Archive for July, 2009
Midmo contributor and Sacto historian extraordinaire Ed Carroll forwarded me this info this morning. I really can’t imagine what California would be like without our amazing state parks. Please, pass this info on to anyone you know who values our historic places.
Cooper-Molera Adobe, a National Trust Historic Site, resides in one of the parks slated to be closed.
California State Parks remain in a precarious position, with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger holding fast to his plan to eliminate $70 million from the parks budget in 2009 and cut the entire parks budget in 2010. An effort to generate new revenue for the park system through the State Park Access Pass – a $15 vehicle registration fee entitling the payer to free state park access – did not receive the bipartisan support necessary to pass California’s constitutional requirements of a 2/3 vote by the Legislature to pass a budget or increase taxes. Budget negotiations are now in the hands of the “Big 5”: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, Assembly Minority Leader Sam Blakeslee, Senate President pro tempore Darrell Steinberg, and Senate Minority Leader Dennis Hollingsworth.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation and our partner, the California State Parks Foundation, continue to work through the Save Our State Parks campaign to restore funding for California State Parks and prevent the devastating impact park closures would have on historic resources and local tourism economies.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP:
TAKE ACTION TODAY: Contact the “Big 5” and urge them to seek a creative solution that will provide adequate revenue to keep our state parks open.
SPREAD THE WORD: Tell a friend in California about the threats to their state parks and urge them to join our fight to save the parks.
OTHER THINGS YOU CAN DO:
Take a This Place Matters photo at your favorite California State Park to upload to PreservationNation.
Learn more about the endangered California parks and the parks slated for closure.
If you know of an organization or group that should be part of the fight to keep California’s state parks open, encourage them to sign up to be part of the movement to Save Our State Parks!
Thank you for supporting us on this issue.
BACKGROUND ON THIS ISSUE:
Last year, in response to the Governor’s previous proposal to close 48 state parks, the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the California state park system to our annual list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. Together with the Save Our State Parks (SOS) Campaign and the support of tens of thousands of Californians, we successfully prevented the closure of the parks.
California’s state park system, the largest state park system in the U.S., encompasses a vast array of historic sites that chronicle the state’s rich and storied heritage. The system includes 51 designated State Historic Parks, and protects and interprets sites ranging from the Angel Island Immigration Station, just restored and reopened to the public, to the 101-year-old Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park, recently saved from a proposed factory farm on its border, to the Cooper-Molera Adobe, a National Trust Historic Site located within the Monterey State Historic Park.
Preservationists know from experience that an unused building is a building at risk. Without ongoing maintenance, small leaks become major structural failures. Fewer eyes minding closed parks will lead to increased risk of theft, arson, and vandalism. Even at current funding levels, historic resources in California State Parks receive only about 30% of the annual funding they require; even just a year of closures will make an already bad situation much worse.
Here are the links and videos mentioned in my July article. I wish there was more. I have no Forever Goldrush to share and many of these are not the best quality, but worth a watch, nevertheless. Enjoy!
Dutch Falconi’s Twisted Orchestra’s Bunny Brie and Kitty Fontaine ripping the Crest a new one in November, 1993. The video isn’t the best, but Kitty’s (Kizzy Miller) voice really shines through!
Daisy Spot performing “Crave” at The Guild in 1994. Blast from the past!
The Bananas rocking their song “Nautical Theme”. Did I call it Nautical Music in my article? Twice? Well, I meant “Nautical Theme” and I think it’s already been established that I can’t be bothered to do research. The sound on this is so quiet, but if you watch for the Japanese audience you can clearly see the mesmerizing power of this song. Also, the video ends before the song does. ARGHH!! KERRANG!! That is going to drive me crazy forever!!! Just go see ’em live!
Here’s a Lyme Regis song. FOR FREE!
Speaking of Seavers and pop genuis – Check it! This is a great video and The Decibels were a great, great band. Hats Off!
The Decibels – First Time
http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=3306289,t=1,mt=video
http://mediaservices.myspace.com/services/media/embed.aspx/m=3306289,t=1,mt=video
I can’t find any Troublemakers video, but here is some Deadly Bees footage from 2001. A mystery?
And because I just can’t leave ’em out, here is the first episode of the Four Eyes Teevee show.
The Cal Auto Museum (formerly the Towe) is opening their Woodie exhibit tonight from 6-9pm. They’ll also be showing Endless Summer and Big Wednesday– if you have never seen Endless Summer, this is a great chance to see a true classic. I’ve never seen Big Wednesday (John Milius’ debut film) but have heard good things about its depiction of mid-sixties surf culture.
Also on tap will be the Retronauts playing surf music.
Midtown Monthly is one of the sponsors of the exhibit and we’ll be there tonight. I’ll be there manning a MM table and trying to catch Big Wednesday…
The exhibit, Carved Elegance: Woodies, Wheels, and Waves, opens tonight and will run through September 19.
To most car enthusiasts, Woodies bring back memories of lazy California summer days on the beach, complete with surfboards and campfires. But long before they were considered cheap transportation and an icon of the Beach Boys, Woodies were prized by elite customers for their unique styling and craftsmanship.
“In their early years, Woodies were not produced on an assembly line, but were hand-made by independent craftsmen that added a look of carved elegance to what began as an unfinished body,” said Karen McClaflin, Executive Director of the California Automobile Museum. “Later, U.S. car makers turned to wood to re-create that elegance in cars that stood out from the crowd as buyers were starved for a new, stylish look after years of war when no cars were produced at all.”
The cars in the California Automobile Museum’s exhibit this summer represent that era when car makers embraced the warmth and color of wood to create an upscale, suburban “town and country” look with model names that suggested the affluence of the “Country Squire.” The exhibit includes eight varieties of Woodies including Ford, Pontiac and Dodge models from the early 1930s through the 1960s, detailing the evolution of the Woodie Wagon. To compliment the vehicles, various art pieces, vintage surfboards, and period memorabilia will also be on display.