Marineland's History is a Roller Coaster

Hmmmm, I don't remember a roller coaster there.

Quotes:
>>On the southern end of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, 51 brand-new luxury casitas and villas sold this month for a cool $120 million.<<

Part of me is surprised that Eisner and Pressler never got around to selling off Disney's land in Anaheim.

>>Part ocean-themed tourist attraction, part animal research and rescue center, Marineland and the story of its genesis, zenith and decline have been captured in a new photographic history book, self-published by former Marineland gift shop clerk and camera boy Jim Patryla.

"It's the only place I ever wanted to work," said Patryla, who grew up on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. "It's gone now. I just want people to remember it was there."

Patryla writes that Marineland was only the second oceanarium in the United States when it opened to the public Aug. 28, 1954. The first was Marine Studios in Florida, which was originally built to photograph animals and simulate the ocean for motion pictures -- but soon became a major tourist attraction.

Marineland's first owner, investment banker Henry Harris, hoped to capitalize on that popularity. On the cliffs overlooking the ocean, his team built two enormous oceanarium tanks -- both three stories tall -- a restaurant, a 12-unit motel, offices and laboratories. On the beach below, they built a 250-foot-long pier to help bring in the animals.

While collecting the thousands of animals to stock Marineland, teams pioneered techniques and invented devices still used today, such as transport tanks, the hoop net, the sea life decompression chamber and the slurp gun.

By opening day, the $3 million oceanarium had assembled the nation's largest collection of marine life -- sea turtles, moray eels, sawfish, sea anemones -- and brought in more than 14,000 patrons.

But ticket sales leveled off too soon, and by 1956 the owners decided to recreate the oceanarium as an ocean-themed entertainment park.
...[snip]...
But over time, as Disneyland opened in 1955 and Sea World San Diego was built in 1964, the theme park competition took a toll on Marineland, and attendance plateaued.

Still, park owners continued to add more new attractions. The Sky Tower was erected in 1966. The four-minute, 244-foot-high ride offered panoramic views of the Southern California coast.

The park got a boost in 1968 when it captured Orky, its first killer whale, who was soon joined by Corky. The popularity of the black-and-white duo bumped Bubbles and her crew from the largest, top-deck stadium.<<

Marineland was offered the first killer whale for captivity, but declined, saying the whale couldn't be kept in captivity. Sea World accepted the whale and Shamu was 'born'. Sea World is still around. Coincidence?

>>But by the early 1970s, the competition was getting more and more fierce, and ticket sales were dwindling. Marineland's original shareholders sold the park in 1971 to the owners of Hollywood Park in Inglewood.

The park changed hands again, and then again, but investment and new attractions were minimal and the park's heyday had passed, Patryla said. Not even the Great American High Diving Team, which performed in the sea arena during the 1970s, could boost ticket sales.

The enactment of the Marine Protection Act of 1972 also made it illegal to capture any new animals from the wild, so the park and others like it expanded their breeding programs.

In the late 1970s and early '80s, the park added more visitor-participation attractions, such as snorkeling in the giant fish tank, playing catch with the dolphins and handling critters in the touch tanks.

Eventually, the costs associated with the park's breeding program and marine animal-care center were outweighing ticket sales. Expansion plans were discouraged by the California Coastal Commission and the city of Rancho Palos Verdes, which was worried about increased traffic.<<

The California Coastal Commission also played a major role in thwarting DisneySea for Long Beach. The organization is a prime example of redundant California bureaucracy.

>>Finally, in 1986, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Inc., which owned all three Sea World parks, bought Marineland.

But after inspecting the aging park's facilities, the new owners announced that an upgrade would be too costly. The community held protests, but Marineland locked its gates for the last time Feb. 11, 1987 -- three weeks earlier than planned, amid high tension and alleged bomb threats.<<

Hmmmm, the community didn't want the inreased traffic but didn't want the place to close? There's logic for you.

>>Orky, Corky and most of the other Marineland animals ended up at Sea World in San Diego. Corky still lives there today.<<

I remember seeing video on the news of Sea World trying to transport the animals in secret. How secretive can you be when the animal's fin is sticking into the air over the truck?

Public Service for "Tookie" Williams Set for Tuesday

Quotes:
>>A memorial service for Stanley "Tookie" Williams, the convicted killer who was executed earlier this week at San Quentin State Prison, has been scheduled for Tuesday in Los Angeles.<<

If he truly repented and was redeemed, then good for him. That doesn't change his guilt from a civic standpoint. He murdered four people, and he was justly executed as a result.

>>Among the guests invited to the public service are the Rev. Jesse Jackson,<<

He never misses an opportunity for publicity, does he?

>>Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan,<<

Ah yes... Calypso Louie, that spewer of hate and insanity who runs a psuedo-Islamic cult.

>>rapper Snoop Dogg<<

Gotta keep it real and remember where you came from.

>>and author Barbara Becnel,<<

The one who actually wrote the books Tookie was given credit for, the woman who acted shamefully at the execution, with no regard to the families of Tookie's victims.

>>The noon service will be held at Bethel AME Church, 7900 S. Western Ave., and will include large TV screens outside.<<

Gee, how will all of the attendees be able to attend, with the jobs they surely have?

MB Robbery Thwarted by Overzealous 'Heroes'

Quote:
>>The robber demanded his money, but the victim did not respond. The robber repeated his demand, but the victim again did not turn over his money, Mason said.

That angered the robber, who struck the victim with his pistol, but lost control of the gun and dropped it.

The robber ran, and was chased around the bank by several witnesses.

The robber jumped into a getaway car parked nearby, where three accomplices were waiting.

Backing up to get away, the robbers hit another car and found themselves trapped.

"(The witnesses) surrounded the car and were trying to get the keys out of the ignition," Mason said. "There were some punches thrown inside the car."

One of the Samaritans was struck in the face, but managed to grab the keys. The men surrounded the car, took hold of the robbers and prevented them from fleeing.

Police soon arrived and took control of the situation.<<

It isn't always a smart thing to do, but when bystanders can thwart crimes and escapes, that's gotta strike fear in criminals. If this kind of thing happens enough in a given neighborhood, I'd think the criminals would choose other places to commit their crimes.