SACRAMENTO - State and local air quality officials will hold a press conference on Friday, June 29 at 9:30 a.m. to kickoff the San Joaquin Valley Air Quality Study, the valley's most comprehensive air quality study ever.

The press conference will be held at the North American Weather Consultants' operations terminal, 4955 East Anderson Avenue, Suite 115, Fresno Airport. To reach the terminal, proceed east on Clinton Way and turn left onto Winery Avenue, proceed on Winery Avenue and turn right onto Andersen Avenue, proceed on Andersen to the North American Weather Consultants' office entrance. Ample parking is available outside the office, escorts will guide you to the press conference area, outside the hangar. (Thomas Bros. Directory 1988 Central Cities Ed., pg. 125, section D-1.)

Air Resources Board (ARB) Chairwoman Jananne Sharpless, Kings County Supervisor Les Brown, Basin Coordinating Council chairman, and Kern County Supervisor Pauline Larwood will be among the officials making presentations and available for interviews and photo opportunities.

Also available for photo opportunities at the airport will be as many as five aircraft and weather balloons loaded with air quality and weather monitoring equipment for use during the intensive study period to record high altitude wind speed and direction data.

 Immediately after the press conference, the project's field operations center, located three blocks from the airport at 1755B Gateway Drive, Fresno, (Thomas Bros. Directory, 1988 Central Valley Cities Ed., pg. 125, section D-2), will be open for photo opportunities. Among the items of interest are antennae for tracking weather and air pollution monitoring balloons and computer-generated air quality measurement devices.

To reach the field operations center from the Fresno Airport, drive north on McKinley Avenue to Gateway Drive, turn right on Gateway. The operations center is less than one-quarter mile on Gateway Drive.

The field operations center is the study headquarters where meteorological and pollution information will be used to determine when an intensive research period begins and ends. The intensive monitoring period will include 15 days between July 2 and September 1 with typical summer climate and air pollution concentrations.