Which Way, L.A.?

Los Angeles Makes a Play for an Airport at El Toro

Last year, Orange County voters approved the so-called -Great Park- on the former El Toro Marine Air Base, but that may not be the final word. In a secret letter, leaked last week to the Los Angeles Times, LA Mayor Jim Hahn told the federal Department of Transportation -it would simply be a modern tragedy if El Toro were converted to park land,- and asked the federal government to reverse the voters- decision. We find out what -modern tragedy- means as we re-open the argument over El Toro with Irvine Mayor Larry Agran, who led the fight to convert the site into a great park, Orange County Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, a long-time supporter of a commercial airport at El Toro, and LA Deputy Mayor Troy Edwards, one of those who signed the -modern tragedy- letter. Reporter's Notebook: Deadlock in Budget Talks The deadline for passing the state budget is midnight Sunday, but as the deadline approaches, the budget impasse gets worse. With legislators deadlocked over a $38-billion shortfall, there-s even talk of a government shutdown. John Ellwood, a professor of public policy at UC Berkeley says that Proposition 13, capital markets, term limits and reapportionment are prolonging the deadlock.