The News Blog is a place where updates to the guidebooks are posted. It is also a repository for news and information related to the state and national parks of the Bay Area, including upcoming events, benefits, and rallies to support our parks.
Current News Blog page:
July 2010
News Blog Archive:
June 2010 | May 2010 | April 2010 | March 2010 | February 2010 | January 2010 | December 2009 | November 2009 | October 2009
October 22, 2009
I did some hiking in the Presidio this morning, now that the rains have let up. I hiked from Inspiration Point down the hill through the serpentinite meadows and down to the Main Post. Then I visited the new Walt Disney Family Museum, in Building 104 along Infantry Row. The museum presents a fascinating look at the history of Walt Disney and his career, and is a major new addition to the Presidio. The Disney family has put a lot of effort into preserving and restoring the beautiful old red brick military barrack, which dates from 1895. They made some architectural adjustments, such as expanding the size of the building by adding a glass-enclosed wing to the back. This features a long sloping hallway, which connects the second floor galleries to the first floor, and also provides sweeping views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay.
The museum is really well done, with a lot of emphasis on the history of animation and its development since the 1920s. They do gloss over some of the more controversial aspects of Disney's life, although the family probably would prefer to sweep those under the rug anyway. This type of major tenant will help the Presidio reach its goal of self-sufficiency by 2013, while keeping the scale within a reasonable range for a national park. It will be interesting to see the development of the Main Post over the next few years, especially the replacement of the sprawling parking lot with a serene meadow that sweeps down to the Bay.
Unfortunately, the museum doesn't allow photography inside, so I just have this outside shot of the building where the museum is located.
October 21, 2009
The East Bay Regional Park District completed an acquisition of 1,156 acres of open space, to be added to the 5,271 acre Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park. With the purchase of the Tyler Ranch, an area of rolling hills and meadows, with vistas that stretch to the Sierra Nevada, the East Bay Regional Park District has now reached the milestone of more than 100,000 acres in 65 parks across Contra Costa and Alameda Counties.
The $4.9 million purchase was made with the help of Curtis and Veronica Priem of Fremont and their Priem Family Foundation, which bought the ranch for $6.6 million and worked out a deal to sell it to the park district in stages for a $1.73 million discount. With additional donations and bond measures passed by the voters, the East Bay Regional Park District plans to expand even more over the next few years, creating wildlife corridors and vast areas of connected wilderness.
On top of this good news, the East Bay Regional Park District will celebrate its 75th anniversary this year. The Park District's general manager Bob Doyle remarked that "when our founders created the park district in the depths of the Depression, I don't think they expected it to grow to this size, or to have 14 million visitors a year."
When I heard this news, I dug up an old map of the system that I had picked up in 1976, shortly after I first moved to California. The difference between the old map and the current map is striking. Back then, the park system had only 40,797 acres in 36 parks - very encouraging to see this kind of growth of open space and preservation of wild areas.
October 20, 2009
This past week has been a notable time for Cavallo Point, the resort hotel and conference center located at the former Fort Baker in the Marin Headlands. The Murray Circle restaurant was awarded a Michelin star for the second year in a row, making it the only restaurant in Marin County to be rated by Michelin. In addition to this, the National Trust for Historic Preservation bestowed a National Preservation Honor Award upon the Fort Baker redesign project. The award was given not only to the developer, the Fort Baker Retreat Group, but also to Equity Community Builders, Passport Resorts, Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects, Office of Cheryl Barton, Brayton & Hughes Design Studio, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, Golden Gate National Recreational Area, and the Architectural Resources Group.
October 18, 2009
Angel Island has become the inspiration for an innovative dance production called Island. Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co., a dance company based in Washington, D.C., created the production to visually depict the experience of Asian immigrants who were detained at the Immigration Station on Angel Island. Dana Tai Soon Burgess, the director of the company, describes the work as "utilizing certain historic moments as a jumping-off point," with Angel Island being a transition between two worlds.
Island had its world premiere last week in Washington, D.C. and will go on a national and international tour through 2011. More information can be found at the Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co. website.
October 13, 2009
Environment California is another organization that is working to keep our state parks open and fully funded. Together with the California State Parks Foundation, they are sponsoring an innovative film series called California State Parks Starring in Hollywood Films. Four films which prominently feature California state parks will be shown:
In other news, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed two important bills that would have protected state parks from development. A frustrating day, seems like our "leaders" have no appreciation for what most Californians cherish.
October 11, 2009
The California State Parks Foundation is one of the main organizations that is leading the drive to keep our state parks open and fully funded. They also raise money to help fund the state parks, which is the reason I have chosen to donate $1 from every sale of my guidebooks to this organization. The foundation is about to celebrate its 40th birthday and will be holding a party on Treasure Island on October 25. Tickets are $20 and available from the California State Parks Foundation website.
October 9, 2009
California State Parks have been under the threat of closure for the past year, in a misguided attempt to save money in the short-term as the state faces a massive budget deficit. The original plan was to close as many as 230 of the 267 state parks. This number was later trimmed to 100, targeting parks that do not get large numbers of visitors or do not produce revenue in any way. On September 25, Governor Schwartzenegger announced that a plan had been worked out that would keep the parks open, a clear sign that he had not anticipated the political firestorm that his original idea had created. The parks still face severe budget cuts that will hurt all Californians, so this latest plan does not signal the end of the battle.
Current News Blog page:
July 2010
News Blog Archive:
June 2010 | May 2010 | April 2010 | March 2010 | February 2010 | January 2010 | December 2009 | November 2009 | October 2009
October 22, 2009I did some hiking in the Presidio this morning, now that the rains have let up. I hiked from Inspiration Point down the hill through the serpentinite meadows and down to the Main Post. Then I visited the new Walt Disney Family Museum, in Building 104 along Infantry Row. The museum presents a fascinating look at the history of Walt Disney and his career, and is a major new addition to the Presidio. The Disney family has put a lot of effort into preserving and restoring the beautiful old red brick military barrack, which dates from 1895. They made some architectural adjustments, such as expanding the size of the building by adding a glass-enclosed wing to the back. This features a long sloping hallway, which connects the second floor galleries to the first floor, and also provides sweeping views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay.
The museum is really well done, with a lot of emphasis on the history of animation and its development since the 1920s. They do gloss over some of the more controversial aspects of Disney's life, although the family probably would prefer to sweep those under the rug anyway. This type of major tenant will help the Presidio reach its goal of self-sufficiency by 2013, while keeping the scale within a reasonable range for a national park. It will be interesting to see the development of the Main Post over the next few years, especially the replacement of the sprawling parking lot with a serene meadow that sweeps down to the Bay.
Unfortunately, the museum doesn't allow photography inside, so I just have this outside shot of the building where the museum is located.
October 21, 2009The East Bay Regional Park District completed an acquisition of 1,156 acres of open space, to be added to the 5,271 acre Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park. With the purchase of the Tyler Ranch, an area of rolling hills and meadows, with vistas that stretch to the Sierra Nevada, the East Bay Regional Park District has now reached the milestone of more than 100,000 acres in 65 parks across Contra Costa and Alameda Counties.
The $4.9 million purchase was made with the help of Curtis and Veronica Priem of Fremont and their Priem Family Foundation, which bought the ranch for $6.6 million and worked out a deal to sell it to the park district in stages for a $1.73 million discount. With additional donations and bond measures passed by the voters, the East Bay Regional Park District plans to expand even more over the next few years, creating wildlife corridors and vast areas of connected wilderness.
On top of this good news, the East Bay Regional Park District will celebrate its 75th anniversary this year. The Park District's general manager Bob Doyle remarked that "when our founders created the park district in the depths of the Depression, I don't think they expected it to grow to this size, or to have 14 million visitors a year."
When I heard this news, I dug up an old map of the system that I had picked up in 1976, shortly after I first moved to California. The difference between the old map and the current map is striking. Back then, the park system had only 40,797 acres in 36 parks - very encouraging to see this kind of growth of open space and preservation of wild areas.
October 20, 2009
This past week has been a notable time for Cavallo Point, the resort hotel and conference center located at the former Fort Baker in the Marin Headlands. The Murray Circle restaurant was awarded a Michelin star for the second year in a row, making it the only restaurant in Marin County to be rated by Michelin. In addition to this, the National Trust for Historic Preservation bestowed a National Preservation Honor Award upon the Fort Baker redesign project. The award was given not only to the developer, the Fort Baker Retreat Group, but also to Equity Community Builders, Passport Resorts, Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects, Office of Cheryl Barton, Brayton & Hughes Design Studio, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, Golden Gate National Recreational Area, and the Architectural Resources Group.
October 18, 2009
Angel Island has become the inspiration for an innovative dance production called Island. Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co., a dance company based in Washington, D.C., created the production to visually depict the experience of Asian immigrants who were detained at the Immigration Station on Angel Island. Dana Tai Soon Burgess, the director of the company, describes the work as "utilizing certain historic moments as a jumping-off point," with Angel Island being a transition between two worlds.
"The piece is designed around transitions - emotional and physical. It's that in-between point where you don't have a place to go back to and you don't have a clear place to get to. I perceive Angel Island as an emotional holding tank."
Dana Tai Soon Burgess
Island had its world premiere last week in Washington, D.C. and will go on a national and international tour through 2011. More information can be found at the Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co. website.
October 13, 2009
Environment California is another organization that is working to keep our state parks open and fully funded. Together with the California State Parks Foundation, they are sponsoring an innovative film series called California State Parks Starring in Hollywood Films. Four films which prominently feature California state parks will be shown:
- The Adventures of Robin Hood
- Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- Vertigo
In other news, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed two important bills that would have protected state parks from development. A frustrating day, seems like our "leaders" have no appreciation for what most Californians cherish.
October 11, 2009
The California State Parks Foundation is one of the main organizations that is leading the drive to keep our state parks open and fully funded. They also raise money to help fund the state parks, which is the reason I have chosen to donate $1 from every sale of my guidebooks to this organization. The foundation is about to celebrate its 40th birthday and will be holding a party on Treasure Island on October 25. Tickets are $20 and available from the California State Parks Foundation website.
October 9, 2009
California State Parks have been under the threat of closure for the past year, in a misguided attempt to save money in the short-term as the state faces a massive budget deficit. The original plan was to close as many as 230 of the 267 state parks. This number was later trimmed to 100, targeting parks that do not get large numbers of visitors or do not produce revenue in any way. On September 25, Governor Schwartzenegger announced that a plan had been worked out that would keep the parks open, a clear sign that he had not anticipated the political firestorm that his original idea had created. The parks still face severe budget cuts that will hurt all Californians, so this latest plan does not signal the end of the battle.