JPL CANCELS OPEN HOUSE SECURITY TAKES TOP PRECEDENCE.

Byline: Becky Oskin Staff Writer

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE - Citing security concerns, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory canceled its popular annual open house, a weekend event in spring that typically draws more than 40,000.

JPL News Chief Veronica McGregor said the open house was not canceled because of specific security threats but because heightened security makes the logistics difficult.

The lab has not set a new date for the event, McGregor said.

``It's just not on the calendar for right now. We're hoping to reschedule. We want to wait till we can do it right,'' she said.

Each year more than 500 JPL and Caltech employees volunteer to give tours and answer questions during the open house event, which has been held in May or June for more than 20 years.

The scientists and engineers take visitors from deep-freeze space testing labs to the simulated surface of Mars.

Because visitors may not park in JPL lots this year, they would face long waits for shuttle buses, McGregor said.

``It basically comes down to a parking and busing issue,'' McGregor said.

To make up for the canceled event, JPL has stepped up the number of public tours it offers during the work week.

``We're trying to get more people through the lab that way. We're looking at more ways to open up,'' McGregor said.

In a statement sent to Caltech, which manages JPL for NASA, JPL Deputy Director Eugene Tattini said, ``We are determined to reinstate this major event to the lab's calendar in the near future.''

As with all government labs since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, JPL has added extra security measures. Guards now check driver's identification for every vehicle that enters the site and sometimes inspect car trunks and trucks.