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Economic, as Well as Military, Protection : Delegation to D.C. should defend Edwards Air Base, the key to Antelope Valley’s future

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The Antelope Valley can breathe easier because Edwards Air Force Base was not named by the Pentagon in the latest round of proposed military base closings.

But the northernmost part of Los Angeles County still has plenty to think about--and California officials plenty to do--to shore up the area’s economy.

Unemployment in the area has been variously estimated at 10% to 15%, according to economist Ron Halcrow of Antelope Valley College. He adds that Palmdale and Lancaster, unfortunately, cannot offer the lavish incentives that attract the choicest industries. For now, the military remains all-important.

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The defense-industry facility known as Plant 42, the area’s second major installation, has not fared badly so far. However, it could suffer cutbacks, depending on the future of the B-2 bomber. And many Antelope Valley residents are (or were) working in battered defense industries in the San Fernando Valley and elsewhere in Los Angeles County.

Now fierce scrimmages are under way for pieces of the downsizing military establishment. They include one between members of Congress from California and Maryland over their respective test-pilot schools.

Californians want the school at Patuxent River Naval Air Station moved to Edwards. Marylanders want Edwards’ famed flight school moved there. Behind the battle lies the assumption that only one such facility is needed.

The California congressional delegation must continue to strongly argue the case for Edwards, which offers pilots magnificent visibility over miles of desert land.

Clean air, in fact, is part of an issue on which California officials are trying to eliminate a potential bar to expansion at Edwards. The base, mostly in Kern County, lies in an air-quality zone that is out of compliance with ozone standards. A federal law designed to prevent degradation of already bad air prohibits new government facilities in such zones. It is feared that this could be used to keep new military activities from moving to Edwards, as has happened several times in the past few months.

California’s senators argue, reasonably, that the minimally polluting base should not suffer because of smog in Bakersfield, 70 miles away.

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Economically, a hopeful sign is that several new non-defense industries are bringing some economic diversity to the Antelope Valley. Examples are plants that will print checks and make camper shells. But they will add just a handful of jobs, not the thousands at a time that economist Halcrow believes are needed.

A thriving Edwards will ease the painful economic transition in the Antelope Valley. Keeping it that way will take sustained effort.

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