Congress Closes Concord Navy Base

Closing down the inland portion of the Concord Naval Weapons Station became final as Congress approved President Bush's recommendation to shut down 22 major military bases and realign another 33 in a cost-cutting move that will save the Pentagon about $4 billion a year, according to a Contra Costa Times report. The station shut down is different from any other base closure experts can recall in two ways: Local officials lobbied for the shut down and essentially no jobs will be lost. Shutting down the base will be a multi-year process that will involve sales to developers and planning meetings where residents, business leaders, environmentalists and others will have input on the land's future. Source: The Contra Costa Times