DOWNEY SITE OF `SMITHSONIAN WEST'? : NEIGHBORING NORWALK ENDORSES TOWN FOR ITS LINK TO AERONAUTICS.Byline: Sharon Sharon, city, United States Sharon (shâr`ən), city (1990 pop. 17,493), Mercer co., NW Pa., on the Shenango River, near the Ohio line; settled c.1800, inc. as a city 1920. Stewart Knight-Ridder Tribune tribune, in ancient Rome, one of various officers. The history of the office of tribune is closely associated with the struggle of the plebs against the patrician class to achieve a more equitable position in the state. From c.508 B.C. News Wire Proposals to create a West Coast branch of the Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution, research and education center, at Washington, D.C.; founded 1846 under terms of the will of James Smithson of London, who in 1829 bequeathed his fortune to the United States to create an establishment for the "increase and diffusion of are in their infancy infancy, stage of human development lasting from birth to approximately two years of age. The hallmarks of infancy are physical growth, motor development, vocal development, and cognitive and social development. , but Norwalk officials have already thrown their support to Downey as the perfect Western home for the revered cultural and educational institution. In a Feb. 27, 1996, letter to Downey Mayor Gary P. McCaughan, then-Norwalk Mayor Judith Brennan wrote, ``The considerable amount of space-industry history in and around Downey makes this site a natural choice for a space-related showcase of American history. The concept of a West Coast branch of the Smithsonian Institution is clearly in the best interests of the southeast area. The City of Norwalk supports and encourages its development.'' But recently Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill got almost 1,000 letters from area residents supporting a Smithsonian West in Long Beach. So, does Brennan's letter portend por·tend tr.v. por·tend·ed, por·tend·ing, por·tends 1. To serve as an omen or a warning of; presage: black clouds that portend a storm. 2. a future lobbying war between Long Beach and Downey? Not necessarily so, say Long Beach and Downey officials. ``That letter was sent voluntarily by Norwalk; we didn't solicit it,'' Downey Councilwoman Joyce Lawrence said. ``We're not soliciting any letters now because first we have to get the land.'' The perfect site for a Smithsonian West is a 166-acre parcel located on Imperial Highway between Bellflower bellflower, in botany bellflower or bluebell, name commonly used as a comprehensive term for members of the Campanulaceae, a family of chiefly herbaceous annuals or perennials of wide distribution, characteristically found on dry and Lakewood boulevards, Downey officials said. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), civilian agency of the U.S. federal government with the mission of conducting research and developing operational programs in the areas of space exploration, artificial satellites (see satellite, artificial), , the current owner of the land, is trying to reduce its property holdings, and Downey officials are pressing the federal government to turn the site over to the city. But the city's first priority is to preserve the remaining 3,600 jobs left at Rockwell International Rockwell International was the ultimate incarnation of a series of companies under the sphere of influence of Willard Rockwell, who had made his fortune after the invention and successful launch of a new bearing system for truck axles in 1919. , which sits on approximately 45 acres contiguous Adjacent or touching. Contrast with fragmentation. See contiguous file. to NASA's holdings, said Art Rangel, director of community and economic development for Downey. ``Secondly, we need to try and put some of that underutilized property to better use, primarily for job creation,'' Rangel said. The city's third priority is to gather the necessary funds to build a museum that would be affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., he said. NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. has indicated it might be willing to release the property, Lawrence said. ``We think it's going to go forward, but we haven't counted any of our chickens yet,'' she said. ``There's hardly any interest (among Downey residents) in the process we might have to go through to get through all these minefields in Washington. They just want a Smithsonian. They just want a museum. The educational value and all the spinoffs it would bring to the community has people excited, but we have to get the land first.'' Long Beach's O'Neill said whether the Smithsonian will lend its name to a West Coast museum is not up to either city. ``I don't feel that we are in competition'' with Downey, she said. ``I really think it's up to the Smithsonian. I don't think it is a matter of a bidding war at all.'' As a matter of fact, said O'Neill's chief of staff, Randal Hernandez, there's the possibility that Long Beach and Downey both could have museums carrying the prestigious Smithsonian name. Rangel, Downey's director of economic development, agreed. ``The Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., is spread out over acres and acres,'' he said. ``In this case, a stop in a tour could be the Downey air and space museum and the other stop would be the arts museum, for instance, in Long Beach.'' |
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