Posts tagged as:

california budget crisis

Surprise of the Day – NO STATE PARKS CLOSING

September 25, 2009

Wow. I honestly have to say it again. Wow. I’m completely surprised, but today Governor Schwarzenegger announced exactly how many State Parks would be closed – zero. According to a blog entry on the LA Times site, the State Parks will still have their budgets cut, but instead of closing, most parks will simply reduce [...]

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List of Closed Parks to be “Less Than 100″

September 23, 2009

Even though there is still no list of closed or potentially closed parks, Governor Schwarzenegger is now saying he will close “far fewer than 100,” according to an article in the Mercury News. A spokesman for the Governor urged cautious optimism, saying “That 100 number isn’t something to hang your hat on” and that they [...]

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More Bad Park News – Only 4.6% of Parks Self-Funding

July 30, 2009

More bad news for the California State Park system today. In an earlier post, I mentioned Parks Director Ruth Coleman’s comment saying that those parks who can sustain their own operations will most likely be safe when the time comes to start locking up entrance gates. But a story in today’s LA Times makes the [...]

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The Actual Cuts to State Parks – $39 Million

July 29, 2009

The LAist got its hands on some concrete information from California State Parks Director Ruth Coleman on the recent passed budget, and it’s pretty shocking. According to her, with all of the money-shuffling, fund-raiding, furloughs, and reduced tax revenues in the 09-10 budget, California’s State Parks are actually getting short-changed by about $39 million, which [...]

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Parks Due to Close, After All

July 28, 2009

With the budget finally released, it looks like our State Park System is, indeed, going to get short-changed. Governor Schwarzenegger slashed the funds for parks by an additional $6 million, writing (PDF): In order to create a reasonable reserve, I am making additional reductions so we have resources to address emergencies or additional revenue shortfalls. [...]

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Potential Budget Agreement Maybe Incoming

July 21, 2009

Rumors are starting to trickle out of Sacramento that a potential budget agreement might be coming to the table before the weekend. The LA Times has a report stating the new budget would let 27,000 prisoners out early, but doesn’t mention anything about the State Parks situation. Right now, according to an email from the [...]

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Arnold’s Annual Park Threat

May 28, 2009

While Senator Feinstein was busy securing millions of dollars for California National Forests and Parks (including $2 million for land acquisition in the Santa Monica Mountains – maybe that Backbone Trail will finally get finished!), our Governor was looking at the Big Book of California Budgets and decided he’d take a cue from earlier times [...]

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Parks Safe For Now

May 14, 2008

In a highly expected and not-at-all surprising announcement this week, Governor Schwarzenegger said he would NOT close 48 State Parks, shortfund schools, or release thousands of inmates from prison to balance the state’s budget. Instead, he’s planning on borrowing money from investors that he hopes to pay back with future revenues from California’s lottery, which [...]

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Update on the California Park Closings

January 14, 2008

For those fellow Californians who are tracking Gov. Schwarzenegger’s threatened closing of 48 state parks, the San Jose Mercury News has some updates and analysis of the issue. The good news: If enacted, the parks likely wouldn’t close until 2009, and groups across the state are preparing counter-assaults on the proposal, pointing out it would [...]

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48 State Parks to Close?

January 10, 2008

Today, Gov. Schwarzenegger released a list of the 48 State Parks, Recreation Areas, Reserves, and Beaches that he wants to close to help get California’s budget back in the black. The list reaches across the entire state, and would close many well-trafficked areas — including our very own Will Rogers, Topanga Canyon, and (slightly non-local) [...]

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