Which Way, L.A.?
Fallout from State Parks' Hidden Funds
After threatening to close 70 parks for a lack of money, the state found $54 million hidden away, enough to keep them open twice over. What happened to all that money?
By Warren Olney • • 1h 1m ListenRemember the warning that 70 state parks would have to close because of a lack of money? Turns out the Parks Department had twice as much as it needed salted away, so-called "hidden assets" that top officials say they didn't know about. What about all those nonprofits that worked to keep the parks open, including bake sales at elementary schools? Was it fraud or mismanagement? Is it the tip of an iceberg? Will it cast doubt on Governor Brown's temporary tax increase on the November ballot? Also, Anaheim residents are up in arms over recent police shootings. On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, can we talk about gun control?
Banner image: Torrey Pines State Reserve (Minerva Bloom) / CC BY-NC 3.0
In this episode
3 storiesAnaheim Residents Up in Arms
Last Saturday, Anaheim police officers killed a man they said was running away in a residential alleyway. At a protest the following day, the police fired beanbags with pepper spray at a crowd including women and children. The day after that, another man was shot to death, allegedly after he fired on police from a stolen car.
Read the story7 minState Parks, 'Hidden Assets' and Public Trust in Government
The State Attorney General and the Department of Finance are investigating the discovery of $54 million in so-called "hidden assets" in the State Parks Department. That's more than twice the deficit that led Governor Brown to announce the closing of 70 parks, parks then saved by non-profits and community groups, which raised their own money.
Read the story19 minAurora, Mass Shootings and America's Gun Laws
In 1929, American newspapers carried sensational pictures of crumpled, dead bodies, victims of Al Capone's St. Valentine's Day Massacre. President Franklin Roosevelt then persuaded Congress to restrict access to machine guns favored by gangsters.
Read the story35 min
