#13 State government interaction

My CP has had very little interaction with the State governor. Political involvement comes mainly from the nearby city, where the citizens elect the officials who will allow the funding of parks and open reserves to continue. Acterra is a non-profit organizations that relies only on donations and the tax payer money from Palo Alto citizens to continue with its projects. As far as politics are concerned, small local parks or areas, such as where Acterra is located, are affected by State government affairs only if a law, act, or call is made to all communities within the state to make financial cut backs in order to keep the economy stable. For the most part, however, the State governor's authority doesn't stretch to any organizations, such as my CP.

$ and services #10

As with any non profit organization, my CP relies on the continous donations from the local people.  There isn't any real connection my CP and other groups have between each other since they only focus on the lands within their community. While some people donate to Acterra, the rest of its money comes from the general fund or the property tax that Palo Alto citizens have to pay. The amount of tax payer money that Acterra receives depends on the situation of the city's revenues. Recently, due to some cutbacks, Palo Alto's revenues have changed, causing the usual funding of open spaces and parks to drop.  

CP and legislation #6

Although my CP is a non profit organization, there is no information on the organization making requests for any legislative work be done for its prosperity. However, since the Santa Cruz District has jurisdiction over Portola and Castle Rock, some of their legislation has been stretched to try to preserve the Bay Area's natural beauty. It may not have directly affected the organization, but the decision to not pass this legislation may impact how we look after the forests within the Bay.

Two years ago, a plan was set to create an open space district in the Santa Cruz County. It didn't pass due to concerns from the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County that this new district would cost the county greatly, given the economic mess then. The director of Land Trust, Terry Corwin, recognized the need of protecting the farms, water supply, and beauty of California's natural habitats; however, the right way of doing so without costing the economy was the part no one could figure out. An open space district essentially would have required tax money from its residents in order to acquire and manage the land. The requirements needed to establish this district would have been reduced, but only a swift approval from the voters could have allowed it to be put into effect. So, this is connected with my CP in a way that the legislation might have made it possible for people to be able to manage the lands Portola and Castle Rock seek to preserve. Since this country is still struggling economically, the California state government has made up its mind about what it can do for the enivornment. It's up to the local people to raise enough money to reverse the process.

CP #4

Apart from their own campaign of keeping their parks open, the Portola and Castle Rock Foundation doesn't usually participate in other political campaigns. There's no evidence to suggest otherwise if my CP gets involved, but instead it's the people who fundraise to help the organization with their cause. The only time they would advocate for a candidate during a campaign is dependent on if that political figure had a plan to either extend the deadline of finanical cutbacks or focus on other economic problems, leaving state parks out of it. For the most part, my CP is only politically active when times are hard on the parks and the people who visit them, contribute to keeping California's State Parks open.

Local Citizens and my CP (#2)

The relationship between California citizens and my CP doesn't stretch from just this organization to the people, but from every state park to everyone in the state. The vast majority of people advocating to keep the parks open ranges from middle schoolers, who pick up trash thrown on camp grounds to everyday citizens from the different counties who bring the issue to Governor Jerry Brown's attention. As these people interact with the park rangers and organizations that support maintaining California's State Parks, the same kind of interaction is going on between citizens from the Bay Area and the Portola and Castle Rock Foundation. They are all advocating for the same cause and it's real inspiring to know that there are those who care about the history that they created. California citizens fought to keep the parks open 150 years ago and still are continuing the fight today. Even now, if no government funding is provided, the people will still keep pushing their cause sending out petitions and using their own money to save the parks. For them, the closure of California State Parks will be the end of one part of the state's history and culture.

California citizens, who participate in maintaining and reforestating the parks, can have a great effect on how busy my CP stays. With fundraising and profits made from selling certain materials, the foundation can help with backing up projects organized by individuals, who want to keep the parks in the Santa Cruz Mountains free of vandalism, full of exhibits for vistors, and kept to their natural beauties. This can only be possible if the people, who've been to these parks, step up to save what they believe should stay and remain untouched by economic cutbacks.    

CP #1 Portola and Castle Rock Foundation

My CP is, in a number of ways, affected by Federal policies, given the current economic situation the country's in and the financial cutbacks our government has had to make on certain organizations or entities. State park closures are occurring due to the California state government's shortage of money to fund the parks, the staff, and the equipment needed to maintain the region's natural habitats. One can argue that politicans are looking at the bigger picture of saving the states (California in this case) from total economic collapse and that anything not receiving enough money, must shut down to save our economy. However, at the local level, people's views of shutting down state parks vary based on their perceptions of what should be saved in this economic deficit.

From a local perspective, I think it is widely shared across the state that everyday people have had great experiences from camping, hiking, or picnicing within these beautiful parks. People living close to California's state parks can attest that visiting these landmarks is a great way for families or campers to get away from their daily lives and embrace California's natural beauty. Most people understand that these parks are greatly siginficant, given that they represent California's ecological history and it's cultural changes, from the earliest Native American tribes to the people who brought the state into the Union. It's a characteristic of California that some people don't want to vanish, even in the midst of an economic upset.

In terms of accountability, the closest connection I could find for my CP was the Santa Cruz District. They have jurisdiction to work with my CP since Santa Cruz owns the Portola Redwoods State Park. The district most definitely has to comply with the cutbacks the California state government has to enact, but Santa Cruz, as well as my CP, are working hard to save their parks, with the help of many volunteers. Whether they'll achieve enough money to maintain the conditions of some of California's state parks falls on the shoulders of the local people.  

Martin Luther King's legacy

Considered to be the US version of Gandhi, Martin Luther King is viewed by many Americans as the great crusader who led the country out of the dark world of racial prejudice. His work in the Civil Rights Movement set the tone for the modern day acceptance of all people, regardless of their ethnic background. It all began for King when in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white person, which led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Although the Civil Rights Movement gained an enormous following, King came to realize how difficult it would be to repeat the same strategies that enabled the Voting Rights Acts in 1964 and 1965. However, more than thirty years after his death, his family have come to question if King was really the man everyone saw him as during his last days before his assassination. Up until 1968, Martin Luther King was on the move of creating a more socially equal America; first by taking down "Whites Only" signs off of drinking fountains, restaurants, parks, etc. At the time just before he was assassinated, King became more radical with the intention of forming a interracial coalition to end the Vietnam War and create some economic reforms. His family have come to the conclusion that he was no longer the Martin Luther King everyone knew him as and that the government, under Lyndon Johnson, may have been behind the plot to kill Dr. King. The question remains whether or not he'll be remembered for his actions during the Civil Rights Movement or for his newly discovered scheme to change the political structure. In regards to the rights given to African Americans and other colored people, I think that while people are more accepting today of other ethnicities, there are still pockets of discrimination aimed at colored people within society. Mostly it's out of ignorant thinking that certain ethnicities are inferior to others, particularly to whites. As long as the government doesn't forget the rights it enabled for these people, African Americans should feel their civil liberties are protected.