Use the Back button to return to the previous page...

December 31, 2001

S.F. AIRPORT PROPOSES WETLANDS SWAP OFFICIALS WOULD RESTORE ISLAND IN EXCHANGE FOR NEW RUNWAYS

Commissioners at San Francisco International Airport agreed this month to restore wetlands in Sonoma County if they get permission to fill part of San Francisco Bay for new runways. The proposal comes as airport officials look for an environmentally friendly way to expand the airport's runway system to accommodate increased flight traffic. Airport officials say their expansion efforts have not kept up with population growth. The proposed conversion of a hay farm on Skaggs Island

December 15, 2001

AT LEAST 29 FELONS HAD ACCESS TO SECURE AREAS AT S.F. AIRPORT EMPLOYEE FINGERPRINTING UNCOVERS CRIMINALS

Twenty-nine workers whose jobs offer access to airplanes and runways at San Francisco International Airport have had their security badges revoked or been denied new ones this year because record checks found they had been convicted of felony crimes. The record checks match workers' fingerprints with criminal records stored in a national FBI database. They began earlier this year at San Francisco and 22 other large airports and will be conducted at every U.S. airport by the end of next

December 14, 2001

S.F. AIRPORT'S RUNWAY PLAN DIVIDES BAY AREA RESIDENTS POLL SHOWS CONCERN ABOUT WETLANDS

Bay Area residents are sharply divided over a proposal by San Francisco International Airport to build new runways into San Francisco Bay. But support grows if they are told that thousands of acres of marshlands could be restored to offset the environmental damage, a new poll has found. In the first regionwide survey on the subject, 46 percent of residents said they support some filling of the bay to build new runways, while 45 percent were opposed. Nine percent were undecided.

November 29, 2001


SOUTH BAY NAMED KEY BIRD HABITAT
MONTEREY COUNTY SLOUGH ALSO MAKES AUDUBON LIST


Call it the Blue Ribbon of Birding. The Nobel of Nesting. The Oscars of Ornithology -- only without flashy diamonds, red carpets and rambling speeches. South Francisco Bay -- including Santa Clara, San Mateo and Alameda counties -- and Elkhorn Slough near Moss Landing in Monterey County, were both named Wednesday as among the 70 most important habitats in the United States for birds. The pair share the honor with such landscapes as Everglades National Park, Okefenokee Swamp, Cape Hatteras
November 28, 2001

AIRPORT IN TROUBLE FOR FOULING S.F. BAY STATE MAY ORDER SEWAGE PLANT UPGRADES OR FINES

State water regulators today will consider ordering San Francisco International Airport to begin renovating its unreliable wastewater treatment plant by spring or potentially face stiff fines. Records show the airport has violated the federal Clean Water Act and state pollution laws more than 50 times in the past three years, spilling partially treated sewage into San Francisco Bay from its plant, the Mercury News has learned. The trouble is, the airport is hurting for money after the

November 22, 2001

FUTURE OF AIR TRAVEL VISIBLE IN TIGHT TERMINAL SECURITY AMERICANS MUST GET ACCUSTOMED TO A HANDS-ON APPROACH

Security at Europe's main airports provides a good picture of what air travel in the United States could look like under the sweeping air safety bill President Bush signed Monday. In Frankfurt, the second-largest airport in Europe, there are 1,000 federally trained and paid baggage screeners who can be fired on the spot for failing to catch a weapon in a passenger's carry-on bag. Slightly busier than San Francisco International, the airport runs every piece of checked luggage
November 11, 2001

INDUSTRY OBJECTIONS WEAKENED FAA RULES

In July 1996, when Trans World Airlines Flight 800 crashed off Long Island, officials first blamed terrorists. Washington was stirred to action. ''Nothing less than zero aviation security-related tragedies should be accepted,'' said Sen. Larry Pressler, R-S.D., who became chair of a Senate committee convened quickly to discuss the need for tighter security. Three weeks later, a White House commission on air security and safety was formed under Vice President Al Gore and

November 7, 2001

IT'S OFFICIAL: S.J. AIRPORT NOW MINETA

The South Bay's main airport has a new name: Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport. Honoring one of the city's most accomplished public officials in the face of public opposition, the city council on Tuesday voted 10-1 to rename the airport after Mineta, a San Jose native who rose from a Japanese World War II internment camp as a young boy to prominence at the highest levels of government.

November 7, 2001

BALLOT VICTORY COULD SIDELINE RUNWAY PROJECT

Dealing a potentially fatal blow to plans by San Francisco International Airport to build new runways into San Francisco Bay, a ballot measure to give voters control over the project won a landslide victory Tuesday night. Measure D, a darling of environmentalists, was ahead by a nearly 3-1 ratio as the night wore on. The San Francisco charter amendment requires that any city-sponsored project to fill in more than 100 acres of the bay must be approved by San Francisco voters.
November 2, 2001

S.F. VOTE KEY FOR AIRPORT PLAN

Already reeling from economic woes inflicted by the recession and the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks, San Francisco International Airport will face another challenge on Tuesday -- a far-reaching measure that would require San Francisco voters to approve its $3 billion runway expansion plan. If San Francisco voters approve Measure D -- a ballot-box darling of environmentalists -- any San Francisco project that would fill more than 100 acres of San Francisco Bay waters would have to be put on a
November 1, 2001

SAN FRANCISCO'S PROPOSITION D MUDDIES BAY AREA BATTLE OVER AIRPORT EXPANSION

TO cut down on delays at San Francisco International Airport, Mayor Willie Brown wants to build new runways into the bay. San Francisco supervisors oppose the runways, which require filling 1,000 acres of bay. They're sponsoring a measure, Proposition D on the Nov. 6 ballot, requiring voter approval of any bay fill project exceeding 100 acres. The issue here isn't whether the runway expansion is a good idea. It hasn't even been formally proposed yet.
October 17, 2001

'FEINSTEIN PARK' TOO CLOSE TO RUNWAY S.F. AIRPORT JET-VIEWING SPOT CLOSED FOR SECURITY REASONS

A popular spot to watch planes take off from San Francisco International Airport was closed indefinitely Tuesday because of its proximity to a runway, airport officials said. ''Because of increased security, it was not appropriate to have anyone that close to departing aircraft,'' airport spokesman Ron Wilson said. As many as 100 people often would gather at lunchtime in the informal viewing area in the parking lot near the airport's southern end.
October 14, 2001

PASSENGERS ARE WARY AS THEY RETURN TO SKIES

In an awkward series of fits and starts, Americans are relearning how to fly. Each day more and more passengers are taking off, many for the first time since terrorists changed forever the way we move across our skies. Sept. 11 has left a reconstituted breed of airline passenger. Confronted by ominous security measures at each step, their own imaginations are fired up with every scenario, from best case to worst.

October 14, 2001


REDWOOD CITY PLANNERS SEE BAYFRONT PROPERTY AS BIG OPPORTUNITY


Redwood City's last prime bayfront property -- like jagged puzzle pieces jutting into San Francisco Bay -- is little more than warehouses, gravel pits and vacant land covered by marsh grass and pickerelweed. But for city planners, the area between Whipple Avenue and Woodside Road east of Highway 101 is an opportunity. Long overlooked by developers, about 150 acres of the city's bayfront property -- the last large parcels of land in town -- are the center of attention as large
October 13, 2001

DESPITE SLUMP, AVIATION PANELISTS SEE RUNWAY EXPANSION ON RADAR EXPERTS SAY ATTACKS WILL SLOW, NOT STOP, GROWTH IN DEMAND

A month after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, most airline flights are still only about half full, and it's impossible to predict when -- or even if -- San Francisco and other airports will need additional runways in coming years, officials say. ''The entire aviation industry has changed in one month,'' said Andy Richards, manager of the Federal Aviation Administration's Bay TRACON, a radar center that coordinates all Bay Area air traffic.
October 3, 2001

MINETA TO UNVEIL NEW AIR-SAFETY STEPS

As Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta prepared to unveil yet another set of airport and airplane security improvements today, the nation's two biggest airlines said Tuesday that they wouldn't wait to begin installing steel rods on cockpit doors to protect pilots. United and American, which dominate traffic at San Francisco International and San Jose International airports, respectively, said they hoped to have more secure cockpits on all their planes within a couple
September 27, 2001

FLIGHT CUTBACKS THREATEN EXPANSION

The terrorist attacks that abruptly slowed U.S. air travel might now delay -- or even ground -- planned expansions of the Bay Area's three major airports because fewer passengers mean less demand and money for extending runways into the bay at San Francisco Airport and for new passenger terminals at San Jose and Oakland airports.
September 15, 2001

BAY AREA'S AIRPORTS RESUME SERVICE AMID INCREASED SECURITY ABOUT A THIRD OF SCHEDULED FLIGHTS TAKE OFF, LAND

After three days on the ground, Americans headed into the air again Friday in significant numbers as the nation's beleaguered airlines took their first real steps toward normal flight operations. By late in the day, it appeared that about a third of all regularly scheduled airline flights made it in and out of the Bay Area's big three airports. There are about 2,600 commercial airline flights on a normal day.
September 13, 2001

LONG DELAYS, HEIGHTENED SECURITY AWAIT AIR TRAVELERS

Air travelers will face massive delays and sweeping security measures under new federal safety rules that could wipe out hundreds of parking spaces at San Jose International Airport or force drivers to endure car-by-car security checks. The new rules will greet passengers as soon as airports reopen, under the highest level of security ever reached in the United States. No parking within 300 feet of a terminal. No more knives, not even plastic ones, in restaurants beyond security
September 11, 2001

HOW TO HANDLE AIRPORT GROWTH: MAKE IT BETTER BEFORE BIGGER

Janet Gray Hayes was the last mayor of San Jose to appreciate the city's mellowness, its serene neighborhoods and the sound of crickets at night. Her successors, it appears, prefer the sound of screaming jetliners overhead. I finally met her last week. Her husband, Dr. Ken Hayes, met me at the door of their stately, Tudor-style house in the city's Rose Garden neighborhood. He directed me to the kitchen.
August 23, 2001

MINETA IS WORTHY FIGURE, BUT NAMING S.J. AIRPORT FOR HIM JUST WOULDN'T FLY

Look, if you're going to name something after somebody, you could do worse than Norm Mineta. Tacking Mineta onto the San Jose Airport's name is logical. He was the city's mayor. As a longtime congressman, he pushed bills to upgrade the airstrip. And as secretary of transportation, he's helping bring home the airport expansion bacon. He meets most of my criteria for naming stuff after people. He sacrificed for and served his city. He's never been convicted, or even
August 22, 2001

FINAL FORUM SET TODAY ON S.F. AIRPORT RUNWAY PROPOSALS

San Francisco International Airport officials will detail proposals forbuilding runways into the bay today at a public forum in San Jose. The meeting is the fourth and final public gathering for the plans, which call for filling in as much as 900 acres of the bay for more runway space to ease flight delays. Airport officials are expected to highlight why San Francisco Airport is a critical hub for Silicon Valley businesses and their technology cargo.
August 21, 2001

S.J. AIRPORT COULD GET NEW NAME -- MINETA'S

Orange County has John Wayne, and Washington, D.C., gets Ronald Reagan. Now, San Jose's airport may soon have a namesake of its own. Welcome to Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport. How's that sound? Mayor Ron Gonzales on Monday proposed renaming the nation's 33rd busiest airport after Mineta, as city leaders welcomed the U.S. secretary of transportation and one-time San Jose mayor for the dedication of the airport's new $65 million runway.
August 18, 2001

AIRPORT'S REPAVING OF MAIN RUNWAY COMPLETED EARLY

Oakland International Airport has finished repaving its main runway -- four days ahead of schedule. The work began Aug. 10 and was expected to last 10 days. But workers, operating 24 hours a day, finished early and the first plane took off at 12:35 p.m. Thursday. About 9,000 residents were offered discount air fares and free tickets to attractions including A's games and the Oakland Zoo.
August 14, 2001

PANEL SAYS TECHNOLOGY ALONE WON'T FIX S.F. AIRPORT DELAYS

New technology alone will not fix San Francisco's notorious flight delays, according to the latest study on how the airport can speed up service without building controversial runways. On Monday, a panel of scientists, co-sponsored by the state and the airport, said it believes in 15 years new technology could be developed to double the airport's bad-weather capacity, allowing San Francisco International to land the same number of planes -- 60 -- an hour that it can handle now on
August 8, 2001

S.F. AIRPORT SCALES BACK PLAN TO EXTEND RUNWAYS INTO BAY

San Francisco International Airport officials Tuesday scaled back their most ambitious plan to extend runways two miles into San Francisco Bay as mounting pressure from the public and the government made it clear the plan would never fly.The airport says the revised plan -- one of six being considered and by most accounts the airport's preferred plan -- will still reduce chronic weather delays by increasing the number of planes that can land in fog and rain and accommodate the larger airliners ...

July 31, 2001

SAN MATEO COUNTY RESIDENTS DISCUSS S.F. AIRPORT PLANS FLIGHT DELAY, NOISE AMONG ISSUES MENTIONED AT EXPANSION FORUM

An overflow crowd of 300 people representing almost as many different views and concerns about San Francisco Airport's proposed runway expansion gathered in San Mateo on Monday night to sound off at the largest gathering to date in a series of airport-sponsored community forums on the project.Airport officials say new runways could prevent fog and other foul weather from crippling the airport. Possible scenarios include extending runways about two miles out into San Francisco Bay....

July 27, 2001

AIRPORT HORROR STORIES GIVE AMMO TO BACKERS OF RUNWAY EXPANSION

Some kids in the check-in line at San Francisco Airport on Thursday morning had already begun the delightful vacation ritual of asking their parents, ''Are we there yet?'' Apparently, they'd discovered constant repetition of the question was a sure way to drive Mom and Dad to the brink of psychosis, and they were eager to get an early start.Meanwhile, several people had gathered in front of the Continental Airlines monitor to check the time of flight arrivals. Of the 13 listed, only three were ...

July 26, 2001

RUNWAY CHANGES MAY CUT COLLISION RISK

Los Angeles International Airport could reduce its nation-leading pace of close calls on runways if airport operators change the way controllers direct traffic on the aging airfield, according to a report expected to be released next month.The new routes for aircraft would require redesigning part of the south side of the airfield to limit the number of planes crossing active runways,the first-of-its-kind study concluded.From 1997 to 2000, the runways had 13 serious close calls, the highest ...

July 24, 2001

VOTERS WILL DECIDE ON AMENDMENT ON RUNWAY DECISIONS

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Monday voted unanimously to put a charter amendment on the Nov. 6 ballot designed to give the electorate a say in plans to build runways two miles into the bay at San Francisco International Airport.If approved, the ''bay fill'' amendment would mean city voters will decide the fate of any city-sponsored projects that call for filling in 100 acres or more of the bay. New runways could call for as much as 1,400 acres of fill.Airport officials have said the ...

July 20, 2001


SECRECY SHROUDS LAND DEAL U.S. AGENCY WON'T RELEASE
DOCUMENTS ON PURCHASE OF SALT PONDS THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE CITES ''TRADE SECRETS'' IN REFUSING TO DIVULGE DETAILS REGARDING A FEDERAL PLAN TO SPEND UP TO $300 MILLION FOR BAY HABITAT.


Details will remain secret, at least for now, of a federal proposal to spend as much as $300 million in what would be the most expensive public land purchase for wildlife habitat in Bay Area history. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has rejected a Freedom of Information Act request by the San Jose Mercury News asking for appraisals and other documents for a plan by the government to buy up to 19,000 acres of industrial salt ponds ringing the South Bay. In letters over the past two
July 19, 2001

HISTORIC PURCHASE OF BAY SALT PONDS GAINS MOMENTUM

A historic deal to restore thousands of acres of salt ponds ringing the South Bay shoreline to wetland conditions not seen since the gold rush suddenly is gaining steam after being stalled for months because of a lack of funding.Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is proposing a compromise in which Cargill would sell 13,000 to 15,000 acres of industrial salt ponds it operates in the South Bay to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for roughly $100 million, the Mercury News has learned. The land ...

July 17, 2001

PROTESTERS HALT BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING

Fifteen people were arrested in San Francisco on Monday and access to City Hall was restricted to city employees and the news media after a rowdy protest forced an hourlong suspension of a board of supervisors meeting.The board chambers were cleared and Mayor Willie Brown's office was locked, although the mayor was not in City Hall at the time of the disruption, according to a staff member.Those arrested were part of a larger demonstration, protesting health care allocations in the annual city ...

July 10, 2001


TEEMING WILDLIFE IN OUR MIDST THE LARGEST ESTUARY ON THE WEST COAST IS A PEACEFUL OASIS IN THE MIDST OF BAY AREA CITIES, HOME TO MANY CREATURES

A PEACEFUL OASIS ALONG URBAN SHORES ALSO PROVIDES A SITE FOR SEVERAL STUDIES ON CREATURES LIVING IN AREA'S MARSHES THE LARGEST ESTUARY ON THE WEST COAST OFFERS A PLACE WHERE RESEARCHERS CAN STUDY


ITS INHABITANTS, SOME OF WHOM ARE ENDANGERED, AND HOW THEY INTERACT WITH THE ENVIRONMENT. There's a place nearby where the water is red or pink, the landscape can be green even in summer, and the wildlife is plentiful and noisy under wide open skies. Amid the densely populated San Francisco Bay Area's urban chaos is an oasis of nature where you can walk among thousands of shorebirds and unseen tiny critters in the pickleweed and marsh grasses. Whizzing past on highways 237 or 84, or Interstate 880, you'd never know it's there.
July 7, 2001

GETTING TO AIRPORT MAY GET EASIER REDIRECTING MOTORISTS SHOULD EASE LONG DELAYS GETTING TO S.J. TERMINALS

The notorious traffic jams around San Jose International Airport could soon ease, as the emergency traffic procedures used on the busiest travel days are put into place around the clock.Airport officials will meet Monday to approve three improvements: changing how motorists enter the airport from southbound Highway 87, adding a second lane to busy Airport Boulevard and closing a shortcut used by drivers cruising around Terminal A.In addition, shuttle service for arriving passengers from the long ...

July 3, 2001

FORUM ON S.F. RUNWAY EXPANSION PACKS BUILDING'S HALLS CONGRESSWOMAN VOWS TO CHECK ALL OPTIONS

San Francisco Airport's proposal to build runways in the bay captured the attention of Rep. Ellen Tauscher, D-Walnut Creek, and other leaders Monday in a public forum that brought out more than 100 residents, top aviation officials, a pony and a few dogs.Residents seemed shocked by the magnitude of the multibillion-dollar project. ''It makes you realize how big this issue really is,'' said Denise MacGregor, as she listened to speakers in the hallway of the Harris State Building in Oakland....

June 29, 2001

PLAN TO LINK AIRPORTS NOT FEASIBLE OPTION, REPORT CONCLUDES

Linking Oakland and San Francisco airports by running a high-speed rail line through a tunnel under San Francisco Bay could cost more than $4 billion, but no one can say for sure whether it would offer significant relief from nagging weather delays.The state Legislature last year ordered San Francisco Airport to study the link after critics said the airport wasn't thoroughly addressing ways to reduce flight delays short of building runways two miles into the bay.The idea was that creating a ...

June 23, 2001

BIGGER VOICE FOR S.F. VOTERS GROUP BACKS MORE POWER FOR PUBLIC OVER PROJECTS BOARD OF SUPERVISORS COMMITTEE IS ENDORSING A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO THE CITY CHARTER THAT WOULD GIVE VOTERS MORE DIRECT SAY ON AIRPORT EXPANSION.

A committee of San Francisco supervisors on Friday heartily endorsed giving city voters power over city projects that encroach in a big way on the bay -- the most obvious being plans to build runways in the bay at San Francisco Airport that would measure half the length of the Bay Bridge.The proposed amendment to the city charter would give the city's electorate a thumbs-up or thumbs-down on runways -- the most direct say any U.S. residents would have on airport expansion. After a few procedural ...

June 23, 2001

PLAN WOULD GIVE VOTERS THE POWER TO OK BAY PROJECTS

A committee of San Francisco supervisors Friday endorsed a plan to give voters power over city projects that would affect San Francisco Bay -- including a proposal to build runways over the bay at San Francisco Airport.The proposed voting amendment to the city charter is expected to pass the full board of supervisors later this summer and go on the Nov. 6 ballot.No one knows how soon a runway vote could be held if the measure passes in November. Stuart Sunshine, who the mayor appointed director...

June 21, 2001

CREWS FAN OUT AT S.F. AIRPORT TO GATHER DEBRIS THAT COULD CLOG ENGINES RUNWAY CLEANUP AIMS AT AIR SAFETY

San Francisco Airport on Wednesday morning temporarily shut down its runways for what seemed like a giant Adopt-a-Runway cleanup program, with 120 airport and airline workers scouring landing strips for potentially hazardous junk.The annual intensive cleanup netted dozens of nuts and bolts and metal fragments -- items that have been sucked into jet engines from time to time, causing engine problems and forcing emergency landings at San Francisco and other airports....

June 21, 2001

11 NEAR-CRASHES REPORTED IN 4 YEARS ON AREA RUNWAYS STUDY BY FAA IS FIRST RANKING OF 'INCURSIONS' AT AIRPORTS NATIONWIDE

Airplanes large and small almost collided on airport runways in and around the Bay Area 11 times during a recent four-year period, according to a report released Wednesday by the Federal Aviation Administration.It's the first time the FAA has ranked the severity of ''runway incursions,'' including those serious enough to force pilots or air traffic controllers to take emergency measures to avoid a collision.The report showed that San Jose International Airport had three near-collisions and 13 ...

June 20, 2001

L.A. AIRPORT RUNWAYS LEAD IN NEAR-COLLISIONS

The runways of Los Angeles International had the most serious near-collisions among the United States' busiest airports in a recent four-year period, according to the first government study to quantify risks on the ground for the flying public.The Federal Aviation Administration report, obtained by the Los Angeles Times, analyzed more than 1,300 runway safety incidents around the country from 1997 to 2000 and ranked them in four broad categories from extremely dangerous to barely significant....

June 17, 2001

IN 1949, THE FIRST SCHEDULED FLIGHT TO SAN JOSE DELIVERED ONLY CHICKENS. NOW, WITH A BILLION-DOLLAR EXPANSION UNDER WAY, THE AIRPORT HAS RUN OUT OF ROOM. CHANGE: AN AIRPORT TRADITION CROWDED, BUSTLING FACILITY IS PART OF VALLEY'S AVIATION HERITAGE

On a Friday afternoon at San Jose International Airport, the airline terminals are packed as usual.Business travelers returning from day trips to Southern California are cheek to jowl with vacationers heading out for the weekend. Passengers overflow boarding lounges into the corridors, and traffic is jammed out front.San Jose International Airport is treading water in a sea of demand for air travel. Ralph Tonseth, the city's aviation director, expects relief when the airport's billion-dollar...

June 15, 2001

CRITICS OF PROPOSED RUNWAYS CALL FOR REGIONAL AIRPORT AGENCY

Runways were the topic Thursday in San Francisco. City leaders held hearings. Environmentalists staged a demonstration and airport officials released yet another study they claim bolsters plans for building runways in the bay.The biggest news: Runway critics who, until Thursday, had failed to focus their myriad complaints over building runways, called on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to look at setting up a regional airport authority to cut delays by better scheduling flights between Sa

June 14, 2001

MEGA-AIRPORT SUGGESTED AS ALTERNATIVE TO NEW S.F. RUNWAYS

San Francisco Airport consultants on Wednesday offered a provocative solution to flight delays at Bay Area airports: Close San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland airports and build one mega-airport -- the world's largest -- on the outskirts of the Bay Area.The concept is part of an $80,000 study that looked at cutting flight delays.Although the mega-airport is offered as a possible solution, consultants said the report bolsters the notion that building new runways, which San Francisco Airport has p

June 14, 2001

FACILITY AN ALTERNATIVE TO NEW RUNWAYS MEGA-AIRPORT POSED AS SOLUTION TO CHRONIC DELAYS

Imagine this solution to flight delays in the Bay Area: Close San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose airports and build one super airport for everyone to share out in Tracy, Vacaville or possibly Gilroy.That was a solution offered by San Francisco Airport consultants on Wednesday in an $80,000 study that looked at cutting flight delays by shuffling planes to airports within 100 miles of San Francisco or building a new one altogether.A replacement airport for the Bay Area's big three would be the wo

June 7, 2001

FAA UNVEILS PLAN TO DEAL WITH MORE PASSENGERS S.F. RUNWAYS SEEN AS AT LEAST 10 YEARS AWAY

The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday outlined its plans for dealing with an expected 200 million new airline passengers annually by 2010, but expanded runways at San Francisco Airport are not part of the fix.''With everything they have to do to get approval, we can't count on new runways at San Francisco in the next 10 years,'' said William Shumann, a spokesman for the FAA in Washington.It's the first real sign the airport won't be able to begin runway construction in 2003, as airpor

June 5, 2001

FAA EASES RULES TO CUT FLIGHT DELAYS

The Federal Aviation Administration hopes to reduce flight delays this summer by allowing pilots to steer through storms and take off even when the destination airport is cloaked in bad weather.It's also allowing planes to fly closer together, by relaxing a safety standard that has governed air traffic controllers since World War II. The FAA says that move is unrelated to calls to combat delays. Critics disagree, saying it's designed to speed up flights and could make the skies more dangerous.Th

May 30, 2001

S.F. RUNWAY RADAR WORKING, FINALLY THE COSTLY SAFETY SYSTEM, DESIGNED TO PREVENT GROUND COLLISIONS AT CONGESTED AIRPORTS, WILL BEGIN AROUND-THE-CLOCK SERVICE NEXT MONTH.

On a stormy night last fall, a jet taxied onto a runway at a Taiwan airport and was cleared for takeoff. Moments later, as the plane barreled down the runway, it collided with construction equipment in a fiery crash that killed 83 people.Federal Aviation Administration officials said Tuesday that such a disaster should never occur at San Francisco Airport now that the government has worked the bugs out of a radar system designed to prevent planes or other objects on the ground from colliding.The

May 25, 2001

AIRPORT LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN FOR ITS RUNWAY PROJECT

Long flight delays shouldn't slow travelers this holiday weekend if forecasts for pleasant weather hold up, but San Francisco Airport officials are trying to keep chronic delays fresh on everyone's mind, as national leaders talk of speeding up runway projects.Giant banners reading ''Airport Delays . . . Speak Out, Get the Facts,'' were draped at the airport for a Thursday morning news conference at which officials announced their hopes to get thousands of Bay Area residents talking this summer a

May 25, 2001

OFFICIALS USING HOLIDAYS TO TOUT RUNWAY PROJECTS

Long flight delays shouldn't slow travelers this holiday weekend if forecasts for pleasant weather hold up, but San Francisco Airport officials are trying to keep chronic delays fresh on everyone's mind, as national leaders talk of speeding up runway projects.Giant banners reading ''Airport Delays . . . Speak Out, Get the Facts,'' were draped at the airport for a Thursday morning news conference at which officials announced their hopes to get thousands of Bay Area residents talking this summer a

May 25, 2001

MEETINGS DESIGNED TO GENERATE RUNWAY SUPPORT

San Francisco International Airport officials on Thursday announced a series of meetings they hope will inspire the public to back the airport's runway expansion plan.''Hopefully, people will stand up and say, 'I want an international airportin my back yard,' '' said Stuart Sunshine, director of San Francisco's airfield development bureau.The first runway forum will be June 14, at 1 p.m. in San Francisco City Hall. A forum in San Mateo County will follow later in June.The airport's proposal is t

May 22, 2001

SUPERVISORS WANT PUBLIC TO VOTE ON BAY-FILL PLAN

San Franciscans would get to vote on a controversial plan to fill part of San Francisco Bay to create room for more airport runways, under a charter amendment introduced Monday to the city's board of supervisors.Environmentalists immediately hailed the proposal by supervisors Aaron Peskin and Tom Ammiano that would give voters the power to reject city-proposed projects that require filling more than 100 acres of San Francisco Bay.''The powers that be are moving heaven and earth to move that dirt

May 22, 2001

S.F. SUPERVISORS PROPOSE VOTE ON BAY-FILL PROJECTS TWO BOARD MEMBERS WANT TO AMEND THE CITY CHARTER TO REQUIRE MAJORITY APPROVAL OF CITY VOTERS FOR PROJECTS THAT WOULD FILL LARGE PORTIONS OF THE BAY. ENVIRONMENTALISTS CELEBRATED THE MOVE, WHICH COULD AFFECT RUNWAY EXPANSION PLANS AT SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT.

San Franciscans would get to vote on a highly contested proposal to fill part of San Francisco Bay to create room for more airport runways, under a charter amendment introduced Monday to the city's board of supervisors.Environmentalists immediately hailed the proposal by supervisors Aaron Peskin and Tom Ammiano. It would for the first time give voters the power to accept or reject city-proposed projects that require filling more than 100 acres of San Francisco Bay.Though the airport runway proje

May 20, 2001

PLAN COULD DISRUPT WIND, WAVE PATTERNS NEW RUNWAYS COULD RUIN FAVORITE WINDSURFING SPOT

Windsurfing along the edge of San Francisco Airport's runways, jet turbulence feels a whole lot different from the bumps you might experience inside a plane.''It's like getting decked by a little tornado,'' said Olympic windsurfer Ted Huang of Los Altos. You'll be riding along and ''sometimes it spins straight down and flattens you against the water.''The occasional gust from a passing 747, however, is not what draws Huang and thousands of other windsurfers and sailboaters to this part of the ba

May 15, 2001

OFFICIALS MEET PRIVATELY TO DISCUSS RUNWAYS

Discussion about San Francisco Airport's proposal for building runways into the bay moved temporarily behind closed doors Monday with the first in a series of special meetings that critics say are designed to exclude the public from commenting on the multibillion-dollar project.The meetings break longstanding tradition of notifying the public about even the smallest gatherings of the state's Bay Conservation and Development Commission and raise doubts about the integrity of the runway expansion

May 15, 2001

COMMISSION, AIRPORT MEETING IN PRIVATE RUNWAY CRITICS PROTEST EXCLUSION

Discussion about San Francisco Airport's proposal for building runways into the bay moved temporarily behind closed doors Monday with the first in a series of special meetings that critics say are designed to exclude the public from commenting on the multibillion-dollar project.The meetings break longstanding tradition of notifying the public about even the smallest gatherings of the state's Bay Conservation and Development Commission and raise doubts about the integrity of the runway expansion

May 3, 2001

S.F. RUNWAY PLAN TOUTED TO SILICON VALLEY CEOS

San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown traveled to Silicon Valley on Wednesday to ''enlist an army'' of high-tech executives to help finance the fight for the city's controversial plan to build runways into the bay at San Francisco Airport.''Forget passengers. Your Silicon Valley products fuel the freight operations at San Francisco Airport,

April 26, 2001

PROPOSAL TO REDUCE DELAYS TAKES FLIGHT SFO, FIVE OTHER AIRPORTS IN DIRE NEED OF ADDING RUNWAYS, FAA REPORT SAYS

"About 12 miles of concrete and pavement. That's what federal aviation officials said the nation's busiest airports need in the next decade to keep air traffic from bogging down so much it could take portions of the economy with it"

April 25, 2001

REPORT BUILDS CASE FOR MORE RUNWAYS BUILDING MORE RUNWAYS IS THE NEEDED FIX FOR SPEEDING UP SERVICE AT DELAY-STRICKEN SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, ACCORDING TO AN AIRPORT-FUNDED STUDY

Airport-paid consultants said Tuesday the price of airline tickets would soar and hundreds of daily flights would cease from San Francisco to popular cities around the globe if San Francisco International Airport tries to fix delays the way New York and other cities have.

April 25, 2001

CITY DROPS OPPOSITION TO COUNTY OVERSIGHT BILL BOARD OF SUPERVISORS SEEKS MORE CLOUT

San Mateo County supervisors got an unlikely ally Tuesday in their push for a bill to give the county more say in San Francisco Airport's expansion plans.San Francisco, which owns the airport even though it sits in San Mateo County, has dropped its opposition to a Senate measure that would give San Mateo County greater authority over what could become a multibillion-dollar project to build runways two miles into the bay.

April 24, 2001

SUPERVISOR SEEKING MORE SAY OVER AIRPORT

San Mateo County doesn't want to watch San Francisco push its controversial runway project two miles into the bay without weighing in on the plans

April 23, 2001

DATA TRICKLING FROM AIRPORT TOPICS OF REPORTS: RUNWAYS IN THE BAY, FLIGHT DELAYS, NOISE SAN FRANCISCO AIRPORT IS STARTING TO RELEASE STUDIES OF SEVERAL TOPICS AFFECTING BUILDING PLANS, AS OTHER OFFICIALS CAST DOUBTS ON A 2003 TIMETABLE FOR RUNWAY CONSTRUCTION.

San Francisco Airport officials start issuing a series of studies this week clarifying their intentions for fixing flight delays and building runways in San Francisco Bay.The reports come at a time when state and federal officials say the airport's targeted 2003 start date for runway construction may be too ambitious.

April 22, 2001

BAY'S RENEWAL INCHES CLOSER SETTING A PRICE WILL CLOSE DEAL TO RESTORE SALT PONDS

For more than 30 years, the idea has stood as the ecological Holy Grail of San Francisco Bay: Acquire thousands of acres of salt ponds ringing the southern edges of the bay for more than 20 miles.

April 17, 2001

DESIGNING A BEHEMOTH AND A COMET TWO NEW JETLINERS BEING DEVELOPED PROMISE MAJOR CHANGES IN THE WAY WE FLY IN THE NEXT FIVE OR SIX YEARS. AIRBUS' HUGE, 660-PASSENGER A380 IS ALL ABOUT SIZE. BOEING'S NEAR-MACH-1 SONIC CRUISER IS ALL ABOUT SPEED

For airline passengers, the choices are usually chicken or pasta, e-ticket or paper? But for the world's major airlines, a new and much bigger decision looms -- size or speed?Two new jet airliners being developed for the commercial passenger market promise major changes in the way we fly within the next five to six years.

April 15, 2001

NEIGHBORS FEAR FLIGHT CURFEW END A JUDGE IS TO RULE ON WHETHER SAN JOSE AIRPORT'S LATE-NIGHT FLIGHT CURFEW SHOULD BE ALTERED OR TOSSED OUT. A CHANGE COULD IMPEDE EXPANSION PLANS BASED ON A CURFEW TO REDUCE JET NOISE.

Residents near San Jose International Airport are bracing for rumbling late-night planes and plummeting property values if a federal judge, as he hinted last week, lifts the airport's ban on most late-night travel.

04/05/2001

$17 Million Contract Signed For Repaving Main Runway

03/26/2001

Legislative Firebrand Burton Plays Hardball
03/23/2001

Panel To Study Alternatives To New Runways

03/22/2001

Airlines Endorse Runway Project

03/17/2001

U.S. Air Accidents Down; Runway Concerns Grow
03/11/2001

Airports Lack Response Plan For Major Quake
02/21/2001

S.J. Airport Officials To Seek OK On Traveler Fees
02/13/2001

Air Transport Woes Soar, Travelers Get Little Data

02/03/2001

Variables Arise In Runway Decision Airport Stakeholders Weigh Input From Bush, Mineta, FAA

02/02/2001

Expanding Runways Isn't Only Option, Report Says Plan Questioned: Changes In Air Traffic Rules Could Help Ease Delays At Airport.

02/02/2001

Air Travel Delays Hit All-Time High In 2000, FAA Says Business Group Demands Immediate Changes

01/29/2001

Opponents Of Expansion Sought Independent Study Firm's Report Due On S.F. Runways
01/28/2001

O'Hare Plan Would Piggyback Planes To Reduce Delays

01/24/2001

Rain, Delays Underscore Problems At S.F. Airport

01/23/2001

Airline Delays, Dissatisfaction At Record Levels, Report Says

01/08/2001

Officials Identify Glitch In Radar Ghost Images Spooked System Tested At Airport An Experimental Air Traffic Radar System Being Tested At The San Francisco International Airport Is Back On Track After Officials Discovered Why It Caused Six False Alarms During A Month Of Trials.

01/05/2001

Studies Consider Transit As Alternative To Runway Expansion S.F. Airport, State Will Conduct Separate Reviews