Monday, February 22, 2010

More on the budget and VCA

I just got a note from Jacquie O'Connor from Henley Street and will reprint verbatim. If you don't think state funding for the arts has any real effect, you're wrong and if this budget goes through, we'll all feel the pain.

From Jacquie:
"I just spoke to Trish Poupore who heads the Virginians for the Arts. She told me that it is important to state in your calls or faxes that right now Virginia is at one of the lowest levels of support of any of the surrounding states. We understand the need for cutbacks, but the VCA was already cut by 30% over the last two years - certainly a fair share of the burden of the deficit. If this agency is eliminated we will be the first state in the US to have no state agency for the arts (not something that a city that just built CenterStage should be proud of!)

I encourage all of you to write and fax in your letter or call within the next two days (she also said that there is no time for a mailed letter and e-mails will be ignored.) The debate will take place on the floor this Weds, so anything sent after the end of this week will have no impact. She also asked that we send letters to the editor of the RTD within the next 2 days.

To find your representatives and more information: http://www.vaforarts.org/."

1 comment:

Jacquie O. said...

One correction Dave, the recommendation to reduce the VCA by 1/2 and then eliminate the VCA in 2012 will go to the floor of the House in the budget debate, on Thursday, February 25.