Government Contracts

Boeing Co. and supporters of the C-17 cargo plane launched a multi-front public relations offensive Thursday, hoping to extend the life of one of Southern California's last major military aircraft factories. The company ran full-page advertisements in local newspapers, including The Times, and about 450 union members staged a rally near the plane's assembly line in Long Beach urging Congress to buy more of the aircraft. In Washington, 18 U.S. senators also wrote a letter seeking support to keep the aircraft production moving.

In a scathing letter to Orange County officials, Planned Parenthood accused them of having "gerrymandered" the process for doling out health grants and having imposed obstacles to prevent it from running a breast-health program.

Pressured by intensive lobbying from groups that include Los Angeles County's most powerful labor unions, transportation officials are slated today to decide whether to give Italian rail-car maker AnsaldoBreda a second chance at a $300-million contract. For months, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials have been locked in debate with the company over the quality of the 50 rail cars it has built under an existing contract that is three years behind schedule.

Negotiations heated up Monday between Los Angeles County transportation officials and an Italian firm seeking to extend its contract so it can build 100 light-rail cars, a deal worth $300 million. With a decision by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board expected Thursday, agency CEO Art Leahy released a memo recommending against exercising AnsaldoBreda's contract options for the 100 cars.

Los Angeles County officials are cracking down on potential county contractors with overdue property tax bills. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a law to require those applying to become county contractors to certify that they don't owe property taxes. Supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky and Gloria Molina were not at the meeting and did not vote on the proposal. The new requirement comes at a time of countywide belt-tightening.

The Obama administration continued its push for a legal workforce Wednesday with an announcement that federal contractors and subcontractors would soon be required to verify that their employees are eligible to work in the U.S. Beginning Sept. 8, the government will award contracts only to companies that enroll in E-Verify, an online program that uses federal databases to check whether employees are in the country legally and authorized to work.

Boeing Co.'s C-17 cargo plane, assembled in Long Beach and in a fight for survival in the nation's Capitol, gained the support of the House on Thursday but faces political head winds in the Senate. It is one of the first budget showdowns between President Obama and Congress. In a victory for the aerospace giant, the House included $2.2 billion for eight more C-17s in a war-spending bill. Defense Secretary Robert M.

Prospects are brightening for Boeing Co.'s once-threatened C-17 aircraft factory in Long Beach, where 5,000 workers could find themselves employed for several more years -- if not longer. The factory is home to the last major airplane production line left in Southern California. For decades, the region was the nation's bastion of aircraft manufacturing, with plants from Burbank to San Diego rolling out planes hourly.

Unpaid taxes have shipwrecked the careers of a few politicians lately. Two Los Angeles entrepreneurs have won a State Department contract that could stop others from running into the same reef. Competing against much larger business software developers, Phillip Yadidian and Behdad Payami have landed a deal to make federal financial disclosure forms used by public officials easier and quicker to use. They say the software also helps catch mistakes that can come back to haunt politicians.

Government auditors denied protests lodged by Northrop Grumman Corp. and Textron Inc., keeping the military contractors out of a competition to build lightweight tactical vehicles to replace the Humvee. The Army and the Marine Corps have been looking for a vehicle that can withstand roadside bombs and explosives but is more agile on mountainous terrain and narrow roads than existing mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles being used in Iraq and Afghanistan. The services are expected to order 65,000 vehicles.