jets and twins stared migrating farther and farther south over Venice. What was the reason?  Some say it was to placate the SM residents, and others say it was to avoid the noise sensors. Probably it's a bit of both but when you see a jet cranking up the throttles well in advance of the coastline over Park Ave. so that you can't even speak to a person standing next to you, you know there is a problem. 

The straight out 21 departure for twins and jets actually adds space between LAX and the private planes and that is a good thing. It should take them just north of Dewey but remember most of the past and present government ruling class of SM lives in that area. Senator Sheila Kuehl lives right under that path and I'm sure she and her fellow travellers won't be too happy. 

Venice had no one looking out for them back in the original lawsuit. It will be interesting to see if Bill Rosendahl has the cojones to go against his fellow Progressives, or will we be sold out again?