Free Republic

Not too long ago, Gavin Newsom got caught with his hand in the cookie jar of political cronyism. In response to a draconian law passed raising fast-food worker wages to $20 an hour, known as A.B. 1228, Newsom carved out a little exemption for his friends at Panera Bread on the laughable grounds that these establishments bake bread on the premises. In reality, the owner of several Panera establishments was a high school buddy who was a really good donor to his campaigns. Once caught, Newsom backed off, but right when he thought no one was looking, he went right...

In 2010, President Obama signed a credit card bill he desperately wanted. Inside the bill was an amendment removing the provision against exercising Second Amendment rights in national parks. A few people were offended. How dare the Constitution be allowed to be in effect in national parks! Some writers have claimed while it is legal to carry guns in most national parks, it is illegal to fire guns in the park (such as Yellowstone), even in self-defense. From yellowstonepark.com:Yes, you can carry a gun in Yellowstone. But it’s illegal to fire it – even in self defense. And once you...

MAQUOKETA, Iowa -- Authorities said four people are dead and a triple-homicide investigation is underway at Maquoketa Caves State Park today. Mike Krapfl, special agent in charge with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said members of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department responded at 6:23 a.m. to reports of gunshots at the park's campground. A DCI press release states that Jackson County deputies and the state agency were notified at that time of a triple homicide. Law enforcement officials located three people dead at the scene, though Krapfl could not confirm their cause of death. He said officials still were...

Visitors to Disney theme parks this summer are encountering something they haven’t seen in a while: elbow room. Travel analysts and advisers say traffic to Disney’s U.S. parks, and some rival parks, has slowed this summer. Data from a travel company that tracks line-waiting time at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., shows that the Independence Day weekend was one of the slowest in nearly a decade. Disney executives have said they have expected weaker earnings from their U.S. parks this year. The Orlando-area resort is even offering hotel discounts around Christmas, typically a peak period. Travel advisers and industry...

This summer, Midpen is celebrating the initial purchase of lands that will become Midpen’s 27th open space preserve: Cloverdale Ranch, a unique ecological and agricultural jewel on the San Mateo County Coastside near the rural town of Pescadero. The lands, first protected by our nonprofit partner Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST), contain large, intact coastal grasslands, one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in North America. The property also has abundant water resources, both natural and human-made. Together, the natural habitat and plentiful water support a diverse community of native wildlife and plant communities, including grassland-dependent species such as American badgers,...

The Boy Scouts of America said Sunday evening that the victim was a parent of a scout and was participating in a planned hike.A woman was killed when she was hit by a falling tree during a hiking trip with the Boys Scouts in Cupertino Sunday morning, officials said. The incident happened just after 10 a.m. on a trail at the Rancho San Antonio County Park. Officials said they received calls for a woman who was trapped under a tree. The Santa Clara County Fire Department said on Twitter that the victim was declared dead after medical aid was rendered....

Biden’s war on fossil fuels may reduce funding for America’s national parks, according to the Western Energy Alliance, a nonprofit energy industry association for the U.S. West. The Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), which was passed in August 2020, provides $1.9 billion for public lands and national park restoration, primarily from onshore oil and gas development on federal lands. The act combined the restoration and Land and Water Conservation funds, which supplies $900 million in matching grant money for state and local parks. No Federal Oil Biden campaigned on a promise that he was going to eliminate the oil industry,...

The authorities of the National System of Conservation Areas have reported that many hikers take tours in areas that are not permitted in several of the country’s national parks. Some even charge high sums of money to locals and foreigners, taking them to areas where these activities are prohibited. For example, in June, at the Poás Volcano National Park, 71 people were detained and expelled from the facilities. “Faced with the increase of illegal entries into protected wildlife areas through clandestine or illegal trails, the National System of Conservation Areas has made a call to stop this immediately,” said Rafael...

Calling all Californians! Dig up your library card to check out a free state park pass from your local library. Starting this week, California State Library Parks Passes will be distributed to public libraries across the state for checkout by library patrons. The new pass will allow free vehicle day use entry at more than 200 participating state parks, California State Parks and the California State Library announced. As part of a three-year pilot program starting in April, each library jurisdiction will receive at least three pass hangtags per branch for checkout by library patrons, including mobile libraries. Park passes...

“It is difficult to find peace in the woods when armed frogmen might be lurking behind every tree,” lawyers for the Whidbey Environmental Action Network, the group behind the lawsuit against the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, argued in a legal brief filed last month. The Navy has used Washington state coastal parks for over 30 years for SEAL cold water training and other special operations exercises, with leaders saying the area offers the perfect environment to simulate what the elite forces may encounter on difficult operations overseas. “I do not care to catch a glimpse of apparently armed...

Testimony of Dr. Parks in Michigan establishes 1) The mRNA vaccines do not work against varients, they fail. 2) The mRNA vaccines create new varients. 3) The mRNA vaccines cannot be mandated, they are experimental and as such are usiung millions of humans as test subjects. The forgone conclusion? Drug therapy is much better than any mRNA vaccine.

New management plan spotlights Cotoni-Coast Dairies recreation with world-class vistas on Santa Cruz County’s North CoastHiking, biking, horseback riding and bird-watching are just some of the planned activities the public will be able to enjoy at Cotoni-Coast Dairies – one of the latest additions to the California Coastal National Monument. A finalized management plan released this week will guide the use of nearly 6,000 acres of coastal-facing public lands. “The BLM is committed to expanding public access to the California Coastal National Monument under the Cotoni-Coast Dairies Resource Management Plan Amendment,” said BLM California’s State Director Karen Mouritsen. “This...

Protect Our Parks - now suing the city, federal agencies, the Chicago Park District and the Obama Foundation to block construction of the Obama Presidential Center in Jackson Park in favor of a site of their choosing in Washington Park - is asking the federal district court to block planned roadwork on Hayes Drive and excavation on the planned OPC campus site. The move comes after the city, Park District and Obama Foundation filed a motion to dismiss the state law claims in the Protect Our Parks case, invoking the multitude of other buildings devoted to public use in Jackson...

With lockdowns lifted, Americans are heading for the great outdoors but in doing so some of the country's National Park are becoming overrun with visitors. As a result, the parks and nearby towns are becoming overcrowded with visitors with some even requiring reservations including California's Yosemite National Park and Maine's Acadia National Park. The main reason for such high visit numbers well before the peak summer season is due to a higher percentage of first-timers checking out the nation's natural wonders, according to the Bureau of Land Management after people were forced to endure months of lockdown and strict travel...

A proposal to tackle homelessness in Los Angeles with temporary homeless encampments at government-owned parks and beachfront lots is prompting fierce blowback from residents — who fear it’ll turn public spaces into hotbeds for crime without addressing the underlining issues causing homelessness.The plan put forth by Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin seeks to allow homeless people to pitch tents and receive social services at family-friendly outdoor spaces across the Westside — including Westchester Park, Mar Vista Park, Dockweiler Beach in Playa del Rey and Will Rogers State Beach in Pacific Palisades.The proposal, slated for a City Council vote later...

I was very lucky to be able to make this little film.

In his State of the State address, Gov. Andrew Cuomo touted the $306 billion in current and proposed infrastructure projects around New York that he said would revitalize the economy after COVID-19 shut down businesses and non-essential construction. In his Jan. 14 speech, the governor said a total $51 billion was being spent for projects to revive Manhattan's Midtown West neighborhoods, citing potential new projects as well as those well into planning. That figure includes the $1.6 billion Moynihan Train Hall, which opened Jan. 1; the $1.5 billion Jacob K. Javits Center expansion, expected to be completed this year; and...

A few seconds into John & Mercedes Condon’s latest YouTube video, this famous RV couple states the cold, hard truth. Known as the RV Odd Couple, the Condons are known for telling it like it is. In the recent video, Mercedes starts by saying, “I bet you can’t wait to go camping this year.” John’s direct realization follows, “Good luck, guys! ‘Cause America’s pretty much sold out already.” Is this true? Are most of the campgrounds in America sold out? Well, while we know there’s still availability (in Kansas, maybe), the tourist hot spots are booking quicker than ever this...

On-lookers were left wondering what was going onThree Cliffs Bay is one of the most breath-taking on Gower. But visitors couldn’t help but be distracted from it’s striking panorama on Thursday, January 21 - by a man flying over the bay in a jet pack. Looking like something from a movie, it is believed to be a commercial in the making. The company behind the project, Gramafilm, said it would reveal the story behind the project next month. But a spokesman for the National Trust, responsible for Three Cliffs Bay, said: “The National Trust Film Office had given permission for...

It’s the most popular park in Monterey County, but Toro Park, which was under a partial shutdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic, is now closed to all visitors indefinitely due to extensive damage from the River Fire. The park, which measures more than 5,500 acres in size, saw as many as 4,000 acres burned from the fire. Its extensive maze of hiking, biking and equestrian trails have been damaged. Advertisement “A vast majority, 80-90% of the trail network was destroyed, so it's a lot of environmental damage,” said Brian Lopes, operations manager for Monterey county parks. Thursday morning, Lopes led...