“Bill Murray, he’s not Scrooge after all,” Jan Neal, administrative manager at the John Steinbeck branch, quipped on NBC affiliate KSBW-TV, referring to one of Murray’s screen roles.
All three library branches are slated to close one by one between March 12 and April 16 due to an $8-million budget deficit that also threatens city recreation centers and the police force. Residents rejected two tax measures in November 2004 that would have raised enough money to prevent the closures.
Todd Leuders, president of the Community Foundation for Monterey County that oversees the city’s Rally Salinas fundraising effort announced by Mayor Anna Caballero February 3, told American Libraries that he had received $64,730 after only four days of operation; this includes Murray’s pledge and $25,000 sent by an anonymous donor who has promised to contribute another $75,000 in matching funds.
“It’s a very good response,” Leuders said in the February 11 San Francisco Chronicle. “We’ve had about 100 donations, and probably 70 or 80% are from folks right here in Salinas. The mayor herself brought in about $300 in cash that she collected from members of her Rotary Club a couple of days ago.”
Posted February 11, 2005.