L.B. Officials Fight for Shipyard

A delegation of Long Beach officials Wednesday ended a three-day lobbying mission in Washington aimed at preventing closure of the Long Beach Naval Shipyard and said they were encouraged by the response they received.

The group, led by Mayor Ernie Kell and U.S. Reps. Glenn M. Anderson (D-San Pedro), Dana Rohrabacher (R-Lomita) and Mervyn M. Dymally (D-Compton), pressed their case with Navy Secretary H. Lawrence Garrett III and White House officials, as well as several congressional leaders. “All of them agreed with our statement that the Long Beach Naval Shipyard should not be closed--except for Garrett. He said he’s going to evaluate it very carefully,” said Kell.

The shipyard, which the Pentagon included in January on a list of 23 military bases slated for possible closure--11 of them in California--employs about 4,100 civilians.