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  1. TopTop #1
    Helen Shane's Avatar
    Helen Shane
     

    State Park Closures

    This message originated by Coastwalk

    State Budget Cuts

    Include State Park Closures
    48 state parks would be closed;
    lifeguards would be reduced at 14 state beaches


    On January 9th, Governor Schwarzenegger released his proposed FY 2008-2009 budget, which includes closures of over 17% of the state park system, and reductions in life-guard staffing at 14 state beaches.

    Included among the state parks to be closed are Coastwalk favorites such as: Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, Estero Bluffs State Park, Manchester State Beach, Montana de Oro State Park, Morro Strand State Beach, San Simeon State Park, Tomales Bay State Park and Will Rogers State Beach. See a complete list of the proposed state park closures here.

    Some Coastwalk favorites are also among the state beaches whose lifeguard ranks would be curtailed by the proposed budget: Bolsa Chica State Beach, Huntington State Beach, San Clemente State Beach and San Onofre State Beach. See the complete list of state beaches that would be affected here.

    Analysts are scrambling to understand the ramifications of this proposed budget, and activists are working to determine the best way to respond. Coastwalk is committed to preserving our right to reach and enjoy the coastal commons. We will keep you informed about this issue and will be issuing an action alert shortly.



    Save the Date!
    April 7, 2008 is Parks Advocacy Day.
    Coastwalk Board members will be lobbying our legislators
    - and you're invited to join us!
    We'll be sending out an e-alert as we get closer to that date.
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  2. TopTop #2
    Rb3
     

    Re: State Park Closures: Also includes Armstrong Redwoods!

    Yup,

    Right in our own Front and Back yards !

    The list and an article can be found here:

    https://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/artic...n170939S29.DTL
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  3. TopTop #3
    Helen Shane's Avatar
    Helen Shane
     

    Re: State Park Closures



    The Coastwalk list is for coastal park closures only. Armstrong Woods is also on the official closure list, though I didn't see it mentioned in the SF Gate story.
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  4. TopTop #4
    TayanaGirl37's Avatar
    TayanaGirl37
     

    Re: State Park Closures

    One wonders if once they are closed they can then be sold for "rape and pillage" of prime development. Some of these locations seem like things developers might just be interested in. Regardless the "what happens next" this is an amazingly offensive idea.


    Included among the state parks to be closed are Coastwalk favorites such as: Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, Estero Bluffs State Park, Manchester State Beach, Montana de Oro State Park, Morro Strand State Beach, San Simeon State Park, Tomales Bay State Park and Will Rogers State Beach. See a complete list of the proposed state park closures here.

    Some Coastwalk favorites are also among the state beaches whose lifeguard ranks would be curtailed by the proposed budget: Bolsa Chica State Beach, Huntington State Beach, San Clemente State Beach and San Onofre State Beach. See the complete list of state beaches that would be affected here.
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  5. TopTop #5
    Helen Shane's Avatar
    Helen Shane
     

    Re: State Park Closures

    Oh Tayana, I hadn't gone there yet. You may be absolutely correct.
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  6. TopTop #6
    Stewards's Avatar
    Stewards
     

    Re: State Park Closures

    Quote Posted in reply to the post by Helen Shane: View Post
    Oh Tayana, I hadn't gone there yet. You may be absolutely correct.
    It is wonderful to see everyone's outrage. Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods will be fighting this until it goes away. You can help. I almost have the web page ready to go with information on joining our bus trip to Park Advocacy Day on April 7th and our communication campaign to our legislators and more. You can sign up to receive updates on our website at:
    www.stewardsofthecoastandredwoods.org
    We are going to be working very closely with the California State Parks Foundation. We can win this!

    I will have more information in response to your concerns soon as well.

    Michele Luna
    [email protected]
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  7. TopTop #7
    nicofrog's Avatar
    nicofrog
     

    Re: State Park Closures

    OH MY GOD

    How dumn is THAT? I lived in Gualala for 10 years, and at last count, I think we had a record no. of drownings this year on the coast, perhaps "Arnie"
    needs the money for his ludicrous Hydrogen hummer projects.
    Good lord why must we be governed by monkeys and robots. THANKS FOR THE HEADS UP AGAIN
    Nico


    Quote Posted in reply to the post by Helen Shane: View Post
    This message originated by Coastwalk

    State Budget Cuts

    Include State Park Closures
    48 state parks would be closed;
    lifeguards would be reduced at 14 state beaches


    Last edited by Barry; 01-14-2008 at 10:30 AM.
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  8. TopTop #8
    TayanaGirl37's Avatar
    TayanaGirl37
     

    Re: State Park Closures

    Area newbie wonders...are any of the Coastwalk parks on the flyways? Seems nuts to me to close any protected space that is on the flyway.
    Heidi
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  9. TopTop #9
    79paul's Avatar
    79paul
     

    Re: State Park Closures

    It's not just about park closures. Closing 48 parks is a drop in the bucket of sh** California is facing. I've followed the State budget rather closely ever since Gray Davis was ousted by Arnold in the recall. Unfortunately, it's not just the governor, but a fragmented State legislature. The bottom line is that WE the CITIZENS don't want to pay for what we want the government-- Federal, State and local-- to provide. Want to attack global warming?? Think we all should have health insurance?? Want to potholes repaired?? Want to protect our remaining wild lands from Developers?? All these things cost $$$ in this expensive state of ours. We get what we pay for. If we let the politicians sell themselves to the highest donor corporations, they get what they pay for....

    In the short term, we're up against some tough math. Cut 14.5 BILLION dollars from the budget. Immediately lop off 5 Billion from education is what's proposed (we're already #43 in state per pupil spending).
    Any more suggestions of your favorite projects we can spare???
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  10. TopTop #10
    Dynamique
    Guest

    Re: State Park Closures

    Because we do not have public campaign financing, aka "clean money" elections. Private campaign "donations" are bribes.

    You can find out more about the benefits of public campaign financing at:

    https://www.publicampaign.org/

    https://www.caclean.org/

    It also does not help to have people voting for they guy they saw in a movie or on TV! And yes, there are people who do make a voting decision on this basis.

    Quote Posted in reply to the post by nicofrog: View Post
    Good lord why must we be governed by monkeys and robots. Nico
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  11. TopTop #11
    Lisa G's Avatar
    Lisa G
     

    Re: State Park Closures

    Michelle,
    Glad to see Stewards getting involved with this.
    I find it incredibly ironic (among other adjectives) that in 14 months of job search the one part time job I have been able to get is at a State Park - Armstrong. So I feel threatened by this on several fronts.

    Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods is a wonderful organization to get involved with.
    If anyone hasnt heard of them, they do great work, depend on many volunteers and are truly Stewards/conservators of our magnificent trees, coasts, hills, flower and fauna.

    Lisa

    Quote Posted in reply to the post by Stewards: View Post
    It is wonderful to see everyone's outrage. Stewards of the Coast and Redwoods will be fighting this until it goes away. You can help. I almost have the web page ready to go with information on joining our bus trip to Park Advocacy Day on April 7th and our communication campaign to our legislators and more. You can sign up to receive updates on our website at:
    www.stewardsofthecoastandredwoods.org
    We are going to be working very closely with the California State Parks Foundation. We can win this!

    I will have more information in response to your concerns soon as well.

    Michele Luna
    [email protected]
    | Login or Register (free) to reply publicly or privately   Email

  12. TopTop #12
    rbellamy
     

    Re: State Park Closures

    How about freezing wage increases for public employees, especially the Legislature? The way things are going, without things like wage freezes, numerous public employees are going to lose their jobs.

    I question whether the public sector is underfunded and understaffed. The public sector receives a level of benefits per employee that far outpaces the benefits available to comparable private sector employees. As well, there are constant claims that a public employee will receive compensation well below what they could earn working in the private sector. This claim is patently untrue when you look at the total compensation for Job Descriptions, when compared to similar jobs outside of public service.

    I have compassion for those people who do me the service of working in my Government. I'm a veteran, so I know a bit about what it's like. I have no gripe with the normal, work-a-day person who goes through their daily grind putting their time in at a Town, City, County, State or Federal job. I don't believe it is they that are responsible for our problems. But pretending that it's OKAY to remove BASIC SERVICES to cover a funding shortfall that wouldn't exist if we were more serious about managing public moneys, is a non-starter. If the Government can't provide essential services, then we shouldn't have to pay the taxes which should be used to provide those services.

    Locally, Sonoma County shut down the In-patient Mental Health Services at Sutter so that the County could fund Empolyee benefits. You know, the County spends over 28.2 million dollars to staff the Main Jail, which houses only 1300 inmates. Of those 28.2 million, 17.8 million dollars are paid for wages, and an insane 10.4 million is paid in benefits... that's a ~40% benefit package.

    Are our representatives practicing sustainable economics? How is it that the State Legislature can take FOUR MONTHS off, come back in session, and suddenly determine that we're in some sort of budgetary crisis? It strikes me that if we were in such dire straights, perhaps the people responsible should have stuck around after the last session to work on a long-term solution, rather than giving themselves their normal yearly raises and heading out to the golf course.
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  13. TopTop #13
    rbellamy
     

    Re: State Park Closures

    Quote Posted in reply to the post by rbellamy: View Post
    I question whether the public sector is underfunded and understaffed.
    Quote Posted in reply to the post by rbellamy: View Post

    Locally, Sonoma County shut down the In-patient Mental Health Services at Sutter so that the County could fund Empolyee benefits. You know, the County spends over 28.2 million dollars to staff the Main Jail, which houses only 1300 inmates. Of those 28.2 million, 17.8 million dollars are paid for wages, and an insane 10.4 million is paid in benefits... that's a ~40% benefit package.
    I'm afraid I made one of my major points by inference, when I should have been more clear:

    Our social safety net, the one we've spent so much money on, seems to be the first thing to go when the belt tightens... when it should be the LAST THING TO GO. If the State can no longer provide essential services locally, then I shouldn't have to pay my money into the State's coffers, I should have the right to direct my taxes to services needed locally.

    And I would consider Open Space to be an essential service.
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  14. TopTop #14
    lifequest's Avatar
    lifequest
     

    Re: State Park Closures

    This is the latest article I've come across... the website its on is rtumble.com, a good site for tracking state and local politics.

    Parks plan intended to 'rattle the cage' -- Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said Wednesday he proposed closing 48 state parks to "rattle the cage" at the Capitol but fully expects lawmakers to come forward with alternatives – including higher fees – to keep parks open. Judy Lin in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/17/08
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