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Headline
News
November 22, 2008
Budget cuts target tourism, technology, businesses
Gazette (Gaithersburg, MD), 11/6/2008
In Maryland, Governor O'Malley's budget cuts include "$2.3 million less for the Maryland State Arts Council."
Charity begins in the office
Financial Times, 11/11/2008
Fudners' preference for funding programs rather than overhead can hamper an organization's effectiveness, this article stresses. "Too often, funding comes with strings attached - strings limiting the spending to programme work rather than on support functions such as staff training, improved IT systems or HR management. . . . [B]oosting operational efficiency by investing in technical training, HR management or streamlined procurement systems not only helps organisations work more effectively but can also mean more cash for mission-driven activities."
Do Foundation Giving Priorities Change in Times of Economic Distress?
Foundation Center Research Advisory, November 2008
"As nonprofit organizations brace themselves for the possibility of reduced charitable giving, we have been asked whether specific funding areas may be more vulnerable to cuts than others. For example, do foundations reduce their funding for the arts to increase support for social services, or do they cut back on international giving to address increased domestic demand? . . . While we cannot guarantee that future actions will mirror past behavior, an examination of giving by U.S. foundations during the economic downturn of the early 2000s suggests that overall grantmaking priorities do not shift suddenly in the face of reduced resources and over the longer term are remarkably consistent."
Economics painting future
News-Herald (Willoughby, OH), 11/11/2008
"It may be a work in progress, but [Ohio] state leaders recognize the importance of arts in education. Earlier this year, Gov. Ted Strickland held 12 statewide regional forums, 'Conversations in Education,' during which he promised education reform in response to arts-related concerns. [Donna Collins, executive director of the Columbus-based Ohio Alliance for Arts Education]
is optimistic those changes eventually will come to fruition, as evidenced by recent funding increases."
FCC head, Google co-founder see cheaper Internet
Washington Post - Reuters, 11/6/2008
"High-speed wireless Internet will be cheaper and more available across the United States in the near future, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission and a Google co-founder said on Thursday. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin and Larry Page, president, products for Google said a decision on Tuesday by the U.S. agency to open unused television spectrum known as 'white space' along with better radios, can help improve Internet access in urban and rural areas. . . . They said the first developments will show up in less than two years, and reach the public later."
Google's copyright war will have open access advocates up in arms
Guardian (UK), 11/6/2008
Writing about Google's proposed settlement with book publishers and authors over its Book Search project, Seth Finkelstein notes that "Librarians and open access advocates have not all been enthusiastic." Concerns range from "limitations on access to and use of the books by members of the higher education community and by patrons of public libraries" to "the consolidation of information" and "one company . . . cornering the market on online access."
How to spend $275 million on outdoors, clean water, arts?
Star Tribune (Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN), 11/5/2008
"Now that Minnesotans have approved a sales tax increase to fund the outdoors, clean water and the arts, state officials are turning to the job of deciding who -- exactly -- will get to decide how to spend the $275 million in annual revenue. The Legislature has overall responsibility for determining how the state tax dollars will be spent, but councils or committees that include citizen members will provide advice."
Madison arts budget at stake in 2009 budget battle
Isthmus Daily Page (Madison, WI), 11/11/2008
In Madison County, WI, proposed Amendment 26 "would strip $112,000 in funding for the Municipal Arts Fund from the 2009 Capital Budget. [Karin] Wolf, who serves as administrator for the Madison Arts Program, says this would eliminate the budget for the city's public art initiatives, including maintenance of the city's existing public art, as well as its Blink temporary public-art program and its efforts to develop a municipal cultural arts plan."
No bailout for music or physical education
Rim Country Gazette (Payson, AZ), 11/6/2008
"Because the $1.3 million Payson Unified School District budget override lacked some 400 votes to pass, the school district will need to tighten its belt as it looks to the future. . . . The current seven-year override, which was approved by voters in 2004, is scheduled to decline by 33 percent each year for the next two years. A renewal would have supported the three physical education teachers, four certified librarians, two school nurses, the music programs for kindergarten through eighth-grade students and the corresponding five teachers in addition to insurance benefits for staff."
Obama Embraces Net Neutrality, Plans to Hire National CTO
The Mac Observer, 11/7/2008
"President-elect Barack Obama's transition team has published its Technology Agenda, a plan that includes embracing and promoting Net Neutrality and plans for the nation's first Chief Technology officer. The policy position also speaks to a right to privacy as it relates to technology, the First Amendment and the Internet, using technology to allow access to government, reforming the patent system, and improving access to next-generation broadband access."
Partnership nurtures the arts in Utah schools
Salt Lake Tribune (UT), 11/8/2008
"Through her philanthropic foundation and personal donations, [philanthropist Beverley] Sorenson has been supporting arts education in a number of Utah schools, such as Highland, for more than a dozen years." Now with the backing of nearly $16 million from the state, a four-year pilot program will expand Sorenson's efforts. "Beginning this fall, through the Beverly Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program, 59 dance, theater, art and music teachers hit the ground running in 49 Utah elementary schools. The state funding provides schools with the salary to add a new position, as well as funds for equipment and materials. In addition, it pays the salaries of coordinators at four Utah universities."
Program Brings Arts Back To Schools
WBAL TV (Baltimore, MD), 11/10/2008
In Baltimore, a new program called Arts Every Day is "helping bring arts back to public schools across Maryland. . . . The organization is working directly with schools to get more art teachers, and they've developed a Web site to help integrate the arts into every subject."
Seattle, City of Music
Seattle Times (WA), 11/7/2008
A Seattle Times editorial praises the mayor's "12-year plan to bolster a rich, diverse music industry," saying it "will make a good thing better. For tax-weary citizens, one of the most appealing features of Nickels' Seattle City of Music campaign is that it seeks to better organize and coordinate existing talents and resources. That means as the city promotes more live music performances and music-friendly venues, there will also be efforts to promote expansion of K-12 music education in Seattle Public Schools."
Sex on TV Increases Teen Pregnancy, Says Report
Time, 11/3/2008
"Researchers at the Rand Corporation say they have documented for the first time how [exposure to sexual content on TV] can influence teen pregnancy rates. They found that teens exposed to the most sexual content on TV were twice as likely as teens watching less of this material to become pregnant before they reach age 20."
The FCC Under Obama
Radio Ink, 11/9/2008
President-elect Obama has "been a strong opponent of media consolidation" and "strongly supports the principle of network neutrality."
With Obama’s election, nonprofits aim for a seat at the table
NonProfit Times, 11/5/2008
"In the wake of Obama’s victory," Steve Gunderson, president and CEO of the Council on Foundations, "anticipates many issues that affect the [nonprofit] sector to be part of any economic stimulus or tax package within the first 100 days, from incentives to grow philanthropy, like the IRA charitable rollover or the estate tax, to recognizing that the public sector needs more resources."
Young musicians get smarter, study suggests
MSNBC, 11/11/2008
"Children who study a musical instrument for at least three years outperform children with no instrumental training on non-musical tests of vocabulary and non-verbal reasoning."
Your favorite music = happy heart: study
Agence France-Presse, 11/11/2008
"Listening to your favorite music may be helpful to maintaining a healthy heart, according to a study published Tuesday. The research team at the University of Maryland School of Medicine announced they had shown for the first time the emotions aroused by music enjoyed by the listener to be beneficial to a healthy blood vessel function."
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