Many California State Parks will be affected by the Governor’s proposed budget cuts including our very own Weaverville Joss House. I sent a personal letter to the Governor’s office last week expressing my concerns that including this facility within these cuts is not an example of taking prioritized action. With one of the smallest geographic footprints and level of overhead in the state park system, the Weaverville Joss House provides a huge economic benefit to our community. With one of the highest unemployment levels in the state, Trinity County cannot afford to lose a single dollar from tourism or any other sector. This is an addition to the fact that the Joss House still functions as a house of worship for Taoist practitioners.
In addition to my personal letter to the Governor, I brought a similar letter before the Board of Supervisors that they approved this Tuesday, to send to the Governor, our legislators and all party leaders in the Assembly and Senate.
A recent editorial in the San Francisco Chronicle really sums up what the impact can be.
“According to a study by UC Berkeley economists, for every dollar we put into State Parks, we’re actually investing $2.35 into the general fund from sales tax and jobs. When you look at the multiplier effect, all the money in support of trips to parks, closures would devastate local economies.”
