Related: Franklin Park Zoo gets Hollywood treatment for upcoming movie
Slow Saturday Special: Day at the Movies
Gonna shoot 'em yourself, guv?
"Franklin Park Zoo may have to close; Patrick budget cuts also threaten Stone Zoo Some animals might have to be euthanized" by Matt Viser, Globe Staff | July 11, 2009
Franklin Park Zoo, a Boston institution that has drawn generations of city and suburban families, may be forced to close its doors and possibly euthanize some of its animals as a result of the deep budget cuts imposed by Governor Deval Patrick, zoo officials said yesterday.
Without more state funding, those zoo officials said, they will run out of money by October and have to close both the Franklin Park Zoo and its smaller counterpart, Stone Zoo in Stoneham. The zoo would lay off most of its 165 employees and attempt to find new homes for more than 1,000 animals, the officials said....
How much money you need?
I'm sure these guys would love to kick in:
Pigs at the State Trough
A Slow Saturday Special: Statehouse Slush Fund
Biotech Giveaway Was Borrowed Money
Massachusetts Residents Taken For a Ride
How many times I gotta put 'em up?
The zoos, which are both run by Zoo New England and attracted nearly 570,000 visitors over the past year, are operated through a public-private partnership funded by taxpayers and revenues from visitors. If the partnership dissolves, as it could in October if it runs out of money, the custody of the zoos is turned over to state officials, according to state law.
I wonder who is looting those coffers.
Zoo officials estimate that it would take three years and cost at least $9 million to completely shut down the zoos, and they said the state would be in charge of that process. The Legislature had originally provided $6.5 million to the zoos - which accounts for more than half of its budget - but Patrick, using a line-item veto, cut the state funding to $2.5 million....
I know where you could FIND THAT $$$ EASY!!!
Even the threat of closures illustrates the far-reaching consequences of state budget cuts and the fallout they can have on those who make the decisions. As word of the crisis broke, Patrick and his entire Cabinet, senior aides, and political advisers were gathered yesterday at the governor’s estate in the Berkshires, plotting strategy for the months ahead.
See: Gov. Patrick's Party Palace
Yeah, the Globalist Governor Has Got an Agenda!
Patrick spokeswoman Cyndi Roy said in a statement:
“This is an example of an unfortunate cut that had to be made in order to preserve core services for families struggling during the economic downturn.’’
Yeah, sure. YOU KNOW as well as I DO where the TAX LOOT is going, readers!!!
Fucking lying piece of state shit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But for every cut, there is an affected constituency, and with a zoo, the users are far and wide and the targets - exotic animals - unusually sympathetic....
The SAME for EVERY LOOT -- minus the sympathy, of course!
Franklin Park Zoo, which was founded in 1913, has faced closure numerous times in the past because of a lack of funding, including recently in 2002 when State House lawmakers cut its funding from $6 million to $3.5 million.
Zoo officials have been lobbying House and Senate lawmakers, and are hoping they can persuade a two-thirds’ majority to override Patrick’s veto in each chamber. The Legislature is expected to begin addressing Patrick’s line-item vetoes, which totaled nearly $150 million, on Tuesday....
The Franklin Park Zoo, located in a section of the city where Dorchester, Roxbury, and Jamaica Plain come together, represents something of a touchstone for virtually anyone who grew up in Boston and walked through its gates.
I really DON'T WANT to HEAR the WHINING because I KNOW WHERE you could get $6 million dollars easy!
The zoo was a featured site in the 1980 science fiction film “Altered States,’’ where a Harvard professor devolves into a gorilla and goes on a rampage.
Them and the DAMN MOVIES! WTF?!!
It also achieved notoriety in 2003, when a gorilla named Little Joe escaped from his cage and attacked a 2-year-old girl and her baby sitter.
I love Little Joe! See: Gorillas as Guinea Pigs
Franklin Park Zoo was operated by city and state agencies until 1991, when a nonprofit, private corporation was founded to oversee it. The same corporation operates the Stone Zoo, which is located on a 26-acre site near Spot Pond in Stoneham. The partnership has a clause that states that if the zoos shut down, the state would have to assume control of the property and the animals.
The total operations budget for the zoos last year was $11 million, about 60 percent of which came from state funding. The remainder came through admissions, food and gift shop sales, membership, and fund-raising.
I KNOW where that kind of money could be had!!!
The Globe reported yesterday that a film crew is laying the groundwork to begin filming a live-action comedy, “The Zookeeper’’ starring Kevin James and Rosario Dawson, near an unused outdoor gorilla exhibit near the zoo’s rear entrance. Filming is scheduled to run from July 20 through October, and the zoo was paid a “substantial’’ location fee that zoo officials would not disclose.
Weeeeeelllll, WHOOP-DE-FUCKIN'-DOO!!!!
“We all know it’s a tough time economically, and cuts are going to have to be made,’’ said Representative Linda Dorcena Forry, a Dorchester Democrat. “But with families losing their jobs and not able to go out of state, we have an amazing jewel here for people to visit.’’
Then STOP HANDING OUT TAX LOOT to FAVORED INTERESTS and LINING YOUR LEGISLATIVE POCKETS!
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