Park Closings: Real or Political Tactic?

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s is proposing to close most of
California’s 279 state parks as part of a plan to solve the state’s
severe budget problems. But the proposal is already sparking an uproar,
in part because it would only save California’s general fund about $150
million at a time when the state is facing a $24 billion crisis. In
other words, shutting down most of the state’s parks, from towering
redwoods forests to pristine beaches, will solve less than 1 percent of
the problem. Which makes one wonder whether Schwarzenegger is serious
about the idea, or if he’s simply using it as a scare tactic in order
to coerce both Democrats and Republicans back to the bargaining
table.

Closing state parks will be extremely unpopular, especially in a
steep recession. Camping or spending a day at a beautiful state park is
one of the few cheap and fun things that most people can still afford
to do. It’s also no secret that conservatives love the park system just
as much as liberals. In fact, it’s about the only thing in the budget
that’s apolitical, and so the threat of closing parks may be the best
way to goad both sides into negotiating a new financial agreement. The
question is whether the threat of closing the parks will convince
conservatives to support tax increases necessary to help balance the
budget. It’s a tough call, since Republicans, including the governor,
view the defeat of last month’s budget measures as a repudiation of tax
hikes.

Gay Marriage Fight Rages On

In case you were out of the country or living under a rock last
week, the big — but not surprising — news was that the
state Supreme Court decided to keep same-sex marriage illegal in
California. The court voted 6-1 to uphold Proposition 8, the statewide
ballot measure that banned gay marriage and overturned last year’s
high-court decision to legalize same-sex nuptials. The court also ruled
last week that the 18,000 gay marriages performed in 2008 while
same-sex unions were legal are still valid.

That double standard also prompted a federal civil rights lawsuit by
a lesbian couple from Berkeley. Kris Perry and Sandy Stier not only
want to overturn Prop. 8, they want gay marriage legalized throughout
the country. But what really made their case newsworthy was that one of
their lawyers is Ted Olson, US solicitor general under George W. Bush
and Bush’s lead lawyer in Bush v. Gore, the truly awful US Supreme
Court ruling that decided the 2000 presidency. As a staunch
conservative and a former Bush crony, Olson’s defense of gay marriage
was surprising to say the least. Olson explained to reporters last week
that he has believed for some time that not allowing gays to marry is
wrong.

The battle over gay marriage also promises to dominate next year’s
California gubernatorial campaign. At the end of last week, it looked
like state Attorney General Jerry Brown would be going head-to-head
with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, a staunch supporter of same-sex
marriage, following a report that Los Angeles Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa had decided not to run for the Democratic nomination.
Newsom’s strong stance on gay nuptials might give him an edge among
liberals and progressives in the June 2010 primary, but it also could
prove to be controversial in the general election campaign if a measure
to overturn Prop. 8 also is on the ballot.

Good-Bye Cerrito, Hello Parkway?

Just days after the Cerrito Speakeasy Theater in El Cerrito closed
its doors, a group of investors emerged to possibly take over Oakland’s
Parkway Speakeasy Theater, which shuttered in March. According to the
San Francisco Chronicle, Motion Picture Heritage, the
Indiana-based umbrella group to which the new investors belong, is
dedicated to preserving independent community movie houses, primarily
in the Midwest. The connection between the Parkway and MPH was sparked
by longtime Parkway programmer Will Viharo and fostered by Oakland City
Councilwoman Pat Kernighan. But before the deal can go through, there’s
a long list of necessary repairs, including plumbing and electrical
overhauls. Unfortunately, neither the current landlords nor the new
investors are flush with funds. But if a deal somehow gets done, we
have two questions: Will the Parkway still sell pizza and beer, and
what about the Cerrito?

Three-Dot Roundup

The long-awaited Berkeley Bowl West is set to open Thursday, June 4,
at the corner of Ninth and Anthony streets, not far from the
intersection of Ashby and San Pablo avenues. … Five top-ranking
Oakland police officials are under investigation for their roles in the
ill-advised raid in which suspected cop-killer Lovelle Mixon shot and
killed two SWAT team members in March, according to the Oakland
Tribune. … A BART officer testified that Oscar Grant could have
prevented his own death at the hands of ex-BART cop Johannes Mehserle
if he had not resisted arrest. However, videotapes of the incident
contradicted Marysol Domenici’s testimony, which came in a hearing to
decide whether there is sufficient evidence to put Mehserle on trial
for murder. … And speaking of trials, there will be none for state
Senator Don Perata after the US Attorney’s Office in Sacramento
announced that it would not file charges against him, thereby ending
the five-year public corruption probe (for more, see “Why Was the Case
Against Perata Abandoned?” page 9).