In Boston, the Franklin Park Zoo may close. As many as 165 employees may lose their jobs, and a large percentage of the animals may be euthanized.
“These are extremely difficult times across the state, and there have been tough cuts in every area,” a [Governor Deval] 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.”
Boston’s mayor disagrees:
“This is just another bad decision on budget cuts, affecting working families,” Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said.
“It’s a big deal,” he said of the possible closure of Franklin Park Zoo in Dorchester. “It’s a great resource for the community. The zoo is an inexpensive place to spend a day in tough economic times.”
The zoo opened in 1913 and is set in a beautiful green park by Olmstead. As the article notes, it “represents something of a touchstone for virtually anyone who grew up in Boston and walked through its majestic gates.”
I admit to being utterly prejudiced– I worked there in the early seventies and met many lasting friends , including my late partner Betsy Huntington and frequent commenter Annie D. But the zoo is an architectural treasure, a place where Boston’s many communities come together peacefully, and part of a great tradition.Massachusetts spends money like a drunken sailor on everything else; the zoo is unique and irreplaceable.
The Good News here is that the "we will kill all the animals" stuff was pure bullshit and a game of extortion for more money. That is a disgrace of another kind.
See "The Zoo That Cried Wolf" at >> http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/07/14/the_zoo_that_cried_wolf/
P.
So an institution that served through two world wars, the Great Depression, and how many other recessions is going to roll over and pee itself now?
Disgraceful.
Like Patrick, I suspected a little gentle extortion–like when the National Park Service (admittedly underfunded) always first closes the Washington Monument to dramatize its needs, hoping to send a stream of disgruntled tourists right to their representatives' offices.
I sent a permanently disabled spotted merganser to that zoo back when I was repairing birds. I remember feeding it live goldfish in a deep tub of water in my shower stall. After he caught on, he considered that tub his territory, and gave me a nasty bite with his serrated beak when I tried to pick him up. All training for future falconry, I guess. He went to the zoo to be company for an older, lonely female. They apparently hit it off, after he got out of quarantine. I would be banging on their gate if I thought they would nuke him to cut costs. They need a PR makeover after this.