City Manager takes California City's story to Washington
Prison, Hyundai, and Edwards discussed
BY BILL DEAVER
CALIFORNIA CITY - Three major issues of concern to California City and
East Kern residents were discussed with
key officials in the nation's capitol last week by California City City
Manager Jack Stewart.
The city manager's visit to Washington, D.C., was part of an annual trek
taken by Antelope Valley officials aimed
primarily at briefing Defense Department and congressional leaders on the
importance of the region's vital aerospace and
defense industries.
Stewart said he took advantage of the trip to visit officials at the U.S.
Bureau of Prisons and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
Prison officials
"I met with John Banner, senior deputy director of the Bureau of Prisons,"
Stewart said, adding that Banner had served at
the bureau's now-closed facility at Boron, as had Charles Gilkey, current
warden at the Corrections Corporation of
America prison in California City. Inmates housed at the local prison are
all placed there by the bureau.
"We're finding that people who worked at Boron have a better understanding
of East Kern than anybody else," Stewart
said.
The message Stewart said he carried to Banner was that "we're very supportive
of what the bureau is doing and its
programs, and we have a commitment to continue to work with CCA and the
bureau on their programs and what they
are doing."
Hyundai project
Stewart also met with officials of the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service in
Washington. The city is working with the agency to
obtain final approval of the Hyundai/Kia motor vehicle test facility planned
for the city.
"We're trying to move the permit process through the federal bureaucracy,"
Stewart said, adding that he is meeting with
Fish and Wildlife and state Department of Fish and Game officials Thursday
on the same issue. He said approvals from
Kern County officials are moving on schedule. (The Kern County Local Agency
Formation Commission will hold a
protest hearing on the city's annexation plans for the facility at city
hall Friday at 1 p.m.)
"We want to make sure that everything is moving the way it's supposed to
be - we're aiming to begin construction in July,"
Stewart said. During his visit, he also met with Congressman Bill Thomas
(R-Bakersfield) and members of the
congressman's staff.
Protecting local bases
Stewart joined Antelope Valley Board of Trade leaders in visits to top
Department of Defense officials to make the case
for protecting Edwards Air Force Base and the China Lake Naval Air Weapons
Station at China Lake.
During visits to officials of Boeing, Northrop-Grumman, and Lockheed-Martin,
the region's top three defense
contractors, Stewart said the A.V. contingent was reminded of the importance
of educating local youngsters for careers in
engineering.
"The bottom line of what they told us was that we need to push education
for our kids to help them gain skills so they can
find jobs locally," Stewart said.
The A.V. delegation also received a four-hour briefing from top Air Force officials at the Pentagon.
"It was interesting getting a briefing on what was going on in the Pentagon
during a time when it was actually happening!"
Stewart said.
Base retention
Pentagon officials told the group that they were the first contingent of
community leaders in the U.S. to express their
concerns about the Base Reorganization and Closing (BRAC) process.
"We stressed our concerns about the missions of the three bases in this
region - Edwards, China Lake, and Fort Irwin -
and the fact that all three are working together in supporting each other,
not because of BRAC but because of their
missions and what is happening in Iraq," Stewart said.
"We assured them that our communities are there to support them," he said.
Defense Department officials also expressed concern about potential encroachment issues (see related story, this issue),
Stewart said.
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