EDITORIAL AXING THE LAX PLAN MAYOR CLOSER TO FULFILLING CAMPAIGN PROMISE.

BY appointing new members ot the Los Angeles Airport Commission, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has taken one step closer toward fulfilling his campaign pledge to undo former Mayor James Hahn's excessive plans for LAX ``modernization.''

All the more promising is that, in making the appointments, Villaraigosa stressed the need for a regional approach to Southern California air traffic.

His appointees expressed the same priority. One comes from a group that's sued to block the implementation of Hahn's $11 billion boondoggle for expanding Los Angeles International Airport. And Villaraigosa says settlement talks in that case are under way.

LAX needs renovation and security enhancements. But L.A. doesn't need the traffic nightmare - or the cost - of Hahn's gift to well-connected unions and contractors.

Between the new commission and the settlement talks, it seems the pieces are falling into place. We can only hope that the Hahn plan will soon be terminated, as promised.