Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Good news and bad news for veterans & historiphiles


THE LAST OF JOHN LENNON'S FBI FILES. As you know, UCI's John Wiener, a friend to DISSENT & Dissenters, is known for his work, as a historian, on secret FBI investigations and files. Check out articles in today's New York Times and LA Times concerning files re Lennon that had been withheld for more than 25 years for security reasons but that have at long last been released. Turns out the security reasons were bogus all along.

Trust the government? I think not.

SHOW ME THE MONEY. There are lots of unhappy campers among local veterans this morning. They're pissed, but things could be a lot worse.

The OC Supervisors OKed a plan that would preserve the north blimp hangar of the old Tustin Marine Air Station by offering it to a corporation that would turn it into a sports complex. Hence, it now seems, the hangar won’t become a military museum, as some had hoped.


On the other hand, it seems likely that Industrial Realty Group Inc. (IRG), unlike the veterans group that proposed a museum, really has the money to make their plan work.

And so at least the hangar is spared demolition. Don’t know yet about the south hangar.

The SOCCCD's Advanced Technology & Education Park (ATEP) is very near the north hangar. My own view is that, beyond keeping veterans and historiphiles happy, preservation of the north hangar would be good for ATEP and the SOCCCD and, so, should make us happy too.

From the OC Reg’s Military museum plan loses out:
Tustin's historic blimp hangar will be turned into a $100 million sports-themed complex called "Play" under a deal approved Tuesday by the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

The extensive plan by a private company beat out a proposal by veterans, who wanted to build a military museum….

The three supervisors who voted in favor of the deal … said the plan would preserve the iconic hangar without cost to taxpayers. Supervisor Bill Campbell, who represents Tustin, urged veterans to work with the developer, who plans a military memorial as part of the project…"Come up with something that honors what (military veterans) did and keep this blimp hangar here," Campbell said.

…The 17-story hangar, along with another one to the south, were built in 1942 and first used for the military blimps that patrolled the coast. They have become part of Orange County's geography and history, housing helicopters after the blimps were phased out and now being used for movie and commercial shoots. Tustin is still considering proposals for the south hangar….

Here’s the Register’s description of IRG’s plan:
What is 'Play'? The $100 million "Play" proposed by [IRG] is being billed as a sports, recreation and leisure center within the 150,000-square-foot blimp hangar. Plans include:

•Basketball, volleyball and gymnastics courts
•A 150-foot rock-climbing mountain
•A 25,000-square-foot "sports demonstration zone" for celebrity tennis matches, skateboarding half-pipes and BMX bike shows
•Two levels of sports-related retail stores and restaurants
•An entertainment plaza for outdoor concerts
•A 20,000-square-foot veterans exhibit
•A cinema complex
PHOTOS: NEAR ATEP & THE NORTH HANGAR:


Roy's obituary in LA Times and Register: "we were lucky to have you while we did"

  This ran in the Sunday December 24, 2023 edition of the Los Angeles Times and the Orange County Register : July 14, 1955 - November 20, 2...