What a shame.... The community is just going to have to come up with the $$ itself (NASA isn't going to take money out of its own kick to clean up a Navy mess, that's just a fantasy).

What's that? The community can't/won't come up with the $8 million. Oh well, the community will have spoken.

If people feel the hanger is so valuable in whatever way, then let those people find the money... in whatever way. Just don't ask the rest of us to pay for it when there are SO many other more pressing needs it should go towards.

We should all take interest in saving Hanger 1 as it is an irreplacable piece of our history. It is unique and amazing in size and function and could easily be turned into an air museum (West Coast Smithsonian), large crowd venue, or some other profitable business that would fit in with its history. Whether we support our country's military or not this is something that reminds us that there have always been those who serve when called on, and in a true time of need, served above and beyond the call and gave us the freedom we have today. My father was a naval aviator and when we moved to CA in the late 1960's we were looking for a house in this area. He made sure to get me as close to the hangers at Moffett because he understood the magnificent part they had in our history. Because of WW II and Korea my father's life changed and he had a wonderful career flying for an airline. Thanks to the Navy I was able to grow up in a nice world where there was not anything to keep me from succeeding in life.
I have been in all the hangers at Moffett and they are really a sight to behold. We need to find a way to preserve Hanger 1 as it is not only a piece of history to be dedicated to "Our Greatest Generation", but also a valuable resource we could use.

An 8 Trillion Deficit and white folks in Mountain view want our grandkids to pay for this?.......

all you preserevationist (I bet most do not understand Gov who needs to help the poor can't pay for this) Get a life and let the thing die.... it is only a building.... A Building... No great acts of mankind came from there (Ie not center of Civil Rights or Emanicapation of slaves......) Let the building die and move on...and not waste our kids and grand kids tax money on this.....

$28 million to save this hunk of junk!? Not to mention the ongoing maintenance costs? What are you people smoking? It seems as though everything older than 40 years magically becomes "historic" and worthy of flushing cash away on. Get real and set some priorities. Would you agree to have your taxes raised to pay for this? How about a Peninsula 10c a gallon fuel surcharge? No you say? Ha!

Gee those terrible Republicans are just so terrible for stopping $8 million to be wasted on this thing. Makes me want to vote for a democrat who would throw money away on it.

The Voice should really consider who it banners its articles. Its a dead giveaway how this paper leans every time.

Since Google already has a private jet there. Let them put a big banner on the hangar in exchange for repairing the hangar. It would make for a very nice corporate headquarters. Another way for revenue is to make Moffett a high end airport for silicon valley executives. There is a lot of money in this area, so private enterprise could make this work.

Ernie has it. Let private money save it, if it's worth saving.

MV Voice,
I admire Hangar One whenever I pass through Moffett.
It's iconic visage is worthy of being saved one way or another.
But what passes for journalism in this article should NOT be saved.
Using the inflammatory banner to blame Republicans is just lazy
writing. Why not craft the text to explain the complex machinations
involved in hammering out the compromises in an overly complex and
overly expensive all in-compassing bill? The Republicans agreed to the
dollar amount. What they didn't agree to were facets of the you-guessed-it the Healthcare 'overhaul'. Go figure. There was no
counterpoint to Ms. Eshoo's or Mr. Siegel's characterizations.
I'm sure many of the Hangar One supporters are Republicans. But
saving the hangar isn't a Rebublican or Democrat issue. Please don't
try to make it one. And miss-representing what happens in Congress is lame. Mr. Debolt might consider Calendar Events or the Dining Out section for his future writing outlet.
-dc

Agree with many here that this issue is not a political one, but a fiscal one. Shame on MV Voice for framing the discussion as such.

A simpler name for earmarks is pork barrel spending, hitching on to bigger, more important legislation in hopes that no one sees this expenditure sneak into the budget.

Far more telling than the Republicans rejection of this rider, is Anna Eshoo's strategy for getting this done:

1. Try to sneak an earmark on a larger bill.

2. When that fails, blame the opposition.

3. Then, recommit NASA to follow up on the responsibility and cost for promises she made to her voting base.

Democrat or Republican, anyone practicing this type of maneuvering in professional circles is untrustworthy.

Considering the state of the federal budget, I don't see the hangar as a priority, but better suited for a private solution, if there is one.

$8M for the cronies of city council and the people in power running the city? I am glad this is dead. this is pure pork. COrruption gone wild among our cities and town. I hope the citizens look at the wealth of the people we elect before and after. You will understand how corrupt our country has become. 98% of $8M goes into the pockets of the well to do and powerful who are running our city and the remaining 2 percent goes to the employment of the illegal immigrants wages to do the actual work. Shame on all of us.

Ms. Eshoo did not 'secure' funding for the hanger. She simply snuck it onto another bill as an earmark. While I want the hanger to stay, I, like most voters these days, hate earmarks and am glad they are getting rooted out. If we want the hanger preserved so badly, and I do, they we should put our money where our mouths are. I am willing to contribute. And heck, Google and other MV companies could put up 8Mil with chump change. THAT is how it should get funded. NOT by sticking on a bill to sneak it past people.

"It is just a building." So is the Golden Gate Bridge just a structure. Same designer, same amazing never-to-be duplicated arches and patterns. People from all over the world see Hangar One as iconic for the Bay Area. It is so sad to have people who have not researched this refer to it as junk etc.

Hmm. Maybe we could get NASA to agree to let Google retrofit Hangar One as a hotel and apartments. Then we could take care of two problems at once :-). Hangar One is definitely worth saving; hopefully there will be a strong, influential person who can step up to make it happen.

Between the manipulation of the earmark process, and her donations to the recent (mercifully failed) Proposition 27 effort to repeal citizens' redistricting, I'm ashamed and angry that I supported Ms. Eshoo in the last election.

Why not offer the hanger as a billboard for anyone willing to pay for the cover materials and labor? This wouldn't have to be a permanent solution - two to five years should be sufficient motivation for an advertiser or intermediary. The advertiser's logo itself could be separate from the cover material for easy removal or replacement, and the local airship's operator, E-Green Technologies, must have expertise in applying suitable material to a metallic framework. Surely the innovative minds at Google, Apple, Adobe, etc. can come up with a striking, even dynamic, advertising design that the public could tolerate for a few years. What goes inside the hanger could be a separate issue from the covering.

I can't believe the shortsightedness and hypocrisy I see on here.

PH says, '...a piece of history to be dedicated to "Our Greatest Generation", but also a valuable resource we could use."

Our Greatest Generation better be our kids since our "Greatest Generation" is leaving them a bunch of potentially civilization-ending problems. Spend the money on education, not a hangar.

Then Dr. Collateral regales us with sheer mendacity, "Between the manipulation of the earmark process, and her donations to the recent (mercifully failed) Proposition 27 effort to repeal citizens' redistricting, I'm ashamed and angry that I supported Ms. Eshoo in the last election."

Oops, all the information about Eshoo was available before the election. It's obvious that Collateral is lying about having supported her to make an incoherent point.

Some people have posted remarks that are just plain rude and are knee-jerk reactions to the present poltical and economic environment that has made all of us painfully aware of the lack of funds to spend on anything except the things that we think are our basic needs. I might not care to have money spent on other things such as art and music, school sports, libraries, govenment supported projects that I don't benefit from such as public transit, yet I don't insult the opinions of others with such rudness.
If you just can't understand that some people would like to preserve history, even if "its just a building", that's allright, but maybe something near and dear to you is not what others want their tax money spent on either.
Congress and our government waste billions on ridiculous projects and studies such as cow emissions that might affect the environment and these are truly things most of us should be angry at them for. Write them, call them or e-mail them and let them know you are tired of the waste at all levels, but try not to keep the good things from happening. I have no children but it is absolutely imperative to keep our schools well funded and see that our children get an exceptional education. I gain nothing now, but our nation can and will benefit from a better system. So do we kill sports, arts, music and other programs to give kids the core education or do we give them the other things that enrich the world we live in? The politicians get the best of everything and take our ability to live well away and don't seem to care. Some of the people are right about the poor system we have developed with its earmarks and pork barrel spending, favoritism towards the rich and large business and unwillingness to reform lobbying to give the good causes a chance.
Did the founding fathers want this to happen? I seriously doubt it, but I know they would want us to preserve our history and to teach our future generations about it and learn from the past in order to have a better future.
While we might not get our politicians to help, the opinion expressed by many that private indusrty could pitch in and save things like Hanger One is a valid idea and it would be nice if our media would put out the call to them and remind them that it is good public policy on their part to give back to the people who keep them in business and maybe with some political push and public requests, something could be done and even possibly it could be for the good of the public in some use of such facilities to incorporate our local needs.
With a large building there are many opportunities. Imagine how many people in need of shelter a place like Hanger One could hold. There's one idea, how many of us can come up with others? I'm not saying all of the corporate businesses aren't already helping out, but it doesn't hurt to ask and see if someone will do more.
We love to bash other people's opinions and we are lucky that we live where we can say what we want about our government and not be thrown in prison, so we should save our history as a reminder of the incredible sacrifices that those who came before made in order to give us a better nation. It's not their fault that others have messed things up, but they deserve to be honored for their efforts. Saving Hanger One might turn into something very beneficial, but we won't know if we don't save it.
There are lots of airports and facilities that our military built and the public inherited that are providing us things we want and need. Look at the Presidio and Crissy Field, Treasure Island, Alameda NAS, and other plces and you find a variety of uses never imagined when they were military. We should be open minded and find a way to effectively save the marvelous building called Hanger One.
Next e-mails go to NASA, the Smithsonian, the Navy and those I think could get together and help, but not at great cost to us, the taxpayers. Isn't there something you could do to keep your interests from being nothing but a memory as well?

I'll repeat the previous comment I made:

A certain company could afFORD to help...

Another company " could bring good things to life "....

" Lets Move Some Chairs " and get this problem fixed.

Google needs to do more for their close hangar space....

The Yahoos in the South Bay should do the same....Dump the Yamsters and use the extra income on Hangar One...

As could many of the PRIVATE COMPANIES that have had benefits from the work done at the Moffett Field complex...

Remember the Fairchild " rust bucket " and the liberties they took just across Hiway 101?

But the real contempt should be directed at the MV VOICE and Eshoo for the behavior that has been displayed here.

The TOKEN help that the Voice and Eschoo have performed show that BOTH are not fit to represent the people of Mountain View.

I hope that SOME intelligent people remain in Mountain View. Eschoo and the Voice staff " reporters " along with the editor have shown a distinct lack of qualifications for their jobs.

How about doing something that actually saves Hangar One instead of bloviating about it?

As I was writing the post above, there was a comment by Seer that "Our Greatest Generation" is responsible for our present situation. Next time you meet a veteran of the Second World War, go ahead and insult the member of a generation that grew up in a time that encompassed the Great Depression, two wars, or more for some of them, and the greatest threats to our good life that nuclear and cold war opposition could give us. It is not they, but our Baby Boomer generation and their children who grew up in a time of prosperity and opportunity that we have to blame. We have become a selfish, greedy society that is only interested in having everything we can, that is the problem.
It isn,t the older folks who are dying each day by the thousands without asking for reconition for what good they have done that we should point the finger at, but those who used the post WW II prosperity to build a system of wealth and greed. With our philosophical changes about war and government came some very poor ideas about how to live. Instead of using our ability to get ahead wisely, we became a society of people who teach our children that they as an individual are more important than the good of everyone and that material wealth is the goal to reach. We live like the Romans and where is that great civilisation now? Its all about "Me" and today and being better than the next person. It is true that poor government and greedy business got us to this point, but they didn't force people to live beyond their means and extend themselves so far financially that when it all started to fall apart they couldn't make ends meet. We as a society need to grow up and face the fact that the past can't be changed, but it can be learned from and use it to our advantage. I have done nothing but work hard for years and this mess of an economy is something I get for being alive at this time. My old mother does not get out on a financial limb, my father did not, and I don't. I suffer from the deeds of others who are making my life harder by their lack of responsibility to our society as a whole.
Don't blame the generation of my father as I might not be this free or an American citizen if his generation had not selflessly defended our nation when asked. It is an honor and a privilege to have known these people and it never ceases to amaze me that they are so much more moral and decent than the people of today, yet modest about their achievements, always deffering to the others who they say are the real heros. They knew how to do whatever it took to live and could do far more for themselves than our technology dependent modern generation that has lost many of the simple life skills needed for every day life or when an emergency arises. Who bailed us out of the Y2K mess? It was the old folks with their antiquated technology who came out of retirement to save all of us who thought we knew it all. Let's not criticize them in hind-sight, as most of them were trying to do the right things, but learn from them and be wise in our present day so that, if we are lucky, we will leave future generations a better world.

I, too, wish that Hanger 1 can be saved, and re-skinning it is a critical part of that.

Hanger 1 is a federal government building and maintenance of federal property is part of ownership. I believe removing the toxic elements of the building and replacing them with non-toxic materials is part of that maintenance responsibility. It is true that the government can choose to demolish or replace property rather than maintain it, but I believe the current refurbishment plan is best for Hanger 1.

It is also true, unfortunately, that the federal government is notorious for poor maintenance of its buildings. This the the result of a misguided attempt to save money by postponing maintenance, not realizing that a penny saved today will be a dime or a dollar spent later.

Yes, folks, the government is not always wise in how it spends money. And PH is right: we are all "tired of the waste at all levels." But keep in mind that one person's waste is not necessarily every person's waste, and may even be another person's necessity.

What should be done with Hanger 1 if it is refurbished? Many ideas have been proposed, including housing and office space, but my preference is for a museum. Because of its historical significance, Hanger 1 is a museum in and of itself and I like the idea of putting a museum inside a museum.

The Air and Space West Foundation is only the latest of several non-profit organizations that have sprung up to support the idea of keeping and re-using Hanger 1. I have offered them my support and I hope many others will, too.

I think an Air and Space Museum would be great. Or how about getting one of the heirs to the GE fortune to move his massive private collection of armored vehicles, the Littlefield Collection, out of its Portola Valley tax shelter and into hanger one for all to see? Check out the weblink if you don't know what I'm talking about. Web Link

That collection is the kind of greed and self-centeredness I'll never understand.

I've said some pretty stong things, but I have examples to back me up on what COULD happen when the WHOLE community is involved.

When Stapleton Airport was closed when DIA was built, THE US GOVERNMENT had an operating airbase with a long history similar to the one Moffett Field has. Do your research into the past and you will find many parallels.....

But the major difference can be what the US GOVERNMENT AGENCIES DO ABOUT HANGAR ONE..

If you read about the Wings over the Rockies museum, you will find out what a COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT including LOCAL COMPANIES can do with these historical buildings...

And the LOWRY AFB has been given a new life....just not as an airport.

Hangar One is still part of a working airport which still has runways.

That could be used to remove the safety hazard of overlapping traffic control patterns by the MANY dupicate ( and dangerous to the public ) airports like the Palo Alto Airport....and I've flown GA aircraft.

Stop blaming ( Hint, Hint ) and look at developing the asset that is Moffett Field.

Bottom line. Project is a huge waste of taxpayer money. At least somebody provided some common sense.

There is no compelling reason why public monies should be spent on this. If it is worth saving, private investment can do it easily.

Those darned republicans! always know how to wreck a good time.

This was indeed the fault of the Republicans. When this passed the sub-committee earlier this year, a monumental task, I was sure it was going to get through.

The Republicans are choosing to focus on these little $8 million earmarks when our budget is roughly $1 trillion per year. If people really want a balanced budget, maybe they should look to higher taxes and a smaller military budget. Cutting out little earmarks here and there isn't going to help anyone.

Living adjacent to Mountain View and often patronizing businesses there, I read the Voice with interest as what effects Mountain View eventually effects me.

From the overwhelming tenor of the responses and comments one has to hope that the Editor may come to realize that the good old days symbolized by the accumulation of this massive debt not only has to be but is in fact dead.

Ms Eshoo, time for you and all other politicians - both sides of the aisle - to wake up and start doing what you were elected to do: REPRESENT THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE. After all aren't you a "representative"?

Maybe it is time for 75% of the states to hold constitutional conventions and approve an amendment to the constitution that will limit the time politicians may "Serve". It was a good idea applied to the Presidency, why not to Senators and Representatives?

Don, term limits might sound like a good idea, but in reality we end up with a bunch of rookies representing us with little knowledge of the political processes. See our state government for Exhibit A. Maybe having career politicians isn't the best thing in the world, but it's a better alternative to what we have in Sacramento.

I wish the 22nd Amendment hadn't passed, as I feel as though if someone deserves to be elected time after time, so be it. FDR did great things for this country and I'm glad he was able to serve all those years.

Why is it that no names (i.e. identifiable individuals) are associated with this "Air and Space West Foundation" on their website at http://www.airandspacewest.org ? In the presentation ( Web Link ) on their website they take all these claims that the Smithsonian, Hiller, Monterey Bay Aquarium, California Academy of Science, Tech Museum, Chabot Center, Exploratorium etc. are associated with them but provide no proof that this is indeed the case. When you contact these associations they know nothing about this organization. If you try and find out who the domain airandspacewest.org is registered to, the registration information is "hidden" ( Web Link ). Sounds very suspicious to me. Is this a non profit organization? The Voice should look into this.

I would like to see Hanger 1 saved, but I am against EARMARKS even for this project. Too much money has been wasted over the years on pet projects across the country through this devious process, by Republicans and Democrats!

It seems reasonble that if people in the private sector really want this structure saved (as well as the ongoing maintenance costs) they could find the money through corporate and/or private donations. As a taxpayer I don't think it's worth what it would cost the government - heck, it's not the Eiffel tower or the Golden Gate bridge. It draws no tourism and has no real function, and isn't that great a sight as I'm driving down 101.

I live in Mountain View and find the sheer size of these buildings to be amazing. They are historic and worth saving any way we can, but the saving of them needs to be cost effective so as not to put more burden on the taxpayers. The bottom line is that the Navy should have completely cleaned up after themselves and now that Hanger One is a NASA asset it should be clear to them that they should look for outside help to clean up and save this building. I don't know what it costs the private businesses to use the airfield, and maybe the cost can't be increased, but it would be one way to raise money. NASA needs to work the public companies for help in this and see if they can get it done without a huge cost to the public.
It is sad to think we are killing off our service men and women and many others in our wars in other countries, losing precious lives each day, and the cost of one day would take care of Hanger One and a huge amount of other things that are important such as education and healthcare. Let's quit running around taking care of the rest of the world and take care of our people first and then we can get our economy on its feet and become the stong, respectable nation we should be. It's a dream worth working on for our future generations.

Reading through all of the above it is obvious that the following is true:

1. There is a strong desire to save Hanger 1
2. No way should the required funds come from any public source.
3. There are a number of private entities with the financial where withall to fund the effort
4. "Representative" Eshoo needs to be a litttle more discriminating on which projects she "supports" and "advises" her constituancy that she has secured funding for.
5. The Voice needs to get back to the ABC's of journalism and provide its readership with an even handed balanced reporting of the news rather than the way it scandaliously position this story with its inflammatory headline.

If they wish to "blame" the Republicans for killing this misuse of the limited resources availabel, I hope to see a similar headline in each and every edition of the Voice. Maybe our economy can be saved,

Don't give so much credit to the Republicans. It is ALL DC politicians who are to blame for the shameful political quagmire process they choose to use to tax and enslave the masses of this country. Our representatives should be ashamed for agreeing on such a bundle of pork as a means to get this worth while cause passed. Funding for the hanger should have been a stand alone bill, voted on by its own merit rather than riding packaged in bundeled of pork. Lets drop federal taxes and fund local interests locally.

N.B. The District of Columbia has no congressional representatives in the United States Congress. Therefore, there are not any "D.C. Republicans". This headline is empty and meaningless.

This was in my in box today. This is another example of what could be done with the restored Hangar One:

Antiques at Wings Show & Sale
Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum
7711 E Academy Blvd Denver, CO 80230
(303) 595-0812
Visit Website

Three-day event Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.) and Jan. 2 (10 a.m. to 5 p.m.)

If Antiques and Vintage Collectibles appeal to you — maybe you've seen an aunt's cookie jar collection, or vintage toys displayed in a beautiful home — this is the place to explore this wonderful world: Antiques At Wings Antique Show & Sale. It's a three-day show presented at an historical site that's vintage itself, a World War II hangar at Wings Over the Rockies.

You'll see 44,000 square feet filled with fine and costume jewelry, furniture, ethnic collectibles, lamps, clocks, textiles, art and prints, post cards, vintage clothing and more. You'll also see Colorado memorabilia. The displays are surrounded by the museum's collection of historical aircraft and aerospace exhibits.


This is an example of what public and private support can do.

As of tomorrow my job at NASA Ames is coming to an end due to the funding issues at NASA in DC.

NASA has already had cost overruns and waste of the following:

$1.2B cost overrun for the replacement telescope for Hubble
$475M for Constellation that will never fly

I don't know about you but I would rather have Hangar 1 torn down with the other 29 buildings that are presently being demolished and have had the money put to preventing a center wide cut back that cost me my job due to NASA's spending $$ like water.