Please take note and respond to this. It all boils down to quality of life issues and do we care about arts and culture in our city. In this particular case several of us on the list are personally affected. All of this is, of course, a domino effect ... a bigger picture which is so often missed when wanting to cut and slash.
Liz Greenbaum Longfellow I assume many, if not most, of you have already received this. Please take a moment to call or write and encourage your volunteers and board members to do the same. ---------- To employees/volunteers/board members at Minneapolis arts organizations: The City of Minneapolis is facing some serious funding shortages due to anticipated state shortfalls, etc. They are looking at ways to cut funding. Although the City's Office of Cultural Affairs does not constitute a significant portion of their budget, they are considering cutting its funding. David Galligan of the Walker Art Center proposed that arts organizations share this alert with their e-mail lists. If you would be willing to do so, there is a possibility that the Minneapolis Mayor and City Council will rethink their budget cuts and maintain a commitment to developing the city's arts and culture. If you have any questions about this, please contact me at 651.699.5811 during the day or at 612.874.0519 at night. Thanks for your help on this. Jennifer A. Haugh Co-Chair, Minneapolis Arts Commission (See alert below) ### Minneapolis Arts Commission ARTS ALERT February 4, 2002 As you have undoubtedly heard, the City of Minneapolis is undergoing serious budget revisions in order to compensate for the projected $15 million shortfall in the coming weeks. THERE IS A GREAT POSSIBILITY THAT THE ARTS ARE ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK. The Minneapolis Office of Cultural Affairs and the Minneapolis Arts Commission provide services to artists, small arts organizations and start-ups that would not otherwise have access to participation in our great cultural environment. We need your help to make sure that the City of Minneapolis is a key player in contributing to the arts and culture, which makes our city such a fantastic place to live and work. WHAT YOU CAN DO Contact Mayor R.T. Rybak and your City Council member with a simple message: "Don�t cut funding for the arts. Preserve the Office of Cultural Affairs!" HOW TO CONTACT THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL Mayor Rybak can be reached at 612.673.2100. The City Council general information line is 612.673.2200. IF YOU DON�T KNOW WHO YOUR CITY COUNCIL MEMBER IS You can do one of the following: 1. Contact the City Council general information line at 612.673.2200 for Ward information. 2. Check out the Secretary of State�s precinct finder online at http://enrupload.sos.state.mn.us/oss. Your Ward information appears under "Precinct name:" next to the W-. 3. See a Minneapolis Ward distribution map online at http://www.acityforneighbors.org/resources.html. Thank you! Please pass this information on to your friends of the arts in Minneapolis! -- Kasey Ross Metropolitan Regional Arts Council 2324 University Ave. W. Suite 114 St. Paul, MN 55114 651-523-6384 (direct) 651-523-6382 (fax) http://www.mrac.org -- __________________________________________________________________ Your favorite stores, helpful shopping tools and great gift ideas. Experience the convenience of buying online with Shop@Netscape! http://shopnow.netscape.com/ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape Mail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com/ _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
