May 29, 2009
My Take on State Parks Closures
Really, I get it that we are in a horrific economic crisis. I understand that the State Parks are not, just by virtue of being my pet program, immune. I expected bad news, and was resigned to deep and painful cuts. However, I was not prepared for the proposal to just delete the State Parks from the budget. That is just insane.
The first argument against it is, of course, that the State has taken on a sacred trust to preserve these resources for future generations--but that argument, it would appear, can be simply brushed aside by saying "Hard times mean hard choices".
Hard times do mean hard choices, but they shouldn't lead to dumb choices.
Continue reading "My Take on State Parks Closures"
Posted by Walter at 04:23 PM | Comments (1)
May 28, 2009
Which parks will live and which will die
I just received this:
This evening, we did receive the list of parks to be closed. It is as bad as we thought. I’ve gone through them and matched them to legislators’ districts, as CSPF will be using this to communicate the district impact to affected legislators. We’re posting this list on our web site tonight.
Also, I received a list of parks that will remain open, attached is a document from DPR to that affect.
As I discussed on a call with many partners this afternoon, it is important that we all activate our networks to oppose these closures, and now, with the list, some of you may have even more urgency to do so. Please feel free to direct your networks to our online action alert at www.calparks.org/stopclosures, where they can send communications to their legislators and the Governor. Also, I welcome more participants at Tuesday’s Legislative Budget Conference Committee in Sacramento, which will be the only opportunity for public testimony in front of the Legislature on this issue.
Please contact me with any questions. Will keep updating if I get more information.
Traci Verardo-Torres
Vice President, Government Affairs
California State Parks Foundation
1510 J Street, Suite 120
Sacramento, CA 95814
TEL: 916.442.2119
FAX: 916.442.2809
www.calparks.org
Posted by Walter at 06:15 PM | Comments (7)
May 24, 2009
I speak Slag
Last night, while visiting some friends, we channel surfed over to an alarming bit of TV called "Ladettes to Ladies". It is a bizarre reality show from Britain wherein several very coarse working class girls are put through a finishing school to turn them, Pygmalion-like, into young ladies.
The title of this post comes from the fact that I was able to follow and translate the impenetrable cockney of one of the girls a bit better than my companions. "Slag" is, essentially, "Slut" or "Skank".
It was a real horror show, but in a strange, train wreck sort of way, it is an oddly interesting meditation on the British class system.
Continue reading "I speak Slag"
Posted by Walter at 08:06 AM