SummitPost.org

MoapaPk wrote:

dyusem wrote:http://www.marinij.com/marinnews/ci_18097983

I sure hope that gets passed. At our local national conservation area, volunteers do a great deal of the work, and are very well organized. The government officials mainly act as buffers for the greater bureaucracy.

Non-profits and volunteer groups do a great job at Coe as well as County Parks nearby. I hope for the sake of those who have gone to all that work, that parks that have that kind of public support remain open. Maybe some win-win type scenarios will come out of the CA budget mess after all.

Please don't assume you know the "union" position on any issue without actually consulting union members. Let the fanatics stand in the corners, glaring at each other; the rest of us search for solutions. As a proud union member & activist, I train & work with volunteers who sustain services that otherwise would be lost. Again, can those of us who prize our parks work together without prejudice? I'm ready to do so. Y'all?
Leslie Auerbach
Chief Steward, SEIU #521, City of Santa Cruz
currently engaged in multiple negotiations
lover of the incomparable Sierra
lover of Henry Coe
native of NYC

And now for a bit of (thankful) irony, the GGNRA is about to grow:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.c ... 1JISKE.DTL

lcarreau wrote:

ExcitableBoy wrote:It would surprise me if anyone is naive enough to think state/regional/local governments close parks to save money. They close parks because tax payers like them and they complain when they are closed and gov'ts take the opportunity to explain to the tax payers that the park is closed because they don't pay enough taxes. The regional government I worked for sold parks and swimming pools to local municipalities while rank and file BEAT COPS earned up to a quarter million USD a year due to their incredibly generous union contracts and nepotism.

I KNOW exactly what you're saying.

The pendulum seems to be swinging toward PRIVATE ownership of previously PUBLIC-owned lands and parcels.

It's enough to make "ROBO-COP" go into early retirement !!!

This calls for "TOPO-COP" to step in with a USGS light saber and clearly delineate the real from the false!

Save State Parks - Shut Down the Corrupt MLPA Initiative

Good Article by Dan Bacher. Please take minute... read the article

and then...

TAKE ACTION!


Save State Parks - Shut Down the Corrupt MLPA Initiative

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2011/05/16/18679854.php

Has anyone noticed that the bulk of the parks are in Northern California and almost none are around Sacramento? Only 8 of the parks slated for closure are in southern California and the closest parks to Sacramento are near Grass Valley and Rio Vista.

I think it is a travesty that a state with such a bloated budget, with money being used to pay for all sorts of bad contracts and useless programs (First 5 CA anyone? Mercury mine land confiscation?) can't find 22 million bucks to actually perform one of the state's legitimate charges. Frankly, I am surprised the state parks budget shortfall is that low but with the state's proven bookkeeping skills, I am sure it is higher than that.

I was born and raised in California and I hope to die here, but I am embarrassed by the voters. This state needs to wake up to the fact that the current system and leadership have broken the Golden State.

Federal law may keep several of the proposed state park closures from occurring:

http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_18156854

Bubba Suess wrote:Has anyone noticed that the bulk of the parks are in Northern California and almost none are around Sacramento?

Castle Crags is the one that strikes closest to my heart as it was my most frequent hike growing up, is very noticeable from I-5, and has a nice campground that my dad likes. I've never done it, but most of that area is accessible without visiting the state park (I bet Bubba or a search on Summitpost could give lots of detail about that). It sounds like there may continue to be access to many of these parks even if some of them end up "closing".

It isn't a new feeling for many in the far northern part of the state that the low numbers of people up that way often leaves them with the short end of the stick. Someone I am closely related to has a "State of Jefferson" license plate frame. I'm sure that culture isn't losing numbers of followers right now, besides those who are fleeing the area.

SeanReedy wrote:Federal law may keep several of the proposed state park closures from occurring:

http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_18156854

Wonder if that would affect the Mono Lake Tufa State Park, too? Its a small area on the south side if Mono Lake, but the Tufa SP is surrouned by Fed land, and near the federally funded Mono Lake Visitor's Center, so the Feds could easily absorb it into the Mono Lake Reserve.

[quote="phydeux Wonder if that would affect the Mono Lake Tufa State Park, too? Its a small area on the south side if Mono Lake, but the Tufa SP is surrouned by Fed land, and near the federally funded Mono Lake Visitor's Center, so the Feds could easily absorb it into the Mono Lake Reserve.[/quote]

Ha! We stopped there to eat lunch and get the kids and dogs out for a quick hike on the way to Death Valley this spring. It didn't even register with me that it was managed by the state besides the signs requesting a fee be paid for the sake of facilities that were of little interest or value to me. We took the dirt trails down to the water that dogs were allowed on rather than the developed trail that had lots of people on it. Like Castle Crags SP, which is bordered by federal wilderness and national forest land and has the PCT trail running through it, I think Mono Tufa would be a challenging and nonsensical one for the state to completely close without continuing to allow public access. Maybe they will just stop manning the facilities, as they already do for much of the time at Mono Tufa. If the federal budget were in better shape, CA could probably get some much needed money by selling off state parks to become part of nearby/surrounding federally managed land. There would be pros and cons depending on who you ask among a several different stakeholders.

Here is the strategy being employed to keep Henry Coe open:
http://www.coeparkfund.org/index.html
...with links to news and views included for those who are curious:
http://www.coeparkfund.org/content/news_links.html

SKI wrote:EB,

Yep, they are killed every day preserving your safety. They are killed every day just doing their job.

Standard refrain of every cop and every cops union. I'm not buying it. That doesn't mean I don't want to have cops and don't respect what they do, it just means they get paid way too much and have ridiculous retirement packages. Same goes for fire. They need to adjust with the market, same as everyone else, but they don't, which means the system is in disequilibrium. Eventually it will correct itself, but the longer it takes, the more uncomfortable the change will be for those who have to deal with it. Just like fisherman that fish until there's nothing left and cry about the loss of their job, or mortgage brokers that got rich off the housing bubble, the public safety compensation situation is unsustainable, simple as that.

The State of California could save a lot more money by changing the state employees pension plans from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans, like many large corporations have already done, than by closing some parks. The pension liability is huge and will eventually bankrupt the State if something isn't done, but maybe that's what it will take for changes to happen.

KathyW wrote:The State of California could save a lot more money by changing the state employees pension plans from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans, like many large corporations have already done, than by closing some parks. The pension liability is huge and will eventually bankrupt the State if something isn't done, but maybe that's what it will take for changes to happen.

BINGO!

San Diego is at the epicenter for public pension reform. An interesting article on the subject: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011 ... on-reform/