City Council will try to save Miramar Air Show
The San Diego City Council unanimously approved a
resolution on Tuesday calling on the Defense Department to support the Miramar Air
Show this fall.
Dozens of air shows have been scrubbed around the country this year, the
result of automatic federal spending cuts from sequestration.
According to a city report, the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar has not
received permission from the Pentagon to host the 58th annual air show, which
is scheduled for Oct. 4-6. The air show attracts about a half-million people
over its three days and is linked to $17 million in direct and indirect
spending, according to the report.
Councilwoman Lorie Zapf, who introduced the resolution, said the city
needed to be “proactive and not reactive in trying to keep something that's
not just entertainment or tradition, but has a huge economic impact to our
community here in San Diego.”
Kimberley Miller, a military spouse, and Larry Blumberg, executive
director of the San Diego Military Advisory Council, said profits from the air
show fund wellness and quality-of-life programs like childcare at the base for
service members and their families. The funding would be lost if the air show
was canceled, they said.
No military officials spoke.
“I want to make sure that the city of San Diego, this City Council, has
weighed-in decisively so the folks back in Washington know that we want to
maintain our air show for all the benefits that were mentioned, for the Marine
Corps, for San Diego, for our families, our military families,” council
President Todd Gloria said.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was likely to decide soon whether the air
show will go on, according to Zapf.
Also, a pending Senate version of the 2014 Defense Authorization Act
includes language that requires the Pentagon to consider resuming support of
air shows.
The vote was 7-0, with council members Marti Emerald and Mark Kersey
absent.
The council also unanimously approved a bike rental program offered by
DecoBike LLC, that will make 1,800 bicycles available at various locations
around San Diego.
