SAN RAFAEL, Calif. — When Ernest Chung started mountain biking in China Camp State Park two decades ago, he never worried about where the money came from to preserve the tree-covered hills, dirt trails and rocky shoreline.
Now that the Marin County, Calif., park is scheduled to close because of budget cuts, it's always on his mind. Chung and his allies are in a race to raise enough money to keep it open, courting deep-pocketed philanthropists, blasting out batches of desperate emails and rounding up musicians from the San Francisco Symphony to serenade potential donors at a fundraiser.
Chung, a retired executive who heads the nonprofit group Friends of China Camp, is part of a grand experiment California has launched to avoid closing 70 parks that state officials say the government can no longer afford to operate. Supporters across the state are trying to find ways to keep treasured natural and historic sites accessible to the public before their scheduled closure next month.
But even if they are successful, the rescue will be a reprieve, not a solution, officials and advocates say. It's a struggle playing out in California and around the country, with lawmakers searching for enough money and the right policies to save parks permanently.
"This is a brave new world," said Chung, standing outside a San Rafael library where he was scheduled to meet with a potential donor.
Supporters have pooled $200,000 to keep China Camp solvent and need $50,000 more. Chung noted that even if they are successful, they will have to start over next year: "If we tell people that we are going to be successful every year, we'd be fooling ourselves, because we haven't done it yet."
China Camp boosters at least have a stable of potential donors in wealthy Marin County. In less fortunate locales, the prospects of quickly raising tens of thousands of dollars is dim.
Officials and supporters in Whittier are struggling to scrape together $80,000 to save the historic home of Pio Pico, California's last Mexican governor - even as the preserved rancho at Los Encinos State Historic Park 35 miles away has been spared from closure thanks to a $150,000 check from a single anonymous donor.
"In some of the richer areas, someone steps forward and writes a check for the full amount," said Whittier Assistant City Manager Nancy Mendez. "That's not the case here. They're getting $5 donations."
For some park supporters, the funding crisis means new opportunities. A nonprofit organization that runs the Jack London State Historic Park in Sonoma County wants to host weddings, corporate retreats and other events there.
"We're having a ball," said Tjiska Van Wyk, executive director of the Valley of the Moon Natural History Association. She said the association is also raising money for repairs, a major problem across the park system.
State parks Director Ruth Coleman estimates that more than half of the 70 lands scheduled for closure will, in the end, remain open.
In some cases, donors and local governments have pledged to replace the funding that was cut. In others, a nonprofit will operate the park, collecting entrance fees, hiring personnel and maintaining the grounds. The state may also sign more contracts for private companies to run concession stands and marinas in some parks.
Across the country, politicians and community leaders are struggling to sustain defunded park properties.
Vending machines have been installed at parks in Nevada so snacks and drinks can be turned into revenue. Idaho officials have sought companies that will pay to discreetly place their logos on park signs.
In Colorado, a commission authorized oil and gas drilling in St. Vrain Park, about 30 miles north of Denver. The roughly 750 acres, dotted with ponds, sits on a potentially lucrative oil field.
Supporters say it's better to allow drilling inside the park than to watch the energy companies drill on the outskirts, draining mineral wealth without helping the state's bottom line. But conservationists are concerned about the environmental effect, noting that the park is a nesting area for birds.
"There are some places that are too important to drill on," said Jason Bane, spokesman for Western Resource Advocates, a Boulder-based group.
Similar ideas are not on the table in California. Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's proposal to drill off the coast of Santa Barbara was met with hostility, and he dropped it in the wake of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
Arizona began closing almost all of its parks in 2010 until they were saved by a patchwork of agreements with local governments and nonprofit agencies - much like that being developed in California. Some counties shared their money with the state, and nonprofits held charity events to raise funds for the parks.
Donations can take things only so far, however. Philip McKnelly, executive director of the National Association of State Park Directors, warns that nonprofits and other charitable sources "can't keep generating the revenues necessary" over the long haul.
California lawmakers are working to develop a longer-term solution. They are weighing proposals to tap vehicle registration fees and sell special license plates to drivers who donate to the parks system. Lawmakers also want to collect entrance fees at more parks.
Some Republican lawmakers are pushing to allow for-profit companies to run parks. So far, the Democratic majority has resisted those calls.
Maintenance work, from potholes to damaged roofs, has been so neglected that there is a $1.3 billion backlog of work to be done across California's 279 state parks. There are no funds for anything that goes wrong in places like Plumas-Eureka State Park, northwest of Lake Tahoe, where donors were able to raise enough cash to avert closure.
"We don't have money if there's a major water issue or a major plumbing issue," Scott Elliott, a supervising park ranger, said of Plumas-Eureka State Park, where donors were able to raise enough cash to avert closure. "There's no backstop."
Source: www.mcclatchydc.com
Secret military mini-shuttle lands in California - Reuters
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida |
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The U.S. military's unmanned X-37B robotic space shuttle returned from orbit at 5:48 a.m. in California (1248 GMT)from a secretive 15-month test flight, Air Force officials said on Saturday.
The miniature space plane, also known as Orbital Test Vehicle-2, or OTV-2, touched down at California's Vandenberg Air Force Base, 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles. It was only the second U.S. vehicle to make an autonomous runway landing from space.
"With the retirement of the space shuttle fleet, the X-37B OTV program brings a singular capability to space technology development," said Lieutenant Colonel Tom McIntyre, X-37B program manager. "The return capability allows the Air Force to test new technologies without the same risk commitment faced by other programs. We're proud of the entire team's successful efforts to bring this mission to an outstanding conclusion."
The military's first X-37B debuted in 2010 and autonomously landed at Vandenberg after 224 days in space. The former Soviet Union's Buran space shuttle, which made a single spaceflight in 1988, was the first ship to make an autonomous landing from orbit.
The military will not disclose what OTV-2 was doing during its 15 months in orbit, but a third mission already is on the calendar for launch this fall. OTV-2 blasted off aboard an unmanned Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on March 5, 2010.
Boeing Phantom Works built two of the robotic space planes, which resemble diminutive space shuttle orbiters, as test vehicles.
The military, which took over the program from NASA, says it is using them to learn how to quickly and inexpensively refurbish reusable spaceships for flight. The X-37Bs also serve as orbital test beds for instruments that could be incorporated into future satellites.
It is not known if it carried anything in its cargo bay, which is about the size of a pickup truck bed.
The vehicles look like miniature versions of NASA's now-retired space shuttle orbiters, with a similar shape and a payload bay for cargo and experiments.
They are 29 feet long, compared to the shuttle's 122-foot (37-metre) length, and have a wingspan of 15-feet, compared to the shuttle's wingspan of 78 feet.
Rather than hydrogen-oxygen fuel cells like the orbiters, the X-37Bs are powered by gallium arsenide solar cells with lithium-ion batteries. The vehicles were designed to stay in orbit for up to 270 days. OTV-2 surpassed that milestone by 199 days.
The X-37B due to fly this fall is the vehicle that inaugurated the program in 2010.
(Editing by Vicki Allen and Jackie Frank)
Source: www.reuters.com
Rodney King Found Dead In California Home - MTV
Rodney King, who will always be remembered as the man who set off a chain of events leading to the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, was found dead in his California home on Sunday at the age of 47. Although King's own foray into music was short-lived, his unfortunate experience resonated across the country and clearly affected the content of legendary hip-hop albums like Ice Cube's The Predator.
King was brutally beaten during a 1991 traffic stop in Los Angeles, during which he was struck more than 50 times by four white officers, who were later accused of using racial slurs during the attack. Footage of the incident eventually made its way to TV, sparking public outcry. The controversial outcome of the trial led to a series of deadly riots and looting in the city that claimed 50 lives and cost approximately $1 billion in damages.
According to CNN, King was found dead on Sunday morning, after his fiancée Cynthia Kelly placed a 911 call to the Rialto, California, police at approximately 5:25 a.m. When officers arrived at the scene, King's body was at the bottom of a pool; he was confirmed dead at a nearby hospital.
Captain Randy DeAnda told reporters that police would investigate the crime as a drowning, and added that there were no obvious signs of foul play at the scene or suspicious injuries to the victim's body. "His fiancée heard him in the rear yard," DeAnda said describing the events before Kelly placed the 911 call. (Kelly met King while serving as a juror in his 1994 lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles.)
Even after the L.A. riots had ended, King's beating continued to send shockwaves across the nation, thanks to the clear picture of the racially motivated police brutality that captured in the taped footage. In 1993, the accused officers stood trial, this time in federal court, and two were sentenced to 30 months in prison, while two other were acquitted. King, who brought his own lawsuit against the city, received $3.8 million in damages.
Strangely enough, in 2011 was King was ticketed for a minor traffic violation on the 20th anniversary of the beating. Besides that, the Californian also attempted to pursue a career in music, using some of his settlement money to launch it. Four years ago, King appeared on VH1's "Celebrity Rehab," where he was open about his battle with alcohol.
The impact of King's beating on the state of race in America can be heard across classic hip-hop albums like Ice Cube's The Predator and Dr. Dre's The Chronic, which captured the racial tension in Los Angeles at the time. On his single, "Who Got the Camera?" Cude made direct reference to the beating, by telling a realistic story of being assaulted by the police after being pulled over.
Source: rapfix.mtv.com
Top Tips for Purchasing Furniture in Cheap Rates - pressbox.co.uk
Added: (Sun Jun 17 2012)
Pressbox (Press Release) - Everyone likes to have a clean and tidy house for living peacefully. Apart from just peace it is the style that matters when it is about interior designing. People are spending much amount of money for interior designing purposes in order to achieve a much trendy and graceful feeling inside the houses. It is one of those factors that matters a lot in these processes. These are actually considered as status symbols from the earlier times itself. επιπλα need to reflect the culture and other social values of a family. It should be placed in the correct shape and angle for the best comfort and appearances.
Today you might know a good variety of furniture stores in the market. There are a wide range of products out there which present you the freedom of choice in to new levels. Along with all other materials and products, the price of these furnitures also had increased rapidly. However by following some simple tips and tactics you can still furnish your houses with some cheap funds. Following are some simple tips that will be help you in this processes.
Exploit the possibilities of internet
As you know internet is one of the most effective sources to find all type of products these days. There are good number of sites that offer all types of furnitures in low rates than in the local stores. Like in all other types of shopping sites you will get special offers and discounts in various sites according to particular season. Keep an eye on these sites regularly to spot the right offers quickly. Another great advantage you get shopping online is the time you save. You can purchase your favorite επιπλα within minutes from these sites. As all of these sites will have setup good support for their customers, there is no room for any worries.
Go for imperfect furniture sales
Purchasing επιπλα with any manufacturing defect is not a good idea normally. However if you can solve those simple errors in small expense, it will be profitable getting them in low rates. You need to make a comprehensive search in order to find such products easily. However ensure that you are getting good reductions on the basis of extra work you need to perform in these furnitures for making it usable.
Give priority to local stores
Even though most of the local stores will be having same rates, it is worth to make visit to these shops to finalize the επιπλα τιμες. Some of the shops may even give you some extra discount to grab your business. It is up to how effectively the bargain you are making the results depends.
Recycling is an impressive idea
Another great idea for achieving good furnitures in cheap rates is to recycle the old furnitures in your houses. Most of the houses will contain such stuffs. Appoint a carpenter to remold it to a usable form. Whatever money you are spending on these furnitures, make sure it is getting count in the form of comfort, looks and above all quality.
However, If you can get more information about επιπλα and επιπλα τιμες on the website.
Source: www.pressbox.co.uk
Antique car show returns to Negaunee Township - ClickOnDetroit.com
The popular "Iron, Steel and the Automobile" antique car show is returning to the Michigan Iron Industry Museum in the Upper Peninsula.
Sunday's event in Negaunee Township features dozens of automobiles and light trucks dating from 1909 through 1969, in addition to a presentation by Ford Motor Company corporate historian Robert C. Kreipke.
The 23rd annual antique automobile exhibit will commemorate the historic link between Michigan's iron, steel and automotive industries, which has been a defining feature of the state for more than 110 years.
Michigan Historical Center historian Troy Henderson says in a release the event is a "unique way for car and history buffs to spend Father's Day."
Museum admission is free, with a suggested parking donation of $3 per vehicle to attend the car show.
Source: www.clickondetroit.com
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