A view of our hotel pool. I wish…
This is a view from a terrace above the outside pool at Hearst Castle. Quite a mansion and grounds. A fascinating (and opulent? garish? overwrought?) piece of work from what sounds like a very interesting man.
(My wife and I traveled to California for nine days in early July – this is part of a series of pictures from our trip.)
Seals basking on the rocks in a cove at Point Lobos State Natural Reserve. The park is three miles south of Carmel, California. We arrived at the gate several minutes after the 8 AM opening. At the booth where we had to pay to enter, one ranger said, “You must be tourists if you are here so early.” Both rangers in the booth were originally from Illinois and said they “never looked back” after moving to California.
(My wife and I traveled to California for nine days in early July – this is part of a series of pictures from our trip.)
Looking down the mine shaft of the Empire Mine in Nevada County, California. This mine went nearly a mile below the surface and produced gold (according to Wikipedia, 5.8 million ounces) for over a century.
(My wife and I traveled to California for nine days in early July – this is part of a series of pictures from our trip.)
On the way back from Alcatraz (and its very well-produced audio tour), we sailed back through San Francisco Bay. As the sun came out, a number of sailboats passed by.
(My wife and I traveled to California for nine days in early July – this is part of a series of pictures from our trip.)
The Wall Street Journal reports on more municipalities contracting out city services.
Cities say they have little choice. Municipalities across the U.S. will face a projected shortfall of $56 to $86 billion between 2010 and 2012, according to a report from the National League of Cities.
The primary focus of the story is California communities.
For many of the services mentioned in the article, such as tree-trimming, residents likely won’t notice much difference.
The Golden Gate Bridge is impressive from a distance – the color, the length, its position at the front of the bay. It is more impressive from close-up (it really is large) and from several vista points in Marin County.
(My wife and I traveled to California for nine days in early July – this is part of a series of pictures from our trip.)
On the final day of the fiscal year, Maywood, California laid off all of its staff (96 employees) and is now outsourcing all city duties to contractors. The city, with roughly 30,000 residents and about 8 miles from downtown Los Angeles, is keeping its elected officials and some of the former employees will remain on the job as contractors.
From the story:
Maywood is billing itself as the first American city to outsource all of its city services. In an odd twist, officials say it can provide even better services because the shift will help it save money and close a $450,000 shortfall in its $10 million general fund budget.
This bears watching as many municipalities face budget shortfalls. While the cost savings speak for themselves, it remains to be seen how residents feel.
Legally Sociable 