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Wednesday, February 24, 2010

If You Had Read The Paper | Wed Feb 24

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Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 at 7:34 am

No money for arts? House plan would cut funding group by 2011

Now, this is just terrible news. Here’s the deal in a nutshell: The Virginia House Appropriations Committee has voted to eliminate the Virginia Commission for the Arts by 2011. The commission awards over $4.4 million in grants to arts groups in Virginia every year. Hampton Roads receives about 20% of that money. If the money goes away, it will put even more pressure on our local arts pillars, such as the Virginia Stage Company, The Virginia Symphony, and the Chrysler Museum.
Clearly they are desperate in Richmond. The commonwealth is short of money, and nobody over there is going to dare to say the dreaded T word (it starts with a ‘t’ and ends with ‘ax,’ to give you a clue). The good news is, the Senate Finance Committee has voted to maintain the arts commission. So, the issue is far from decided. It’s call to action time. Virginians for the Arts, a non-profit arts support group, is sponsoring a RALLY FOR THE ARTS tomorrow in Richmond, If you can, go.

Division Blamed Principal for Testing Violations

Two weeks ago I applauded the Pilot for its coverage of what appears to be serious testing violations at Dreamkeepers Academy in Norfolk. I was excited by the whiff of hard journalism in the story. Today, not so much. Not because I think this story is unworthy of coverage, but because today’s installment is a confusing jumble of talk about who got what memo when, and arguments over the finer points of test submission deadlines. It’s the kind of content that should go into a courtroom clerk’s report, not material for an interesting news story.
Not enough new developments have happened since that piece two weeks ago to justify another huge, front-page story yet. No one was fired or arrested. The investigation has not expanded to other schools. The Norfolk school board will not even be discussing this issue until next month. So, guys, keep up the good reporting, but remember to take your time and aim before you shoot. I’d love to read some more about this when it can be summarized and explained without a lot of he said/she said bickering about the contents of academic memos. Thanks.

Beach home values fall again

Wow. Assessments falling by 5.75%, on average, following last year’s fall of 4%. Good news, perhaps, for property tax payers in VB, but not so good for the City, which is going to take in about $32 million less in real estate tax revenues this year. The result is, VB may see a 2- or 3-cent increase in the real estate tax to make up the difference. The Great Recession is taking it’s slow toll on everyone.

Beach council supports oil, gas idea

“If there’s going to be money made from drilling for gas, I want the city of Virginia Beach to benefit, period,” said Mayor Sessoms. That’s the heart of the matter. It’s about the money. That magical substance has amazing powers to cloud people’s judgment, blinding them to consequences further down the road. Here’s the deal: Global warming is a fact. It’s going to get worse if we don’t stop burning fossil fuels. If we’re going to harvest energy out in the waters off our coast, let’s do it with wind turbines, tidal power generators, or some other more innovative means. Let’s keep our eyes on that far-off horizon, the one where the water ends up rising 3 to 5 feet by the end of this century, and let that clarify our thinking. Maybe it will help us avoid the lure of short term money.

Chesapeake delays action on light rail study

In what is perhaps the first casualty of the sickening cost overruns from Norfolk’s light rail project, Chesapeake has decided to hold off on spending any money to even STUDY the project this year. “Would you invest money into something that is already 47 percent over budget in our neighboring city?” a Chesapeake resident asked the council. So, it’s official. The damage is done. Now let’s get over it. If Chesapeake wants to be left behind, permanently isolated from the transit system that will one day unite the rest of this region, that is their choice. I’m encouraged, on the other hand, by the continuing commitment of Will Sessoms in Virginia Beach, who sees the importance of this project, and who would probably insist on a better job of oversight to manage the project when it comes to his city.

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  • Jim Roberts | February 24, 10 @ 3:36 pm

    I love the arts, and I hate to see local organizations losing funding, but let’s put it in context. The article uses Virginia Stage Company as an example, saying $100,000 of its annual budget ($2.4 million) comes from the arts commission. The managing director calls this “a big piece” of the budget, but it’s actually less than 4 percent, which is a pretty modest cut in these economic times. (I think False Cape State Park would be pretty happy with a 4 percent cut right now, don’t you?)

    It just means we’ll need to donate more and/or pay higher ticket prices to sustain the arts organizations we have, or, in a worse case, we may have to get by with a little bit less.

    The real danger is the precedent Virginia may set by cutting the arts commission altogether. I suspect the commission will be saved (simple argument: Do we want to be the only state without one?), but it will dole out A LOT less money next year.

  • BC | February 24, 10 @ 3:51 pm

    Thanks for your comment, Jim. $100,000 be only 4% of the vastage budget, but another way to look at it is as 2-3 jobs. Isn’t job creation supposed to be what this new administration is all about?

    Also agree that the sheer embarrassment of being the only state with no arts commission may be enough to reverse this decision.

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ABOUT THE WRITER
BC Wilson is an internet strategist, freelance writer, and graduate of ODU's Creative Non-fiction Program. He canceled his cable TV subscription four years ago and now spends his free time dragging his children around in a bike trailer and torturing his wife by playing the recorder.
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