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Lovely to look at - Book by Noreen

Don’t forget: Park ART Walk’s “Patterns in Life and Art” is on today

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Park ART WalkThe organizers request the honour of your presence at the following event:

Park ART Walk
Saturday, August 20, 2016
10:00 am – 7:00 pm

Entitled, “Patterns in Life and Art,” the 2016 Park ART Walk will celebrate the artistic accomplishments of The Park’s striped and spotted population. The organizers of PAW 2016 wish to thank its partner and collaborator, Holstein Fashion, for its support.

The Park ART Walk is a one-day, juried art exhibition that showcases the artistic expression of Park residents. Showings will take place at participating art galleries, shops, theatres and cinemas. This year’s jury will include curators from The Ewe and Moo Gallery, the Park Museum of Contemporary Art and the Tortoiseshell Gallery.

————————————————————————————-

The Park ART Walk wishes to thank its sponsors:

         

    LeTwiggery     Amoltrud’s Aesthetics  Glass shape made of nuts with strawThe Nut Bar

       Department of Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations

FF
 Founding Families Financial Corporation
Lemming Lemur Lion and Lynx Credit Bank

  The Tabby Club
You’ve Earned Your Stripes™                                 

Holstein Fashion
Holstein Fashion
EQUALSS
PurrBoy Logo (2)The PurrBoy Café          
     Cackling Goose Tavern    Best GoUnderground 2015 Logo

Budget 2017: A year when words might speak louder than numbers

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Since presenting her 2017 Budget yesterday morning, Park Finance Office head Valentina Abeja has embarked on a media tour that will see her visit most of The Park’s radio and television stations in the coming weeks.

This will be the first time that a Budget Chief has taken to the airwaves to discuss the financial decisions she’s made on our behalf. Yet, this year, it may be entirely appropriate, since the words in the budget say far more about Abeja’s intent than the numbers do.

One example of that is an expense category that has seen not only a three percent increase over last year, but a name change, as well. “Refugee Support” is now listed as “Refugee Aid,” and that’s a change that, not surprisingly, The Park’s refugee aid groups are welcoming.

“We were thrilled to see the change in the name. It signals a real shift in the way the PFO is thinking about helping these Animals, going from indirect support to direct aid,” said Inez Gallina, president of Home to Roost, one of many groups that assist refugees and new immigrants.

The Mammalian Daily’s full analysis of the budget will be published next week.

2017 Park Budget

Cosmopolitan Pest Magazine poll finds PFO head Abeja liked, well-respected

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Valentina Abeja

PFO head and Budget Chief Valentina Abeja: poll says she is liked and well-respected

A poll taken last week by The Cosmopolitan Pest has found that most Park Animals feel positively about current Park Finance Office head Valentina Abeja.

The magazine’s poll was taken August 10, exactly one week ahead of Abeja’s second budget. The results show that the successor to scandal-ridden Milton Struts is viewed as a good head of the Finance Office, even though some thought her first budget was too conservative.

Abeja, who famously told Park citizens last year that they “couldn’t have tomorrow’s lunch today,” is nevertheless seen as “responsive” and “responsible” to The Park’s residents. Other adjectives used in connection with Abeja included, “wise,” “stable,” “competent,” and “intelligent.” Those surveyed also said they believed that Abeja has The Park’s best interests at heart.

“It’s clear from the results that our respondents had Milton Struts in mind when they answered some of those questions,” said the magazine’s editor Inès Puceron in a Mammalian Daily Radio interview this morning.

Abeja, who was appointed for a two-year term in February of 2015, has demonstrated her thoughtfulness and understanding of The Park’s residents throughout her term, according to Puceron.

“Valentina Abeja has a certain rapport with Park Animals that Milton Struts never had. He stood apart from them and every budget seemed to them like a reprimand, whereas not only last year’s budget, but Abeja’s remarks beforehand showed that she was one of us,” Puceron said.

The PFO head will present her 2017 budget, formally known as “Park Expense Projections,” tomorrow at eleven o’clock in the morning.

Cackling Goose coalition asks: Would we be safer without sod?

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Cackling Goose TavernThe coalition of groups that has conducted regular meetings at the Cackling Goose Tavern has sent a message to the citizens and residents of The Park.

Inside a carefully worded missive published in all Park media today, the coalition poses the question: Would we be safer without sod?

The group, whose members include representatives of citizen aid and action associations, environmental groups, other alliances and federations, and some of The Park’s technology companies, has been working since the end of July to develop a proposal for The Park’s 2017 budget.

Today they are calling on the Department of Well-Being and Safety (DWBS) and the Department of Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations to join them in their effort to keep Park residents safe from Human invasion.

The DWBS, who came under fire recently for issuing a safety alert that some deemed too late to save Park Animals, has promised to look into the coalition’s proposal to substitute grass seed for The Park’s sod.

“We believe that Humans, who have a very short attention span, would be less likely to see The Park as a vacation option if they had to wait for the grass to grow,” the coalition says in its statement.

While that might prove true and could result in fewer Humans endangering Park Animals, some warn that there is a downside to this way of thinking.

“We continue to walk a fine line when it comes to Humans and tourism. On the one hand, we want to maintain The Park for ourselves, but on the other, we have to admit that we are far too small to be self-sustaining. We rely on the funds that come from Humans who buy our products and services and it does us no good to pretend that we don’t,” says Wellington Whistlepig, president of the Park Association of Shops and Services (PASS).

The coalition is seeking the input of resident Park Animals before it presents its proposal to Park Finance Office head Valentina Abeja. Abeja announced last month that she would be presenting her 2017 budget on August 17.

Park Museum’s EDAM Gala sells out

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GALA TICKET final

If you were thinking of buying a ticket to tonight’s gala celebration of Holstein Fashion’s EDAM Collection, The Park Museum has some bad news for you: the event has sold out.

The Board of Governors made the announcement on the museum’s web site yesterday. But if you still have your heart set on attending, you have one last chance to obtain a ticket: according to the web announcement, any returned tickets will be sold at the museum’s entrance at 6:00 p.m. The event begins at 8:00 p.m.

Read the full announcement here.

EDAM statistics show how economy affects Animals’ view of domestication

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EDAM statsIt’s been almost a month since Enforced Domestication Awareness Month (EDAM) wrapped up and the statistics are now in.

In a short statement that accompanied their release this morning, the Departments of Well-Being and Safety and Holidays, Festivals and Celebrations expressed their “heartfelt gratitude to all who participated in the event, and especially to those who worked tirelessly to make it the most comprehensive and inclusive EDAM so far.”

According to the statistics, attendance at the event was up by twenty-seven per cent, with attendee satisfaction at an all-time high.

But there is one statistic that is alarming: thirty-eight per cent of Animals who answered the exit survey said they thought domestication wasn’t always a bad thing. That number is up significantly from last year’s twenty-two per cent and experts believe it reflects our economic struggles.

“Animals are tired,” says Dr. Gudrun L. Gibbon, a Park psychotherapist who is also on staff at The Park’s Extinction Anxiety Clinic. “I think we underestimate the work that is involved in zoocracy and the toll that looking after ourselves takes.”

Dr. Gibbon says it’s “only natural” that the fantasy of domestication would, from time to time, appeal to Park Animals.

“They have a fairytale view of the domestic world, replete with an abundance of food, cozy beds, and non-stop playtime. That’s the view that Humans have given us but it isn’t the reality,” she says.

Despite domesticity’s occasional appeal, Dr. Gibbon doesn’t believe Park Animals would either seek it out or allow themselves to be domesticated.

“Park Animals are smarter than that. I have faith in Park Animals,” she says.

Did DWBS Summer safety alert come too late for some?

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Beware of small Humans: DWBS warning came too late for some

The Department of Well-Being and Safety (DWBS) has come under heavy criticism for issuing its Summer security alert too late.

Yesterday’s alert, which is only the second Summer alert ever issued, warned Park Animals to be vigilant around Humans vacationing in The Park.

According to the DWBS communiqué, Park Animals should deal with Humans in a “professional” manner, refrain from befriending Human children, refuse all invitations to enter vehicles, and refuse any and all “suspicious” invitations and gifts.

“Humans tend to get sentimental and to make emotional attachments during their time off work and that makes them more likely to try to take Park Animals home with them,” the DWBS warned.

The alert is comprehensive. But critics say the delay in issuing it has cost some Animals their security and perhaps, in some cases, their lives.

“This alert should have been issued a month ago, at least. Six weeks ago would have been perfect,” says Delma Falter of The Park’s Missing Animals Registry.

Falter says that this Summer, she’s had the “very sad task” of adding names to the Registry.

“It’s a difficult thing to do. I deal with families reporting their friends, their mates, their young, missing. We try to give them hope, but the truth is many of them will never be found. And this Summer, the numbers have grown to the point where I would call it a crisis,” she said.

Other frontline workers agree.

Arrosa Katu of the Feral Cat Helpline says she and other volunteers have seen a record number of calls this year.

“I would say roughly four hundred per cent more, and during many of those calls, I’ve had to tell families to call the Missing Animals Registry,” she says.

Katu and Falter say much of this could have been avoided.

“The DWBS made a big mistake in waiting so long to issue the alert. Many of us would call it a fatal error,” says Falter.

Animals who do experience problems with Humans are encouraged to report any incidents immediately to one of the following DWBS hotlines:

Feral Cat Helpline: 1-899-33725228
Assaulted Animals Helpline: 1-899-27728583
Missing Animals Registry: 1-899-64774642
Missing Family Members Report: 1-899-32645966
Youth line (Kittens, Puppies, Cubs, etc.): 1-899-96884546
Exotic Animals Helpline: 1-899-3968427

Coalition calls emergency meeting at Cackling Goose to discuss budget

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Cackling Goose TavernBREAKING NEWS

A coalition of groups whose interests range from weather, food production, education, and healthcare to business and technology has called an emergency meeting tonight at The Cackling Goose Tavern to discuss key elements of The Park’s upcoming budget.

The coalition’s members hail from a number of the Park’s citizen aid and action associations, as well as from other alliances and federations. The Park’s technology companies, including SINCAP Technologies, GVC De-Tech, DoftTek, S.A, and RhinoTech, also form part of the coalition.

According to a communication obtained by The Mammalian Daily, the purpose of the meeting is to begin the process of making a joint proposal to PFO head Valentina Abeja for increased funding for weather purchases, food production, education, and business support. The 2016 budget allocated a total of thirty-three percent of the budget for the above and the coalition believes this funding is insufficient.

Some of the groups that make up the coalition are:

Society of Concerned Park Cultivators, Planters, Growers, and Farmers (SCPCPGF)
Weather Makers, Producers and Sellers Alliance of The Park (WMPSAP)
Produce for Progress
Keep Your Paws Out of Our Ponds
Spotted Skunk Sedan Patrol
Park Association of Shops and Services (PASS)
Sisters and Brothers of the Narrow Band
Skunks Against Gunk
Park Education Working Collective  (PEWC)
Park Citizens for Education (PCFE)

Mark your calendars: August 17 is budget day in The Park

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Aug 17The Park Finance Office will present its 2017 budget in August, it was announced this morning.

At a short press conference held outside her office, PFO head Valentina Abeja confirmed she would present her second—and possibly last—budget at 11:00 on August 17.

The PFO head, who is now in the last year of her two-year mandate, has garnered much less attention—and controversy–than the previous head, Milton Struts. Still, many believe that this budget is a crucial one for her, if she wishes to remain in the position.

While Abeja has been more popular than Struts, who was criticized and ultimately ousted for taking food from Humans and renting out Park farmland to them, many considered her first budget to be too conservative and less forward-looking than they’d expected.

“She got a pass on the last budget, because it was better thought-out and we’d been without a budget for over a year. She was also better behaved than Struts was at the end, and that counted for a lot. But now she has to show us what she’s got in terms of the future of The Park and understanding the situation we’ve found ourselves in,” says Xavier Dingo, chief financial analyst at A. Corn and Partners.

Others agree.

“I think her honeymoon is all but over,” said one analyst who wished to remain anonymous.

Dingo, who knew Abeja from her days as an analyst at The Park’s All Species Credit and Commercial Bank (ASCCB), says she’s “highly qualified, competent, and conscientious.”

But, he says, she has one glaring weakness: “She’s is short on the ability to delegate.”

GoUnderground Park’s most hospitable shop: survey

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GoUnderground 2015 LogoAnd the survey says: GoUnderground.

The Park Association of Shops and Services (PASS) announced the results of its consumer survey today and the venerable hibernation outfitter has won the title of “most hospitable Park shop.”

At a short ceremony this morning, PASS president Wellington Whistlepig affixed a plaque to the shop’s façade as he congratulated Director of Sales, Nafari Bongo, on the honour.

“We are so pleased that one of the Park’s oldest shops is also the best in customer service,” Whistlepig said.

For his part, Bongo was quick to credit his employees with making hibernation shopping an enjoyable experience.

“We have a great team here and we work hard to make our customers happy,” he said. “We are all committed to responding to the needs of modern hibernators and estivators and we are always on the lookout for the newest and best items to ease our customers’ burden.”

Bongo singled out Hieronymous Hedgehog for praise, as well. Last year, the Hedgehog became the shop’s spokesAnimal as well as The Park’s Official Hibernation Ambassador.

“Hieronymous has done a fabulous job, and not only for our customers. As the face of hibernation, he’s been able to educate non-hibernators and foster understanding among different species. We are truly lucky to have him working for us,” he said.

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