California rejects proposal to reopen national parks

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The federal government is offering to reopen national parks if states agree to foot the bill for park employees. But Gov. Jerry Brown apparently isn’t interested. A spokesman says that taking on new expenses would threaten to unbalance the state budget. And that there’s no guarantee the state would be paid back once the shutdown ends…Embattled L.A. Fire Chief Brian Cummings will retire at the end of the month. L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti says Cummings is stepping down – but there’s little doubt that he was nudged into retirement by the new mayor. Cummings has struggled to regain the trust of city leaders since it came out last year that the fire department had inflated emergency response times…Governor Jerry Brown has cleared another 53 bills from his desk, signing 42 and vetoing 11. One of the measures he rejected was a union-backed bill intended to streamline the dismissal of teachers accused of misconduct. Brown signed several pieces of legislation intended to support the military and veterans. One would shift $600 million in unused housing bonds to pay for apartments and low-income housing for veterans…The city of Santa Monica is moving to charge people who use its parks to run commercial fitness classes. Locals have been complaining that the exercise programs are crowding picnickers and others out of public spaces. A pending ordinance also bans exercise classes on Sundays in Palisades Park…muralAnd finally, the City Council is expected to declare tomorrow “Mural Day” in Los Angeles. The resolution marks the recent passage of an ordinance that ends a 10-year ban on new murals. The new law allows public murals, but not those on private homes.