Salem-News.com News Feed for articles tagged with irvine www.salem-news.com 2010 The story of the proposed redevelopment of the old El Toro Marine base in Irvine, California is beginning to match our predictions from more than three years ago. The effort was bogus from day one; the base is packed with toxic chemicals and their residue and no sensible person would consider living even close to it, let alone 'on' the old wreck of a base. http://salem-news.com/articles/january252012/el-toro-tk.php http://salem-news.com/articles/january252012/el-toro-tk.php Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:32:00 PST The difference between homicide and suicide can sometimes be a close call, requiring extensive pathological review and crime scene reconstruction. However, the violent death of Marine Colonel James E. Sabow at MCAS El Toro on January 22, 1991, was a clear case of homicide. For those with knowledge of the cold case, this isn’t even a close call. http://salem-news.com/articles/december112011/sabow-folo-ro.php http://salem-news.com/articles/december112011/sabow-folo-ro.php Sun, 11 Dec 2011 14:57:00 PST Corporate polluters won two big victories recently, but you only heard about one. That was president Obama's decision to block EPA from issuing cleaner smog standards. You didn't hear about the second because, according to multiple sources, the White House worked behind the scenes to stop EPA from issuing a hazard assessment of the cancer-causing chemical TCE – and is working to effectively shut down the EPA’s program for assessing the hazards of chemicals... seriously. http://salem-news.com/articles/september132011/tce-obama.php http://salem-news.com/articles/september132011/tce-obama.php Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:23:00 PDT A Few Good Men, Too Many Chemicals tells the story of the thousands of veterans, their families and civilian workers at former MCAS El Toro and Camp Lejeune. At one time, these were two of the most hazardous military installations in the U.S. http://salem-news.com/articles/september032011/el-toro-book-ro.php http://salem-news.com/articles/september032011/el-toro-book-ro.php Sat, 03 Sep 2011 19:43:00 PDT The U.S. Army and the Korean government are using ground penetrating technology to locate hundreds of barrels of 55 gallon drums of Agent Orange and other chemicals at Camp Carroll, South Korea, according The Korea Herald. The same technology can be used by the U.S. Navy, responsible for remediation at former MCAS El Toro, to locate the buried drums of TCE/PCE. http://salem-news.com/articles/july152011/agent-radar-drum-ro.php http://salem-news.com/articles/july152011/agent-radar-drum-ro.php Fri, 15 Jul 2011 19:33:00 PDT An Open Letter To Todd Spitzer Hello, Todd? Is there anybody in there? Just nod once if you can hear me, ok? The dream that was, it just doesn’t even remotely resemble this messy interlude. The old reverie’s kaput, and taxpayers are NOT comfortably numb, we’re really angry and frustrated and confused and wondering who’ll rescue us... http://salem-news.com/articles/june102011/irvine-el-toro-rb.php http://salem-news.com/articles/june102011/irvine-el-toro-rb.php Fri, 10 Jun 2011 04:07:00 PDT The old Marine air base at El Toro is a rotting toxic mess that politicians & businesses have tried in vain to manipulate into a park and subdivision. Marines need the hand of a star player, and Erin Brockovich could really help. http://salem-news.com/articles/march072011/brockovich-el-toro-tk.php http://salem-news.com/articles/march072011/brockovich-el-toro-tk.php Mon, 07 Mar 2011 21:38:00 PST Thousands of veterans and their dependents lived and worked on military installations that are now listed as EPA Superfund sites. Former MCAS El Toro was once a proud Marine aviation base; today it is a demolished wreck. The soil and groundwater was terribly polluted over the years and many have paid the ultimate price over it. http://salem-news.com/articles/february142011/epa-superfunds-ro.php http://salem-news.com/articles/february142011/epa-superfunds-ro.php Mon, 14 Feb 2011 20:05:00 PST Twenty years ago this month, Colonel James Sabow, USMC, answered the telephone in his quarters at Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California. “Hello, Colonel Sabow. This is Colonel Sabow.” These were the last words that Sally Sabow heard her husband speak as she closed the front door of their home to attend an early morning weekday Mass in Santa Ana. http://salem-news.com/articles/january232011/sabow-death-ro.php http://salem-news.com/articles/january232011/sabow-death-ro.php Sun, 23 Jan 2011 19:24:00 PST I don’t believe in ghosts. If I ran into one or two, maybe I’d change my mind. The stories of lights in MCAS El Toro’s control tower when the power was cut off in July 1999 may be just someone’s wild imagination, but maybe they're the ghosts of Marines who served on the base and returned to haunt the place. No question there’s good reasons for haunting the former base. http://salem-news.com/articles/december272010/el-toro-wells-po.php http://salem-news.com/articles/december272010/el-toro-wells-po.php Mon, 27 Dec 2010 22:26:00 PST It has been announced that plans to destroy the runway at the old El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Irvine, California are now in reverse. The entire runway at this old base along with hangars 296 and 297 in a section of the base that formerly contained Marine Wing Support Group-37, will stay right where they are. http://salem-news.com/articles/december212010/el-toro-37.php http://salem-news.com/articles/december212010/el-toro-37.php Tue, 21 Dec 2010 20:20:00 PST The latest Orange County Great Park plans are to keep the runways and hangars at former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro in place to “dramatically reduce costs and speed up the building of Irvine’s Great Park,” according to the Voice of OC. Former MCAS El Toro is an EPA Superfund site, the base closed in July 1999, and sold at a public auction in 2005. http://salem-news.com/articles/december212010/el-toro-hangar-ro.php http://salem-news.com/articles/december212010/el-toro-hangar-ro.php Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:39:00 PST Nothing but one broken promise, one bald-faced lie after another. Can the taxpayers now file for a divorce from Irvine? Haven't we had enough Agran-vation (aggravation), why not refuse to help find the funds for this LENNAR/Agran scam anymore? As we've tried to point out, these two hangars (296 & 297) and those runways sit on some of what we believe to be the most contaminated soil on the base. http://salem-news.com/articles/december202010/no-test-rb.php http://salem-news.com/articles/december202010/no-test-rb.php Mon, 20 Dec 2010 17:06:00 PST The CEO of the 'Great Park" is charged with transforming a dangerous toxic Southern California military base, Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, into a park for children and families. Talk about one Hell of a job requirement. New information about missing money, an underling serving time in San Quentin, and a trail of unanswered questions, including years of unpaid rent to the city of San Francisco, is Mike Ellzey's most recent professional legacy. http://salem-news.com/articles/december162010/ellzey-exposed-tk-rb.php http://salem-news.com/articles/december162010/ellzey-exposed-tk-rb.php Thu, 16 Dec 2010 02:02:00 PST The debacle stemming from the now-closed and heavily contaminated El Toro Marine Corps Air Station is taking a new direction. Questions and research about the Marine Corps service record of the CEO of the 'Great Park' appear to paint an entirely different picture of a man who wants to turn the toxic base into a park for children. http://salem-news.com/articles/december132010/mike-ellzey-tet.php http://salem-news.com/articles/december132010/mike-ellzey-tet.php Mon, 13 Dec 2010 05:25:00 PST DOD is the biggest owner of EPA Superfund sites. The contaminants and health effects of exposure are published on the EPA Superfund website. A simple website hyperlink to military installations on the National Priority List (EPA Superfund), identifying the contaminants and health effects can save lives, but no one seems interested in setting up this hyperlink. http://salem-news.com/articles/november012010/veteran-exposure-ro.php http://salem-news.com/articles/november012010/veteran-exposure-ro.php Mon, 01 Nov 2010 22:18:00 PDT We are investigating the various claims and allegations made by Great Park CEO Michael Ellzey, most directly attributable to him in biographical interviews and press releases. I’ll be using variations of “supposed, purported, allege and claim” a lot in this column because frankly, none of us believes his self-described history. http://salem-news.com/articles/october182010/mike-elsey.php http://salem-news.com/articles/october182010/mike-elsey.php Mon, 18 Oct 2010 15:08:00 PDT Hundreds and maybe thousands of 55 gallon drums of trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) were used at MCAS El Toro over decades to degrease aircraft parts. A major concern is that both chemicals are carcinogens. The men using them did not wear protective clothing and masks, and the waste was dumped into storm drains or directly in the ground. http://salem-news.com/articles/october032010/el-toro-toxic.php http://salem-news.com/articles/october032010/el-toro-toxic.php Sun, 03 Oct 2010 23:51:00 PDT Well folks, there was tooth, fang and claw aplenty at the September 14, 2010 Irvine City Council meeting, a hearing that more closely resembled the jostling of a mud-infused mosh pit than civil discourse. All I got out of it was that the rehab continues to reflect guesses about the volumes, persistence and vague timelines and strategies of contaminant remediation. http://salem-news.com/articles/september212010/great-park-fiasco-rb.php http://salem-news.com/articles/september212010/great-park-fiasco-rb.php Tue, 21 Sep 2010 10:32:00 PDT As Orange County begins to implode over news that a great political debacle known as the Great Park will probably never exist, we learn that another park, one that delighted many who are now young adults in this area, is being allowed to not exist, in a usable state that is. A group called Save Adventure Playground!! is rallying Sunday 09/19/2010 to make a point of this lack of use, and to seek support in turning what has become an eyesore, back into a useful environment for youth. http://salem-news.com/articles/september182010/adventure-playground-tk.php http://salem-news.com/articles/september182010/adventure-playground-tk.php Sat, 18 Sep 2010 12:59:00 PDT El Toro employees buried 55 gallon drums of toxic chemicals to avoid Marine Corps Inspector General inspections and, in the case of half-empty drums, to support the need for ordering full drums of TCE/PCE. TCE/PCE was used for decades on the former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California. These chemicals were used as degreasers for aircraft parts and for various other purposes. http://salem-news.com/articles/september172010/toxic-el-toro-ro.php http://salem-news.com/articles/september172010/toxic-el-toro-ro.php Fri, 17 Sep 2010 14:18:00 PDT The dangerous toxicity of the El Toro Marine base was a large focus of this week's Irvine City Council meeting. Council Members Christina Shea and Steven Choi are drawing attention to unaddressed questions about the proposed Great Park that they believe are very serious. http://salem-news.com/articles/september172010/irvine-council-tk.php http://salem-news.com/articles/september172010/irvine-council-tk.php Fri, 17 Sep 2010 09:36:00 PDT This is an email exchange between Salem-News.com's Roger Butow and Bob Woodings, city engineer in Lake Forest, California, regarding the reconfiguration of the old El Toro Marine base. The old air station is highly contaminated according to the federal EPA which listed the base as an EPA 'Superfund site' in 1990... http://salem-news.com/articles/september152010/irvine-council-tk-rb.php http://salem-news.com/articles/september152010/irvine-council-tk-rb.php Wed, 15 Sep 2010 03:02:00 PDT Hundreds of Marines have contacted Salem-News.com since we started writing about the serious health concerns at the old, now-closed El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in Irvine. These needs of El Toro veterans are mostly unrepresented; they now have a friend on the Irvine City Council, Christina Shea, and that is good, because sometimes even warriors need a hero. http://salem-news.com/articles/september142010/hell-toro-tk.php http://salem-news.com/articles/september142010/hell-toro-tk.php Tue, 14 Sep 2010 02:21:00 PDT A Marine veteran’s widow was awarded compensation for the death of her husband from progressive small lymphocytic lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia caused by exposure to burnings at four landfills on former Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California. http://salem-news.com/articles/september062010/el-toro-death-ro.php http://salem-news.com/articles/september062010/el-toro-death-ro.php Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:20:00 PDT The death knell for Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, California, once the premier Marine Corps air station, was sounded in 1985 when trichloroethylene (TCE) was found in three wells during a routine well inspection by the Orange County Water District (OCWD). Two wells were off the base, the other on the base. The Navy spent hundreds of millions in remediation of soil and groundwater contamination. Even so, the $650 million from the sale of base had to put them in the black. http://salem-news.com/articles/august232010/el-toro-crime-ro.php http://salem-news.com/articles/august232010/el-toro-crime-ro.php Mon, 23 Aug 2010 03:32:00 PDT Recent scuttlebutt regarding the Superfund cleanup of former MCAS El Toro is that much of the hardscape will remain in place. Apparently it’s being given some spin by Larry Agran’s ass-covering minions as the homage (tribute) to the historical military use of the site, leaving the runways and possibly even entire arterial streets and sidewalks intact. That’s PR for you when the people in charge have big marketing budgets provided on the backs of taxpayers. http://salem-news.com/articles/august192010/irvine-ranch-history-rb.php http://salem-news.com/articles/august192010/irvine-ranch-history-rb.php Thu, 19 Aug 2010 18:25:00 PDT The death knell for MCAS El Toro, California, once the premier Marine Corps air station, was sounded in 1985 when trichloroethylene (TCE) was found in three wells during a routine well inspection. Misplacement of well screens in the shallow contaminated aquifer allowed corrosive salts into the wells and water supply system and increasing the risk of organic solvents like TCE, PCE, vinyl chloride, and benzene entering the base water supply. http://salem-news.com/articles/august162010/clean-el-toro-ro.php http://salem-news.com/articles/august162010/clean-el-toro-ro.php Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:33:00 PDT I don’t believe in ghosts. If I ran into one or two, maybe I’d change my mind. The stories of lights in the former Marine Corps Air Stations El Toro’s control tower when the power was cut off in July 1999 may be just someone’s wild imagination or I guess if you believe in paranormal activity, maybe the ghosts of Marines who served on the base and returned to haunt the place. No question there’s good reasons for haunting the place. http://salem-news.com/articles/august072010/el-toro-ghosts.php http://salem-news.com/articles/august072010/el-toro-ghosts.php Sat, 07 Aug 2010 14:40:00 PDT Never believe there isn't reason for hope. The old Marine Corps air base in Orange County, El Toro, is a huge political liability, that isn't necessarily a big secret, but new attention is being drawn to this fact by one of Irvine's city leaders, Councilwoman Christina Shea. She is coming out swinging with allegations of cover ups, wasted taxpayer funds and major concerns about the health of people who once lived on the base, or today live near it. http://salem-news.com/articles/july292010/shea-eltoro-tk.php http://salem-news.com/articles/july292010/shea-eltoro-tk.php Thu, 29 Jul 2010 03:33:00 PDT