In the Arts: Los Angeles Mayor Reverses Stand on Grants

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has backed off a proposal to cut the city’s arts grants by $415,000 and direct the money to cultural groups of his choosing, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Deputy Mayor Ben Ceja on April 30 asked the City Council committee examining the mayor’s budget plan to restore the $415,000 allocation. Mr. Ceja said the administration’s aim in redirecting the money at first was to support four groups that lost funds from other parts of the strapped city budget. But “we were overzealous” in earmarking the grant funds, he said.

In other arts news, Seattle cultural organizations have been paying to be featured on a local TV talk show, according to the weekly newspaper The Stranger.

The city’s 5^th Avenue Theatre bought a year’s worth of weekly segments on New Day Northwest, a daytime show on the local station KING 5 TV, to discuss its own productions or to rent that airtime to other arts groups. The appearances are not labeled as commercials, but a brief disclaimer at the end of the show notes that some segments are sponsored.

Also, the financier and philanthropist David M. Rubenstein, who on Monday takes office as chairman of the board at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is the subject of a profile in The Washington Post.

(Free registration is required to view the Times and Post articles.)