Southeast

FIGHTING CUTBACKS: Silence over the fate of the area’s Employment Development Department has put some Lynwood residents and elected officials on edge.

Led by Lynwood’s mayor and City Council members, protesters have gathered outside the North Bullis Road office every Friday at noon for more than a month to defend the center from cutbacks being considered in Sacramento.

State officials say there is no reason to fear for the Compton office, which provides services including job referrals to about 300,000 residents of Lynwood, Compton and Paramount. They say plans to reduce the size of the statewide system have not been finalized, even though some offices have been closed to walk-in service.

Councilman Robert Henning, who works as a supervisor in the Compton office, said he fears that the office could be reduced to telephone filing, which would limit its responsiveness.

“We need those services more than anyone in the state of California,” Henning said. “There’s nothing in writing saying it isn’t going to close.”

Whatever happens to the Compton site, department spokeswoman Suzanne Schroeder said, “services will remain in the area.”