California has had underwater state parks for a while, but on January 1 of this year the state opened several new parks along the coastline. These include the La Jolla kelp forest, tide pools in Laguna and coral gardens off of Catalina. Their goal? To do a better job protecting marine life. more ›

Today's announcement by the California Office of Historic Preservation (OHP), a division of California State Parks, delivered highly favorable news for California parks and historic sites. Ten cities and counties will receive $184,500 in federal grants to assist local historic preservation programs. more ›

Gov. Jerry Brown approved the months-late state budget as passed by state legislators Wednesday night and signaling the beginning of various cuts on state programs and tax hikes for Californians. more ›

California's budget crisis is no day in the park. Literally. State parks are bracing for the bad news as the parks department may release list of properties to close as early as this week, reports ABC Local. Gov. Jerry Brown has ordered $22 million cut from the state's operating budget and that means parks and beaches are in danger of shutting down. more ›

Writer/director/transcendental meditator David Lynch emerges for a screening of cult classic Eraserhead on Saturday afternoon at the Egyptian. The cryptic auteur appears as the first Guest Artistic Director of AFI's Annual Film Festival, and will answer three questions drawn from tweets directed @AFIFEST. Lynch's other selections for the festival include classics Sunset Boulevard, Rear Window, Mon Oncle, Lolita & The Hour of The Wolf. Of course, AFI has programmed plenty of new films as well. Werner Herzog's Cave of Forgotten Dreams uses the latest 3D technology to capture humanity's oldest known works of art. John Cameron Mitchell (of Hedwig inch-famy) follows Nicole Kidman & Aaron Eckhart down Rabbit Hole, while Aaron Sorkin and Halle Berry appear in lengthy conversation. Lesser known (but higher concept) films include Carancho, an Argentine noir thriller about an ambulance chaser, and Rubber, a killer tire movie. For full line-up and additional ticket sales, visit AFIFest.com. more ›

Today the campaign to pass Prop 21 launched their first TV spots. If approved by voters, an $18 fee will be added to annual car registrations, thus funding state parks and allowing free entrances to parks. The advertisements do their job, but they're nothing exciting (see one of them below). more ›

Two auto industry-related companies have made donations to fight Prop 21, the November ballots measure that would add an $18 annual fee for vehicle registrations to fund state parks. On Thursday Enterprise Holdings, parent... more ›

This year's approved state budget looks very similar when it comes to state parks. What that means is the continuation of partial closures, reduced staff and hours and no end in sight for the $1.3 billion backlog in needed maintenance and repairs. more ›

They did it with Hearst Castle, which is fascinatingly whacky in its own right, so why not Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch? An idea spawned by the California NAACP and now being pushed by a Los Angeles Assemblymember could mean Jackson's former Santa Barbara County home near Los Olivos may someday be a California State Park. more ›

Get your creative juices and rhyming schemes together. Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced the proposition numbers assigned to the 10 measures that will appear on the November 2nd ballot. Of note is Prop 19, which will be followed closely across the country. We're curious what rhyming and/or creative slogans will come out with that one (bad example: "get green with nineteen"). Here's the full list of measures and brief descriptions, compliments of the Center for Governmental Studies here in Los Angeles: more ›

Budget cuts for California's 278 State Parks has led to $1.3-billion in backlogged maintenance and repair projects, according to the Sacramento Bee. The underfunding and consequential reduction of staff and services has led to an increase in crime reported in the state parks. “California’s state parks have been starved of funding, which is demonstrated by their deplorable conditions and rising crime rate,” said Elizabeth Goldstein, California State Parks Foundation president. more ›

Although no ranger greets you when you enter, Santa Monica Beach is a state park, one that is operated by the City of Santa Monica. So if voters decide this November to approve a state parks ballot prop that would add an $18 fee to annual vehicle registrations and lift parking fees at parks, the lots at Santa Monica's beach would become an even more popular place. more ›

An initiative that will ask Californians to fully fund state parks via an annual fee on vehicle registrations qualified for the November ballot today. Fed up with budget cuts and a threat of closing 80% of all cuts in past years, environmentalists and park supporters joined forces to create the State Parks and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund Act of 2010. more ›

With Memorial Day coming this weekend, The Nature Conservancy is offering up what they think are the 10 most memorable state parks in California. Not all of them are local to Southern California, but they do make for a great bucket list of places to check out if you haven't already. more ›

As Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is getting cheers from some in the environmental community for backing down from offshore drilling, he's not winning those fans over his latest veto. This afternoon he decided against a bill that would ban smoking in state parks and beaches. more ›

After a stall on Thursday in the Assembly, a vote held yesterday saw the approval in the state legislature of SB 4, which outlaws smoking in California's state parks, according to the LA Times. more ›

Just off Sunset Boulevard in Pacific Palisades, Temescal Gateway Park and the trails that loop into the massively large Topanga State Park mine as well be considered the Runyon Canyon of the Westside. Hiking the near 4-mile loop from the the parking lot along the Temescal Canyon and Viewpoint Trails you'll see dozens of runners, solo exercise zealots and plenty of families and groups of friends chatting it up as they make their way through. more ›

A bill banning smoking in all 279 California state parks failed in the Assembly today, falling just 5 votes short of passing, according to abc7. The issue is not entirely snuffed out, however, as the absence of several lawmakers expected to vote in approval were absent from the session today, and a new vote will be held, possibly as soon as Monday. The bill, by Sen. Jenny Oropeza (D) of Long Beach, passed the state Senate, and, if passed, would be landmark legislation regarding public smoking and state-run land. more ›

California could soon be the first state to ban smoking in its state parks system, as the Assembly votes today on a bill that aims to to reduce litter, secondhand smoke, and wildfire threats, according to the Huffington Post. more ›

For most of the year, the Giant Coreopsis plant looks like a short stubby odd-looking version of a Joshua Tree. Often referred to as the Dr. Seuss plant, it sits flowerless and dead-looking for about nine months of the year. Then wildflower season comes and it boldly blooms with beautiful yellow flowers. And that time is now and the clock is ticking. more ›

A resolution to support a ballot initiative that would fully fund state parks, thus protecting them from budget raids that prompt closures, failed to garner support from a L.A. City Council committee (.pdf) yesterday afternoon. At issue for Councilmembers Dennis Zine and Tony Cardenas were the fees associated with the proposal. more ›

There's a good chance when voters hit the booths on Election Day next November, Californians will be asked to add an $18 vehicle license fee when they pay their annual DMV registration. If passed, the debate over funding state parks would be over, as the fee would guarantee the system of 278 parks an adequate and stable funding source to survive. As an added bonus, the initiative would end parking fees at state parks, meaning those who often take advantage of them will see a considerable amount of savings. Tomorrow, a City Council committee is poised to pass a resolution supporting the initiative, with a staff analysis recommending its approval. If passed, it will moved to the full Council and then to the Mayor. more ›

For once, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger laid out a budget proposal that does not cut money from state parks. That sounds great, however, it's one of those tricky smoke and mirrors ideas--he'll fund state parks using offshore oil money, says Traci Verardo-Torres of the California State Parks Foundation. more ›

In a figurative spanking, an internal state legal opinion in early October said that state parks employees were sheltering $60 million purely for projects that benefited dirt bikes, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and snowmobiles. The money comes from a fuel tax that is earmarked for off-highway vehicular recreation, but environmental advocates say this money can also go towards unpaved road maintenance throughout the entire state park system, according to a California Legislative Counsel opinion. more ›

It's really happening. After two years of threats to close state parks, groups, including the California State Parks Foundation, have gotten together to put their own measure on the ballot. "We're done trying to convince them," the Foundation said in a e-mail newsletter this morning referencing politicians. "We're taking our case to the people." more ›

Yesterday, state park officials began announcing plans for budget-saving reductions that begin Sunday. Some parks, including ones in the L.A. area, would lose lifeguards and see fewer hours or days of operation. However, Angeles District Superintendent Ron Schafer is mum on the details of said cuts. "We're working on plans that might help us avoid service reductions all together," he said over the phone, noting details should come next week. Local parks will operate as normal until then and hopefully after. more ›

When Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger saved state parks from closing, it didn't mean he saved them from service cuts. Today, state park officials announced how they would deal with a $14.2 million budget cut: Superintendents for each district (for example, many of L.A.'s nearby parks are in the Angeles District, beaches in the OC and Ventura County are in the Orange Coast and Channel Coast districts, respectively) had to share the sacrifice and find cuts on a park-by-park basis. more ›

Elizabeth Goldstein, President of the California State Parks Foundation, is calling bullshit on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's announcement that state parks are saved. No details beyond the announcement have been released since last Friday, but Goldstein says read between the lines: more ›

A surprise announcement from state officials came this afternoon in the form of no state park closures. Wow. A big improvement from the original proposal to close 80 percent of parks last Spring, which eventually was weeded down to 100 park closures in the summer. As state park officials worked on a closure list, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stepped in with renewed interest this week, offering assistance in the form of experts from the Department of Finance. more ›

Among the many bills approved by the legislature and sent to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk for approval are two state parks bills. They have nothing to do with the possible closures and in fact, they were introduced long before any one would have thought that hundreds would be threatened during the budget process. more ›