Budget Cuts: State Beaches Dangerous, People Warned Away

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

The budget cuts that have already been made are starting to create consequences, ones that will effect just about every Californian.  Ellinorianne brought us the story of her daughter's school.  Now the OC Register is reporting (h/t to Weintraub) that officials with the state are warning people away from state beaches.  They are literally praying for bad weather so people will stay away.  Parks just does not have enough money to pay lifeguards.

"I'm sending out a warning that the state beaches - and San Clemente State Beach in particular - will be very, very dangerous and the public should avoid them," Long said. "If they come down and they don't see lifeguard service, I would suggest to them that they go to the city beaches."

"For the first year in the 30 years I have been down here, we do not have a schedule of seasonal lifeguards during spring break," he said. "We have no money."

They only have about half of the amount of money to pay lifeguards than normal.  These budget cuts are already putting Californian's lives at risk and we still have a huge budget gap to close.

"We are praying for a very unfavorable spring with overcast and drizzle," he said, "and hope that the water stays cold. We do not have the funds to put the lifeguards out there. We (also) have cut back on grounds keeping (and) our entrance station. We've eliminated virtually all of our interpretation - school groups and the likes of that."

The budget discussion is not some sort of essoteric argument.  There are real consequences for the decisions the legislature has and will make about funding.  Our state system has been slashed for years and there is nothing left to give, except in this case our safety