As hundreds of vehicles were turned away today from Presque Isle State Park, which was closed by Pennsylvania's budget stalemate, the phones at the Erie Times-News lit up with calls from angry tourists.

"You should hit those dummies in Harrisburg really hard," said Leonard Bozik, who planned to spend several days of his vacation this week lounging on the beaches. "This is unbelievable that they allowed the peninsula to close down."

In truth, the Times-News has already run three editorials, blasting state officials and Pa. Gov. Ed Rendell for getting such a late start on budget negotiations. Even though Rendell placed about a third of state workers on indefinite unpaid furlough, at least Presque Isle Downs & Casino, Erie's new casino, was spared at least for today.

Commonwealth Court Senior Judge Keith Quigley ruled in favor of state casinos, which jointly filed a claim with the court to keep the businesses open despite the furlough. "They (the casinos) paid the state $50 million for the right to operate," said Presque Isle Downs & Casino spokesman John Brabender. Quigley permitted the casinos to remain open at least for today, which meant Erie tourists at least had one option.

"But I can't take my kids to the casino," wailed Bonnie Chasten, who drove her three children and two other neighbor children to Erie for two days on Presque Isle's sandy shores. "We've been coming up here for years from the Aliquippa area," Chasten said. "I guess I wasn't paying much attention to the budget talks. I simply assumed they'd never be stupid enough to shut down the beaches."

As Erie moves more and more toward becoming a tourist destination, it's a blow when the region's prime outdoor attractions are shuttered -- for however long, for whatever reason. An editorial in today's newspaper pointed out that Erie can't afford to be held hostage to the quirky budget system, if the city and region are serious about attracting millions of dollars in tourism revenue.

"We plan our vacation months in advance," said Audrey Heilbacher, of Pittsburgh. "We book our rooms at a local motel and sketch out a list of things we plan to do all week long. The beach was our destination on Monday, because your amusement park (Waldameer) is closed. Now, we'll have to juggle around and maybe go to the zoo today."

Heilbacher said staying at the motel and swimming in the pool there is another possibility. "It's nice just to get away, I guess, but I was looking forward to spreading out my blanket on the beach and reading a good book," she said.

-- Kevin Cuneo

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