Delegation returns from Washington

DOWNEY - A delegation of Downey officials returned from Washington, D.C. last week where they discussed local issues - particularly the Columbia Memorial Space Center - with Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard.Located on a 13-acre parcel of the former NASA Downey site, the 20,000-square foot facility honors the memory of the Columbia Space Shuttle astronauts who died on Feb. 1, 2003. The congresswoman authored legislation to name the center in honor of the fallen astronauts and secured $1 million in federal funding toward the project. City officials are currently attempting to build an adjacent facility to house a full-scale space shuttle mock-up. "We showed her some of the preliminary drawings and discussed ways for us to continue to add to our educational programs for our future engineers and scientists," said Councilman Mario Guerra, who made the trip with Mayor Luis Marquez, assistant city manager Gilbert Livas and deputy city manager Desi Alvarez. While in Washington, the delegation also met with officials from NASA and the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum.

********** Published: March 10, 2011 - Volume 9 - Issue 47