Newsom slashes $11.5 million for performing arts fund, devastating Bay Area organizations
Cuts to public arts funding are now a one-two punch.
On Wednesday, May 14, Gov. Gavin Newsom released a budget proposal eliminating the $11.5 million allocated to the state's small nonprofits arts organizations through the Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund, or PAEPF. The fund, painstakingly created from leftover pandemic-era relief dollars allocated to the arts, sought to help organizations with budgets under $2 million comply with AB5, the so-called gig work bill that makes it harder to classify workers as independent contractors.
'Now the rug is being pulled out from under us,' San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company Managing Director Adam Maggio wrote in a letter to patrons.
The company had qualified to receive more than $150,000 for artists, technicians and staff through the program, he continued, noting, 'If the fund is eliminated, we'll be forced to make some very difficult decisions.'
Newsom's revision isn't final, though; the legislature makes its own amendments before passing a budget on June 15. In the meantime, SFBATCO and other performing arts companies are urging their followers to write their representatives, the state budget committee and the governor's office, with Dance Mission inviting allies to a letter-writing and phone-banking potluck at its Mission District facility at 3316 24th St. starting at noon on Saturday, May 17.
The move comes nearly two weeks after theaters, circuses, music groups and more across the region and the country received 'letters of termination' regarding their promised grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. The form letters told grantees their projects 'fall outside' President Donald Trump's priorities, which include commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and supporting the military, skilled trade jobs and the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities and 'Hispanic Serving Institutions.'
'The recent NEA upheaval has already caused such a crisis. Imagine what more cuts will do,' Dance Mission Theater wrote in an email to its community, noting it's now poised to lose a promised $120,000 from PAEPF.
In announcing the revised state budget, Newsom cited an $11.95 billion shortfall, which he blamed on the president's's tariffs, tourism disruption and other economic uncertainty.
'Even as the Trump Slump slows the economy and hits our revenues, we're delivering bold proposals to build more housing, lower costs for working families, and invest in our kids,' he said in a statement.
Hillbarn Theatre Executive Artistic Director Steve Muterspaugh, whose Foster City company now expects to lose a promised $160,000 from the gutting of PAEPF, pointed out in an email to audiences that the fund represents a rounding error in the state budget. 'But it has an outsized impact on our sector,' he added.
Emilie Whelan, West Edge Opera's director of advancement, noted in an email to the Chronicle that PAEPF 'could keep us afloat and prohibit the next closure announcement,' referring to Aurora Theatre's recent decision to suspend production at its Berkeley venue next season.
Gig economy powerhouses Uber and Lyft, AB5's original targets, still hire drivers as contractors, thanks to a ballot proposition granting them exceptions from AB5. But a wage-theft trial
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Chicago Tribune
13 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Evergreen Park Community High School band director Ken Kazin retires after nearly 40 year career
Teaching can be a tough job, but then something happens that makes all the effort worth it. Ken Kazin, the longtime band director at Evergreen Park Community High School calls them 'aha moments,' when his students 'finally get something really well. You just see it.' 'That's something I can never get too much of,' he said. After a nearly 40-year career at the school, Kazin retired at the end of this school year. The school's new band director is Colin Curatolo. Kazin said he'll miss his students, and is proud of how far the band program has come since he started in 1987. Back then, the marching band didn't participate in competitions and the band director position wasn't even full-time until he started. Among his more recent accomplishments was introducing a rock band element to the music program about five years ago. Now the school also has strong jazz and concert bands. It's a full time job indeed. In fact, as of his retirement Kazin had banked 406 hours of paid sick time, the equivalent of about 50 days. In addition to overseeing the school's bands, he's taught classes in AP Music Theory, Technology in the Performing Arts, World Music and other related topics. He is also principal percussionist for the Southwest Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Chicago Federation of Musicians. He was a drummer for Oak Lawn Theatre musicals and plays percussion with his son Keaton, a junior at Stagg High School, in the DuPage Youth Symphony. Kazin grew up in Oak Lawn, attended St. Laurence High School in Burbank and obtained a degree from VanderCook College of Music in Chicago. He lives in Hickory Hills with his wife, Amy, who is activities director at EPCHS. His son Jason teaches music at Scarlet Oak School in Oak Forest and his daughter, MacKenzie, teaches English in Columbus, Ohio. A song called 'Evergreen' performed during Evergreen Park Community High School's recent spring concert, which Kazin directed, was commissioned for him and the school by William Owens, his former VanderCook classmate. Kazin credits working with his wife as a big part of the school's musical/artistic success. She was formerly choir director there and directed and choreographed musicals, sharing his enthusiasm for ensuring students grew in their musical abilities. Their combined talents helped students work together in the school's band, choir and theatre programs. 'I think that made a big difference in the school environment and especially the kids,' said Kazin. 'What I'm most proud of is we built a music department. It was about all the music students and making sure they participated in the arts.' A big part of his overall success goes back to his parents, Kazin said. His mother was a professional pianist and organist, and he performed with her for a local VFW, playing drums. His father, a roll tender and inkman for RR Donnelley Printing, taught him his strong work ethic and the importance of showing up ready to give the job his all. He also gets a kick out of student shenanigans, chuckling when he noticed a mustache drawn on his picture in the hallway. 'You put the kids first, our job is to make them better by the end of the year,' he said. Students appreciate Kazin, too. 'Mr. Kazin has explained the importance of trying new and different things time and time again,' said Ryan Brennan, a rising junior, who plays in the concert band. 'He suggests that you don't need to understand everything to try … try something different and ask questions when you need to. 'That's how you can be most successful,' said Ryan. He also had a way of boosting self confidence, according to Zion McCadd, a rising senior and drum major in the marching band. 'I have learned so much from Mr. Kazin,' said Zion. 'Just from being in his band for three years, I've learned to be confident in everything I do from leading the band to playing my instrument. 'He also taught me it's okay to have a little fun!' Kazin also made an impact on Louise Brady, a band student who also just finished junior year. 'I am beyond grateful to have had him as a teacher, mentor, and dad-joke provider,' said Louise. 'I truly couldn't ask for a better experience and hope he has enough adolescents to tease in his retirement!' Principal Matt Dugan said Kazin had made a significant impact with his 'dedication toward the community and school as a whole.' But coming to work was no chore for Kazin, both because of his students and the many colleagues who 'had my back.' He said he might teach college students in the future and he plans to continue performing. 'I had the best job in the teaching world,' he said. 'I was a band director, so I got to grow with my students over four years. 'I loved growing with them.'
San Francisco Chronicle
a day ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Trump's tactic to ‘flood the zone' is now threatening Mark Twain's legacy
When you enter the offices of the Mark Twain Papers and Project at UC Berkeley, you'll see portraits and photographs of the revered writer and humorist hanging on the walls. A few tchotchkes of dubious taste, like a porcelain bust with a head of his greying hair, are scattered around — all part of the largest repository of Twain materials in the world. Brought to UC Berkeley in 1949, the project's primary purpose isn't collecting fun souvenirs; it houses everything major that Twain wrote and furthers scholarly interpretations of his work. The suite of offices on the fourth floor of the Bancroft Library holds numerous editions of his 30 published books, more than 11,000 letters he and his family wrote, 17,000 letters written to him, as well as 600 unpublished manuscripts, business documents, scrapbooks, bills and photographs. Hundreds of scholars have used the collection to inform their books, documentaries and other works. 'The Mark Twain Papers ranks as one of the foremost scholarly achievements of our era,' Ron Chernow, who relied on the papers to prepare his recently published biography of Twain, aka Samuel Clemens, wrote in his acknowledgements. The project is so significant that the federal government has funded it for the past 58 years. In doing so, it helped editors decipher and organize the 5,000 pages Twain left as an autobiography and publish it, as Twain requested, 100 years after his death. The 2010 book became a New York Times bestseller. Even President Donald Trump admires Twain. He wants a statue of the author to be included in his proposed, yet unfunded, 'National Garden of American Heroes,' which would open to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. But in April, the National Endowment for the Humanities rescinded a $450,000 grant to the Mark Twain Papers and Project, undermining its ability to continue. It was part of the cost-cutting effort of the Department of Government Efficiency, an organization not established by government statute and led until recently by Elon Musk. Two young men from DOGE, one who dropped out of college, commandeered the offices of the NEH in early April and unilaterally decided, without consulting any of the experts inside the agency, to cancel 1,500 grants, according to a lawsuit filed by three major scholarly organizations looking to claw back the canceled funds. Days later, the two men let go of 85% of the NEH's 180-person staff. 'NEH has cancelled awards that are at variance with agency priorities, including but not limited to those on diversity, equity, and inclusion (or DEI) and environmental justice, as well as awards that may not inspire public confidence in the use of taxpayer funds,' the agency explained in an April 24 press release. In the swirl of outrage surrounding the Trump administration's various actions, cancellation of the Twain grant has not drawn any attention — no news reports, no public announcements or cries of anger. That it has almost been unnoticed reflects the precarious times in which we live. The University of California has been tempered in its reaction. It has joined two lawsuits, but Rich Lyons, the UC Berkeley chancellor, and UC President Michael Drake have only spoken about the Trump cuts in concerned but not outraged terms. The university and the rest of the UC system appear to be avoiding the limelight, probably to avoid Trump's wrath. They don't want to be targeted like Harvard. Outrage fatigue has also settled in. The Trump administration has rescinded funds to the Lawrence Hall of Science, San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, Transit Books and SFJazz, among many others. It has yanked funding from major research centers, forcing labs doing critical research to scramble to survive. The Trump administration has fired weather experts and downsized Social Security offices. Students have been abducted off the street. So, what is one more cut to another revered institution? It matters, not just because it damages the study of Mark Twain, whose biting political commentary would help us weather these dark days. ('Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself,' Twain famously said.) It matters because it is part of a strategy, stated by Trump ally and political strategist Steve Bannon, to 'flood the zone' and overwhelm dissenters. By deluging citizens with the pace of his destructive acts, Trump has created a sense of paralysis. How do you know what to protest when there are so many things to be angry about? There is a call for mass demonstrations on June 14, Trump's 79th birthday and the date he has set for a $45 million military parade in Washington. I plan to participate in the protests because I want Trump to know the United States is a better place when we support the arts and sciences and lift people rather than denouncing broad sectors of our society and callously deporting people without due process. In the meantime, the Bancroft Library is appealing NEH's decision to slash Mark Twain funding. 'Without that funding, the project won't be able to continue beyond the calendar year,' said Kate Donovan, director of the Bancroft Library. Even though it is an effort, we must resist the urge to collapse from exhaustion. We must fight back against every grant lost, every lab shuttered.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Gavin Newsom is trying to rescue Hollywood. It may be too late.
LOS ANGELES — Gavin Newsom wants to claim the role of Hollywood's superhero. But California's iconic industry is so battered that even its governor may not be able to save it. Newsom has made doubling the state's film tax credit his No. 1 budget priority as he tries to lure back show business production that has fled in droves to other states and countries, even while he proposes slashing other pet causes such as expanded health care benefits. It's a clear bid to rewrite the 'California crack-up' script that has transfixed conservative media — and President Donald Trump — and play the leading man role that woos production back to its homeland. But Newsom's effort also calls attention to the yawning gulf between what the industry wants and what Sacramento can deliver. Already, there are fears that Newsom's best efforts could amount to too little, too late. Newsom has doggedly pursued support from the Los Angeles-based power players and their lavish political donations as he has climbed the ranks of California politics. But now, as his term's expiration date approaches and he eyes a potential 2028 White House bid, the industry exodus has opened a window for Trump to claim the title of industry savior for himself. The president, Newsom's frequent archnemesis, has disparaged the governor's stewardship of his state's signature industry as 'grossly incompetent.' California's film tax credit, which has languished for years behind more lucrative offers from states like Georgia or overseas options like the U.K., could be a place for Newsom to cement his bonafides as Hollywood's champion. The most active players lobbying for its expansion — a coalition of labor unions, studios and industry execs — feel 'an enormous sense of gratitude' toward Newsom, said Scott Budnick, the film producer behind 'The Hangover' and other blockbusters. But there's no guarantee that the heftier tax credit will make it through this fraught budget season unscathed. And even staunch supporters like Budnick acknowledge the effort, if successful, is only an initial step to a Hollywood course correction. 'My hope is we blow through this money, and we're gonna have to go back to the governor for even more next year, and we can show that it's an economic engine for the state as well,' he said. Complicating Newsom's Hollywood courtship is the pronounced funk that has pervaded the industry, which has been pummeled by a series of crises. The pandemic, the dual writers' and actors' strikes in 2023 and the historic Los Angeles wildfires in January have convulsed a town already rocked by changing business models. The industry-wide malaise has led some insiders to greet Newsom's tax credit push with a weary shrug or a sense this is a fruitless endeavor. 'The time for this discussion was 10, 15, 20 years ago,' said Richard Rushfield, editorial director and columnist with The Ankler, an industry newsletter. And even if he does notch a win with a doubled tax credit, it far from guarantees loyalty from a Hollywood political class that tends to prioritize other causes, such as LGBTQ+ issues or abortion rights, when backing a candidate. 'The overwhelming majority of Hollywood dollars that go into politics is not based on industry needs or priorities, but rather based on personal policy beliefs [and] values – often to the dismay of industry lobbyists,' said Donna Bojarsky, a longtime Democratic consultant and Hollywood fundraiser. In other words, Newsom's controversial podcast interview with conservative influencer Charlie Kirk may end up being more influential to Hollywood donor checkbooks than any budgetary mountains he moves for the film tax credit. 'Depression-era level' unemployment As a Northern Californian, Newsom was never one of Hollywood's own. But over the course of his governorship, he has diligently built bonds with industry heavy-hitters such as Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos, whom he frequently texts. Newsom met privately on Thursday with Jon Voight, the actor whom Trump named a 'special ambassador' to Hollywood. 'He has real relationships with Hollywood and that makes a substantial difference, as opposed to the way [previous governor] Jerry Brown was a bit more of an outsider,' said Jay Sures, vice chair of United Talent Agency who was appointed by Newsom to the University of California Board of Regents. 'He can pick up the phone and call just about any CEO and knows them on a first-name basis.' Among the Hollywood donor crowd, Newsom has mostly been regarded as a strong standout among national Democrats considered potential 2028 contenders — though many in the industry, burned by Trump's win in 2024, say they're still shopping around for the next fresh face. Newsom's vocal advocacy on national issues like abortion rights has won plaudits; his comments questioning the fairness of transgender athletes in girls' sports have been less warmly received. 'Gavin has very solid support, but of course, he has his detractors too. And his more recent actions have mystified some,' Bojarsky said. 'But generally people feel positively that he's a sophisticated, charismatic politician that is willing to be out there and take risks.' Lately, the wobbly state of the industry has become a major tentpole in Newsom's Hollywood outreach. FilmLA, which tracks the number of days movies, television shows and reality programs are shot in Los Angeles city and county, found that 2024 was the second-least productive year it had ever observed since its formation 30 years ago — only 2020, the height of the coronavirus pandemic, was worse. 'The levels of unemployment in this industry in Los Angeles are at Depression-era levels,' said Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur, one of the primary lawmakers championing the new film tax credit in the Legislature. 'In some of the unions, they have had unemployment levels of 40 and 50 percent.' Tax incentives are seen by the industry as a way to stop the bleeding — even if some economists say such credits can be revenue-losers for states. Proponents argue that in-state production has wide-reaching economic ripple effects that bolster not just the camera grips and makeup artists working on set, but dry cleaners, caterers and other small businesses that benefit from a local film shoot. The projects approved for the tax credit in California from 2020 to mid-2023 generated $7.3 billion in in-state economic activity, according to the California Film Commission. In recent weeks, awareness of the crisis crossed into the broader zeitgeist. Even a recent episode of HBO's acclaimed comedy 'Hacks' included a joke about the film tax credit, complete with a Newsom name drop. A Newsom aide said he was amused by the shoutout and happy the issue had 'broken through' — glossing over the fact that the industry's clear frustration with state government was manifest as a punchline on a hit television show. But it was a surprise social media missive from Trump that catapulted the issue to international attention, as the president touted his favorite policy tool, tariffs, as the solution to stanch the overseas production bleeding. Caught off guard by Trump's post, Newsom challenged the president on X to back a $7.5 billion federal tax incentive. Newsom, using the shorthand of finance and Silicon Valley, came up with the figure as a way to '10x' the $750 million tax break he was championing in California, according to the aide, who was granted anonymity to describe internal discussions. After proposing that enormous sum, however, Newsom has not been deeply involved in the Washington efforts that have stirred to life now that Trump has shown at least some awareness of runaway production. The governor has had some conversations with figures in Washington who are working on a federal proposal, such as Rep. Laura Friedman, a Democrat from Los Angeles and a former film producer. But, Friedman said, the push to craft a new federal incentive and for California to expand its existing tax credits are 'completely separate efforts.' 'His job is to get a budget allocation through the California Legislature … and it's not a slam dunk that they're going to get the money that he asked for,' said Friedman, who served eight years in the statehouse. 'If my experience in the Legislature is any indication, he's going to have a lot of work to do to make that happen. So he should be focusing there.' 'Help is on the way' Sacramento has always been a source of frustration for Hollywood, dating far earlier than Newsom's tenure. There was a sense that California leaders did little to boost their crown-jewel industry, giving other states and countries a prime opportunity to poach the business by offering lavish incentives. 'We, for so many years, have sat on our laurels, assumed dominance in this area because of the history of Hollywood and expected that we didn't need to do very much to retain this iconic industry,' said state Sen. Ben Allen, a Los Angeles Democrat who is one of the lead legislators involved in negotiations. 'Unfortunately, dollars speak louder than tradition.' One hurdle for advocates of a film tax credit is the perception that the program is a subsidy for glitzy Los Angeles studio execs and celebrities, a view that stoked regional rivalries with representatives from other parts of the state. This time, Newsom put a marker down in October — days before he knew the outcome of the presidential election and months before the typical budget negotiating season — about his intention to more than double the tax incentive, which currently sits at $330 million. 'We made a decision … to put a stake in the ground and go,' said DeeDee Myers, Newsom's chief economic adviser. 'That will give us time to make the case, to educate people, and it's also a signal to the industry: 'Hey, we've got your back, and help is on the way.'' The goal of $750 million has remained unchanged, even as the state's budget outlook darkened dramatically in recent months, setting off fierce battles for funding among competing Democratic interest groups. Newsom and his legislative partners have tried to avoid the usual political tripwires. To entice lawmakers far from Hollywood's center, they proposed a bonus for productions filmed outside of the 30-mile zone encircling Los Angeles. They made union entertainment workers, not studio bosses or celebrities, the face of their campaign. By portraying the incentive as a middle-class jobs program, they've largely neutralized objections from elsewhere in organized labor, which would otherwise target the tax credit as a corporate giveaway. 'This was the story of hundreds of union workers who have had to mortgage homes and foreclose on their homes and move to different states because of just how slow the business is,' said Budnick, an advocate for getting formerly incarcerated people into the pipeline for industry jobs. Hollywood hopes collide with Sacramento reality As budget negotiations careen toward a June 15 spending plan deadline, Newsom is trying to assure the anxious industry he'll be able to deliver. His office reiterated on Thursday he is 'fully committed' to securing a revamped $750 millon credit. Even if Newsom is able to claim victory in the final gauntlet of budget negotiations, it's far from assured that the effort will break through Hollywood's current malaise. A panel of top studio executives at the ritzy Milken Global Issues conference last month offered a stark illustration of the gap between Hollywood's expectations and the realities in Sacramento. Casey Bloys, who runs HBO, lamented how California's tax credits — which are capped and distributed via lottery — compared to Georgia's uncapped incentive program. 'Because it's capped, you can't plan,' Bloys said. 'You have to get into a lottery, and you're not sure if your show is going to get the tax break or not.' But an uncapped tax credit was never in the cards in California, especially in this fraught budget year. Newsom is betting that he can make at least some headway in pulling Hollywood out of its doldrums. But that success depends on the studios actually being open to returning to California — or if the enticements from outside its borders prove too tempting to pass up. 'My sense is that people throughout the industry — from the folks building sets to studio execs — recognize that Newsom is doing more than any governor in memory to try and save California's entertainment industry,' said Brian Brokaw, a Newsom adviser who sits on the California Film Commission. 'Ultimately what this will come down to is whether those who actually make the decisions about where to shoot share the governor's commitment to California.' The exodus of production from the state may be so long gone that nothing Newsom does now will substantially reverse the tide. But perhaps the governor's film tax flex could at least quell some uncomfortable questions about Hollywood flight under his watch — particularly if he wants to tout his record in a 2028 White House run. 'If he's going to run for president, this is gonna come up,' said Rushfield, the longtime industry watcher. 'And he's got to be able to say that he tried.'
