(Feb. 17, 2015, 12:45 p.m.) -- Documents obtained by LBREPORT.com under the CA Public Records Act show LB Airport was informed over a year ago by a CSULB Professor Emeritus in Economics that he and his fellow economist/business partner believe the impact of visitor expenditures on the Long Beach economy by adding a customs facility to enable international flights would be small.
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In an January 24, 2014 email exchange related a proposal, submitted by the professor at LB Airport's invitation, to conduct an Economic Impact Analysis of adding a federal inspection facility enabling international flights, Joseph Magaddino, Professor Emeritus in the CSULB Dept. of Economics, noted that his proposal deliberately leaves out the impact of new visitors on the Long Beach economy based on the reasoning below: [Magaddino email to LGB, bracketed material by LBREPORT.com for clarity]...The main question appears to be the impact of new visitors on the Long Beach economy. Lisa [business partner/fellow economist] and I did discuss this question and we deliberately left it out of the proposal since we believe the impact of visitor expenditures on the Long Beach economy will be small.
In response, then-Airport Director Mario Rodriguez told an Airport staffer that "he [Magaddino] needs to factor in the bilateral agreement that limits the number of slots from LAX and thus the pricing high and availability limited. So LGB is a good alternative for business travelers from both countries..." Reached by cellphone for any updates on his views this morning (Feb. 17, 2015), Prof. Magaddino told LBREPORT.com that he hasn't done work on the matter other than that quoted above, doesn't recall having any specific discussions with JetBlue about the matter and absent receiving further documentation, his views stand as written. In April 2014, LB Airport Director Mario Rodriguez announced he was exiting to run Indianapolis International Airport. LB City Manager Pat West has since hired a new LB Airport Manager, Bryant Francis, who began work in early 2015 after running the Shreveport [Louisiana] Airport Authority. He previously oversaw Palm Springs Airport during a period when it begin international flights.
The Long Beach City Council is scheduled to hold a study session on LB's Airport ordinance this afternoon (Feb. 17) starting at 4:00 p.m. LBREPORT.com will provide LIVE video coverage on our front page (www.LBREPORT.com.) blog comments powered by Disqus Recommend LBREPORT.com to your Facebook friends:
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