Parks Promised To Poor California Areas Unbuilt Years Later

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – A decade after California voters were promised $400 million worth of parks in some of the state’s poorest neighborhoods, fewer than half of the 126 parks that received the money have been built. As lawmakers push to add another $1 billion to the program, an Associated Press review of state data finds people are still waiting for 68 of the original parks. Fifty-four percent of California voters in 2006 approved a $5.4 billion bond that, among other projects, funded new or improved local parks. Based on guidelines that prioritized the neediest communities, the state parks department chose 126 parks and recreation center projects and awarded them $396 million. Officials say spending that money has stalled amid bureaucratic hoops and generous completion deadlines – a slow procedure intended to facilitate oversight.

There is no custom code to display.