On Feb. 3, 2014, the newly constructed USS Somerset, a San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock of the United States Navy, left Avondale Shipyard to great media fanfare and bittersweet waves. For seven decades, the shipyard had been a bustling, vibrant facility, employing generations of residents at all levels of education and skill sets – 26,000 men and women at its peak. The USS Somerset was the last Navy ship constructed at the storied facility, and its departure coincided with the closing of what had once been the state’s largest employer. Read more >>