California State Park Closures

[SAR_Squid79]

Don't let Sacramento close our state parks! By taking away state parks'
General Fund budget over 200 parks risk closure! Help us fight the
closure proposal by donating today. Your donation will help us keep the
pressure on the Governor and State Legislature so that everyone can
continue to enjoy California's magnificent state parks!
Governor Schwarzenegger's budget plan that if approved will close at least
80% of California's entire state park system.


LIST OF PROPOSED CLOSURES

MORE INFO

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[NorcalPR]

Damn this sucks. Donation is heading that way!!!

STEP UP PEOPLE!!!

[SAR_Squid79]

Yeah - especially since Anza Borrego is right at the top of the list of closures...

**THANKS MODS**

[NorcalPR]

Originally Posted by SAR_Squid79

Yeah - especially since Anza Borrego is right at the top of the list of closures...

P.S. I have NO IDEA why the title of this thread is 'Credit Card Question'. I posted this in about 5 different places, and the title is 'California State Park Closures' . . . wierd . . .

Can I get a mod to change that for me?

I wish I could for ya, but I'm VP and I don't have any prevledges...

[Yotatlindz]

California plans on closing 200 out of the 279 parks we have. My buddy that works at the park above my house is getting i.u.o's from the state. Governor Schwarzenegger is a tool.

[TheAussie1]

Yea Phill we gotta get on that for ya, changed it, and I think we should just fire everyone but a governor, thatd save us a ton of money lol

[NorcalPR]

Originally Posted by TheAussie1

Yea Phill we gotta get on that for ya, changed it, and I think we should just fire everyone but the governator, thatd save us a ton of money lol

fixed it for ya

[TheAussie1]

chit, what was I thinking

[Killer Red Taco]

I am not sure how they will be able to close some of those parks. Some have no gate or fences to keep people out. So they will probably just remove the the rangers and leave the park to it's own demise from vandals.

Take for example Bodie SHP The is no way to close that place, No real gates or fences. Once the ranger support is gone what will keep the town safe from vandals, wild fires, and decay.

Columbia SHP is part of the town of Columbia. No real way to close it down, vandals will have it destoyed in no time.

This extremly sad, how can we do this to our states heritage.

[NorCalBorn]

Originally Posted by Yotatlindz

California plans on closing 200 out of the 279 parks we have. My buddy that works at the park above my house is getting i.u.o's from the state. Governor Schwarzenegger is a tool.

OK, I hate politics, I hate having to voice my side, as it inevitably pisses off folks, but in this case I am going to offer some insight here hoping it's taken as such..

*Instead of griping about the first person in a long time to make our representatives work together for a change, maybe consider calling your rep and telling them to fix things and stop stalling.

I can tell you in my personal opinion that Stark, Feinstein, Boxer and Pelosi don't really represent our interests either as wheelers or as park users very well. It sucks that things have had to come to this point, but it's up to us as constituants/voters to make our elected officials do their job.

Remember, it wasn't too long ago that people wanted Davis out of office for similar underlying issues.

Lesson I am trying to add here, aside from the value of Jamie's post is this..

Don't think that just simply stepping up with your money will assist things, especially in the state the economy is in right now. Step up and make a phone call or write a letter. Make your voice and opinion known or things will continue along the path they are right now. Heck, go out and do some trailwork or volunteer for a project, which in my opinion and personal experience far outweighs any dollar amount I can give as it assures me of what my efforts have gone into. It's easy to just write a check, then not worry about where in the general fund it ends up, right!!??

*Note, I don't agree with everything Arnold does, but he is actually doing something instead of letting things go awry. Respect that and let him do what he needs to, which as it appears, is showing us all that we as individuals need to make our representatives, well...

Represent us for once! (*What a simple concept, isn't that what they're supposed to be doing?)

*Your friendly TTORA Nor-Cal Advisory Social Solver, A.S.S. for short..(Constituant Geo-Economic-Political Advisor.)

[NorcalPR]

Don't think that just simply stepping up with your money will assist things, especially in the state the economy is in right now. Step up and make a phone call or write a letter. Make your voice and opinion known or things will continue along the path they are right now. Heck, go out and do some trailwork or volunteer for a project, which in my opinion and personal experience far outweighs any dollar amount I can give as it assures me of what my efforts have gone into. It's easy to just write a check, then not worry about where in the general fund it ends up, right!!??

Excellent point. I doubt that we will all be able to raise the funds to keep it open because there is probably too much money involved. I'm not saying don't donate, everyone should, but I think we would all write in as well.

[NorCalBorn]

Thanks for the support on that Phill..

In case I wasn't clear we can all look at it like this..

Getting involved is always a grandiose idea but in reality some of our legislative personnel have decided not to go to meetings. In essence they have chosen not to get involved.

O.K. that is their choice. I for one, as a taxpayer paying their wages, think that if they take an unauthorized/unnecessary/unexcused time segment away from what I consider to be their jobs then DOCK THEIR PAY ACCORDINGLY OR FIRE THEM. We are also paying them for their expertise in problem solving. Obviously they can not perform this job function also. Again DOCK THEIR WAGES OR FIRE THEM. An employer we would work for wouldn't tolerate this so why should we as their employers, right?

Consider this, maybe use this new funding source to pay for the vital services our state needs. Parks, pools, etc. will have to wait as human care is a priority a few steps above these items..yes we all need to recreate, but I am also aware that programs such as elderly care and CalWorks as well as some financial programs for students are on the chopping block. So how are we to help our economic situation by taking away health and education..who'll take care of things if they don't, right?

Our Governor is on the right track. Get rid of fraud and special interest funding that is totally unrelated to what the primary need is in a specific bill. They also need to get the details right on future spending. Oversight does not represent the cure all, it only delays things and again lends to pushing by special interests.

Look at how all that money went to the automakers without stating, in writing, that the money could not be used in executive bonuses. They had legality on their side, we got screwed because someone either didn't do their homework, or pushed through rather than give money to programs like Parks that need it.

Also of interest is the fact that the legislatures agreed to take temporary pay modifications. HOWEVER it will not take effect until Dec. 2010. By then things may be worked out and they won't be affected at all. I also have not heard anything that mentions that they will not eventually get that pay retroactively once the crises is over. It will probably have interest added on. Such a deal.

DO NOT LET THE LEGISLATURES LEAVE THEIR WORK UNDONE. DRASTIC MEASURES ARE CALLED FOR. NO RESULTS THEN NO ONES GOES HOME.

~told ya I hate politics, but I never said I didn't know it. *Also Note that back-when I never offered up for Club Secretary because you'd all want to kick me.

[SAR_Squid79]

Got another update today via email:

As you may have heard, last night the Big 5 (Governor Schwarzenegger plus the Democratic and Republican leaders in the State Senate and Assembly) announced they have reached a deal on the state budget. The details are not yet in print, but several sources are confirming that $70 million of the park system's General Fund allocation will be eliminated, with $62 million backfilled by other funding sources on what appears to be a one-time basis.
This leaves the state park system with an $8 million gap, and is expected to result in park closures. At this time, there is not a list of certain closures, we do not know how many or which parks may be closed as a result of the budget deal.
Considering where we started just 8 weeks ago, this outcome is better for state parks than most people could have imagined. We are not finished – the Legislature still needs to approve the budget deal by the end of the week and more details need to come out regarding the parks that will close – but the fact that we're looking at a much more scaled-down version of park cuts than we started with is welcome news. It is certainly a testament to the Save Our State Parks Campaign, the tens of thousands of Californians – like you! – who stood up for their parks, and the efforts of all of us that we've stared down such a draconian proposal.
In terms of next steps, the deal must be agreed to by 2/3 of the Legislature, and they're expected to vote on it on Thursday or Friday. As you can imagine, there are plenty of pieces in this agreement for all sides to hate, but let's hope there is the will to at least get this passed now, to keep the state moving forward.
Thank you for your efforts to help Save Our State Parks, and we will update you once a final state budget is in place.

Traci Verardo-Torres
Vice President, Government Affairs