Guest Editorial 
This page was last updated on January 06, 2009 .

When Will the Absurdity End in East Bay?
by Greg Schneider, 8/11/03

The East Bay Regional Park District is now running television ads on Bay Area TV stations.  They have also been running ads in local newspapers for some time now.

The new EBRPD TV Ad shows a ranger bending over a plant looking at an insect warning park users to look but not to touch these important little creatures.  This is typical of the hypocrisy in the park district.  They allow cattle to destroy the wildife habitat in wilderness areas like Sunol Regional Wilderness but warn park users to be careful not to touch the bugs.  They allow cattle to deposit thousands of pounds of cow feces into the parks each day yet insist that park users must pick up after their dogs.

When will the absurdity of it all end?

Friends of Sycamore Valley (FSV) recently obtained a copy of the new budget and the park district is spending over $2,000,000 on a public relations.  One of the objectives of the budget is "to develop a comprehensive marketing plan, incorporating a consistent 'brand' message..."  Are we selling cars here or trying to run a park system?

In a public meeting at Sycamore Valley Open Space (SVOS) on June 28, 2003 FSV asked Beverly Lane, EBRPD Director for the Danville CA region, what happened to the $55,000 in Measure AA funds that was supposedly spent on the SVOS park for Equestrian Staging & Access Trails?  The park district records obtained by FSV dated 2/3/2003 show that this money was awarded October 6, 1998 and the grant closed December 31, 2001 yet no such improvements were ever made in the park.  Beverly Lane had no answer to give as to what happened to that money.

What is happening to our parks?  How many parks in the US have so much money in the budget that they can waste it on newspaper and TV ads?  The park district claims it does not have the money to open SVOS in Danville yet it will spend over $2,000,000 this year wasting money that could be better spent in our parks on unnecessary items such as newspaper and TV ads?

Why does a park system need to advertise?  Is it because the politicians are trying to sell themselves?

The politicians that are running the park district need to go...can we include them in the recall?

Greg Schneider
Director
Friends of Sycamore Valley