Has anyone besides me seen the new Cali
state budget? Arnold is threatening to shut down
Bolsa Chica State Beach, San O, San Clemente and
other beaches to “save money” and implement his
own programs. What should we do? We all know
Arnold S don’t surf!! I am so pissed, and normally don’t
get too involved in politics but won’t vote for this
tool again! Time to write letters? Give us your 2C!
would the beaches be closed, or just no maintenance/ funding ?
The budget states that the beaches would
be closed to the public! Maybe this is a ploy
to help get the toll road thru as nobody would
be surfing San O to complain about the deterioration
of the surf quality? Lots of questions and as
a surfer who surfs these spots many many times
a year I am extremely concerned. These two spots
are some of the most visited spots along the Cali
coast.
For some reason, while listening to that news I had thoughts of Cal beaches going back to a wilder state, with a return to the feral-surfer days of yore.
Like it or not, we’re all becoming Banana Republicans
Hey Al;
remember walking on the coast side of the
tracks going into Razor Blades…
guess what I had under my arm LOL
Don’t know what is going on down here,
its really confusing. What would you say
if El Cap was closed, or Refugio was too and
the only place left was Carp beach breaks?
I’ve spent my entire 50 yrs of surfing going
back & forth between north & south and feel
that it is my right to surf where and when I
want, but thats just me!!
BKB
PS: if this goes thru, will the Con get more
crowded?
Sorry to dabble in politics here…but it is his backhanded attempt for a reason to raise taxes. Shut down the beaches, parks, etc…then let more convicts out of the prision because we can’t afford to operate the prisions etc.
Don’t worry, your beach won’t be shut down…but your going to pay more to use it.
Hey Al;
remember walking on the coast side of the
tracks going into Razor Blades…
guess what I had under my arm LOL
Don’t know what is going on down here,
its really confusing. What would you say
if El Cap was closed, or Refugio was too and
the only place left was Carp beach breaks?
I’ve spent my entire 50 yrs of surfing going
back & forth between north & south and feel
that it is my right to surf where and when I
want, but thats just me!!
BKB
PS: if this goes thru, will the Con get more crowded?
Howdy-
I’m not saying that with any wish for those days to return, only that it occurred to me that maybe the conditions that a lot of us grew up with in the 70’s (heavy localism and kind of squalid, derelict beaches) were a product of that era’s poor economy and neglect. Although now there’s so much more money concentrated in beachfront property the rules of engagement may be a bit different (having said that, though, just this morning I noticed a heap of “For Sale” signs at Solimar and other beachfront enclaves).
I also don’t think its too far-fetched to imagine some sort of “SurfPass” requirement at some beaches, similar to ski mountains. Maybe that’s a bit extreme, but one day walking past the “Rules of the Road” sign on the path to the cove, I imagined having to swipe a “lift pass”.
But I have an over-active imagination…
I could deal with an increase. I find it a
blessing that my Bolsa pass works for El Cap
and even Gaviota (pier launches accepted!).
It is just that I find that after working my butt
off for many years & being a good saver I can’t
afford a place by Mary’s at Pitas!!
Then some german has the balls to tell me I won’t
be able to surf my local spot without walking in
a half mile or so. I used to walk in to Salt Creek
back in the day as well as R’s & L’s and I don’t
care for anyone telling me the ocean is theirs
exclusively thru legislation or privatization or whatever.
We both remember the time where you met a
surfer at Molino C. and you had a friend to surf with!
I just don’t want to see my grandkids not be able
to surf where I & my dad did…
I could deal with an increase.
I’m not totally against the concept of “user fees” unless I’m the one getting used…or hosed. And I hate paying more to get less while the people who implement the increases ride ever higher.
As of this writing it isn’t easy to get the full details on the gov’s budget proposal, but I did hear on tv news that the state park aspect would be to “keep the parking lots open” but somehow close the rest…very fuzzy. The report stated that mostly they would be “historical” parks with buildings and probably tours, heavily staffed…yet Topanga was on the list…? Part and parcel of this is to gut the State Lifeguards, at a time when the population continues to expand. My feeling is that as others wrote there is a play at foot here to ultimately raise either taxes or fees. On the other hand, the National Park Service is noted for getting something like a new National Wild and Scenic River area and closing it for most of the winter due to budgetary reasons and most of the summer and fall for fire hazard.
boooo
who is going to recommend a bike ride?
oh, he is austrian
Yeah I agree this is probably a precursor to raising taxes, but it will be called a fee increase. Fees…taxes, it is all the same, money out of our pockets because the government cant control their spending. Arnold makes Gray Davis look like an amature with how much he has put California in the hole. At least he cant be re-elected and cant become president.
How do you shut down a beach? It’s public property.
aahhhnolt
AAHHHHNOLT
AAAHHHHHHNNNOOOOOOOLLLLTTT
JAH DIS IIIISSSSSS ZZZZZOOOH
Ven Veeee make dis place up goot
VVEEEEEE vill ZZEEE DDA knew
CALIFORNIE…
HE saw what he created and he zaid
das is goot
JAH DAS ISS GOOT>
Da beach is for body building
da vater is too kolt and dees Zurfers iss Krazy
unt de dont make any money
unt dey are Chust a bunch uff freelaoders unt my hummvee
hydrgen cell car iss ready unt I wanna drife to kings canyon for a lunhceon
mit da Rommneys.
remember dis is the new California
and the new gold rush is making 1849 look like
heaven on earth and just a bunch of sweet old guys
that never brushed their teeth but was straight shooters
and when the guvment got outa whak they just up an lynched em.
wwernt no swap teams betwixt ant between the oficials and the
constituents.god bless old california.
GOD BLESS OLD CALLIFORNIA
SHE LIVES IN MY HEART
AND THEM THAT IS RAPING HER
CANT STEAL WHAT IS FINE AND GOOD
AWAY FROM ME
…IN MY MEMORY…
in my memory
in my memory.
…ambrose…
and they elected a gigalo movie star for governor
them new californians is a diffrent breed
when they coulda had a porn star
tell me the lection wern’t fixed
yeah tell me it wernt fixed.
and I’ll tell you thet
hawaii lection wernt fixed either…
ask ten people who they voted for
and guess what?
we been had.
only thing left is go surfin
park youor car in the left lane ,get out and go surfin
what a protest.
two hundred stolen cars parked in the high way at bolsa chica
five hundred at san-o
all abandoned and reported stolen
en masse at the same time,
like 4:45 am
do they even know the potential of who they are screwing with?
these are Crazy old surfers here.
and when creative people do crazy stuff…?
god bless those guys thet phuk with the
‘‘Crazy’’ Surf community
stealing stopsigns was nothing
remember they were stealing
the redwood posts
and leaving the signs.
get it?
How do you shut down a beach? It’s public property.
God I’m clever. Yeah, whatever.
What you do is shut down access, eliminate parking etc.
Let’s look at some quotes on the subject from the Los Angeles Times:
"Of the state’s 278 parks, those slated for closure are the least used, produce the least revenue and are the easiest to secure, according to parks officials.
If the budget takes effect as written, gates would be put up at the entrances to 43 of the parks, which would be patrolled and maintained but would not be open to the public, said state parks Director Ruth Coleman. Others would be partially closed. For instance, one of the two campgrounds at Mt. San Jacinto State Park would be closed. The sites slated for closure include Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park in the state’s far northwest corner and Salton Sea State Recreation Area in the southeast.
Coleman said the closures would mean the loss of about 6 1/2 million visitors for a system that had 79 million visitors in 2007. Parks officials said they had not yet decided whether to issue tickets to people who venture onto the closed facilities"
A lot of places especially in urbanized Southern California (the entire region now) are islands of sanity amid dense development. The coastline is the most desireable part of the land, therefore the most expensive, therefore with the high concentration of new rich people, who have a tendency to be very…well…localized in their own way. By having existing parking arrangements configured to force the bulk of visitors to use pay lots already, the control situation is built in. Remember the State Parks officials get paid by the state and want more money themselves, so it’s in their best interests to support the program.
One would think taking a surfmat on public transportation and walking in would be an ideal solution, but as you can see The Powers That Be have already planned on how to deal with that. Add to this the fact that public transportation is barely viable in the denser urban/suburban parts and non-existant in many other areas and you have kind of a grim situation.
Edited to add: Here’s a link to the complete list as of 1/11/08
http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/BudgetSummary/images/FG-RES-01.gif
Howzit Nels, I was going to ask the same question that deanbo did. The people of Ca. should be outraged at such a proposal. As for San O it is probably one of the most used parks in Ca. the parking lot is totally full on the weekends and lots of people during the weekdays use it. I agree that it sounds like Arnie is trying to get more money but why used these tactics. If the Govenor was a democrat he would just raise the taxes to fund the parks. Dems are always accussed of being tax raisers, but it's uaually to fund projects for the public and they don't use threatening tactics, they just raise the taxes. Another thing that I find amusing is the commercial with Arnie and his wife walking down the beach talking about the wonders of Ca. Well I guess they will have to cancel that one. Ca isn't what it used to be, glad I left when I did. Bolsa might just revert to being Tin Can Beach like in the old days, wouldn't that be justice.Aloha,Kokua
surfing outlaws will again rise to dominate the coastline environs.
control freaks with legislative backing will fall to the geurilla masters
long live the bolsa chica san Onofre tribes
tribal attitude/aptitudes will dominate the land scape
the only hope will be that tribal heads are in fact the
duely appointed rangers.
the imported officers of the government will have little actual power.
surf schools will suffer,move that bus corky…
more lost revenue
another foot fireing range…
shoot off your toe dr schwartz
it will grow back…
…ambrose…
no surf in sacramento
or vienna
Increase fees? I just paid $200 for an annual pass to beach launch at Gaviota, which I thought was nuts, especially considering our ridiculously high income and property taxes. Most of these parks are over priced camping lots where you can go out and experience nature 5 feet from someone else’s tent. They need to fire bomb these places and return them back to a natural state. Day use only with some porta potties rather than a square mile of pavement and 10 employees a day collecting enough money to pay themselves.
boooo
who is going to recommend a bike ride?
oh, he is austrian . SO WAS ADOLPH HITLER
The people of Ca. should be outraged at such a proposal
I hate to say it, but it’s almost “business as usual”. The outrage at this is outflanked by the fact the state park “sacrifices” are so tiny compared to the money being cut out of things like education…for example elementary, high schools, and community colleges are to cut spending by $400,000,000.00 in the next six months, and $4.3 billion dollars the next year! Yes, you read the figures right. There’s reasons you read so much about crowds in California. And these figures are fractions of the overall costs to run California.
A funny aspect of the parks thing is that by closing certain parks to the public but maintaining and patrolling them, they can lay off a few employees at the cost of keeping 100% of potential paying customers away. Away from something they’ve already paid some tax money to use, I might add.
This is just the sexy issue to get the public’s attention. More detailed speculation on the meaning of this manuever is that California faces fiscal deadlock for the next few months while everybody wrestles around with it. It’s an election year too in the United States. Arnold doesn’t want to raise taxes but part of this includes low double-digit increases to all home insurance policies to fund more wildland firefighters and an increase to auto registration fees “to fund the Department of Motor Vehicles and the California Highway Patrol”. Ah…huh?
The Human Comedy…more sad than funny. It would take a book to relate all the levels of this kind of foolishness. Needless to say watching these types of shennanigans is a big part of why so many don’t trust authority or government or corporations. Extrapolate all this out and one might wonder if the plan is to have all the decent people declared “criminals” and have only rascals in control.
Should much of this come to pass, the man on the beach suggests reading “The Monkey Wrench Gang” by the late Ed Abbey, perhaps the one true great philosopher in the classical sense to come out of the U.S. in the 20th Century.
I haven’t done any research into the proposed budget but it appears from looking at the link provided at the end of Nel’s post that San Onofre, along with most of the other socal state beaches face potential reductions in lifeguard staffing but not complete closures.
Was there something posted elsewhere in the budget materials that suggested complete closure of these beaches?
Closing down beaches like San O and Doheny seems counter intuitive. I would think both of those beaches are revenue generators for the state park system and help to keep some of the other less-visited parks in each sub-district afloat (financially), like San Clemente SP in the case of the south OC parks.
Of course, keeping the beaches open but unstaffed by lifeguards/rangers has the potential to bring a whole host of problems with it for the less ocean-proofed visitors that are so common at so-cal beaches. Seems like a public safety disaster waiting to happen…
Well, let’s hope Arnie is just bluffing.