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LONG BEACH : Lobbyist Hired in Bid to Keep Shipyard Open

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The city has hired a Washington lobbying firm to help persuade federal officials to spare the Long Beach Naval Shipyard during another round of base closures this year.

The city will pay $130,000 to Thicksten, Grimm, Burgum Inc., which was involved in the effort to save the Defense Language Institute in Monterey when it was targeted for closure in 1993.

An associate of the firm has been working with city and shipyard officials to prepare technical reports to submit to the federal Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, City Manager James Hankla said.

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This year’s base-closure list is expected to be announced in March, with final decisions to be made in June, he said.

The Long Beach shipyard has narrowly escaped closure twice in the past three years, and has been evaluated for closure regularly since the base closure and realignment process began in 1989. Since then, 22 of California’s 66 bases have been closed.

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