The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Letters

A disaster center will not be housed at Onizuka base

I need to clarify some information contained in one of your recent articles.

In the 15th paragraph of the article that appeared on page six of the June 17 issue titled "Council extends contract with Moffett consultants," Justin Berton reported that "In February, [Sunnyvale councilmembers] Vorreiter and Miller stood alongside Assemblywoman Elaine White Alquist as she announced a state bill calling for the creation of the California Disaster Mitigation Center at Onizuka Air Station."

While Assemblywoman Alquist's office did issue a press release suggesting an association between Onizuka and the CDMC in the draft bill language (although she never personally made any such announcement), that state bill has since been amended. There is currently no mention in that legislation, or any other legislative initiatives addressing the CDMC, suggesting that the center operate at Onizuka.

Onizuka Air Station will continue to carry on its current mission well into the next decade, despite plans to realign many of the base's functions and activities under the Base Realignment and Closure requirements. For that reason, there are no current or near-future plans to house the center at the air station.

Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to clarify this issue.

Col. James E. Dill
Commander, 750th Space Group, Onizuka Air Station

[ Back to Contents Page | Sunnyvale Sun Home Page | Archives ]

This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, June 24, 1998.
©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.