County creates arts committee, pilot program in each precinct
The County is also taking steps to move forward with creating an arts master plan.
County Commissioner David Stout's office made the announcement.
'Arts are critical for a healthy community. We have amazing creative talent in El Paso. The County is here to engage with them and support their efforts,' Stout said in a news release. 'Especially in a community that doesn't have a lot of capital investment from outside, public art is an efficient, cost-effective way to invest in ourselves.'
Stout's office said there are several benefits to having a public art program — improving local sentiment and supporting tourism and travel to the area.
A 2017 study by America for the Arts said that El Paso sees an annual $103.4 million economic impact from the arts and the arts supports the equivalent of 4,000 jobs. The impact produces millions of dollars in combined revenue for restaurants, bars, hotels and motels, transportation and government, Stout's office said.
The El Paso County Arts Advisory Committee is being established as a pilot committee to provide advice to the County Commissioners Court and the County's chief Administrator to advance and enrich the arts and cultural activities and policies within El Paso County.
This includes developing and implementing an arts master plan, Stout's office said.
El Paso County was put aside at least $100,000 for the arts master plan and $55,000 for each precinct and $55,000 countywide for arts programming, Stout's office said.
Monday, the County contracted with the El Paso Community Foundation to manage the arts programming.
Further, the County is procuring an agreement for an arts master plan, which the arts committee will have a role in developing, Stout's office said.
'This action today is the result of discussions that began during Covid, when the arts became essential for people who were staying home and staying safe, but artists themselves were not able to work publicly,' Stout said. 'I am proud of our administration for developing policy to address both the economic and community development aspect of public art, and grateful to the Court for ongoing support and for the vote today.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
UPI
13 minutes ago
- UPI
Qantas ordered to pay record fine over COVID-19 layoffs
Qantas has been ordered to a nearly $60 million fine over mass layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic. File Photo by Brent Winstone/EPA-EFE Aug. 18 (UPI) -- An Australian court on Monday fined national flag carrier Qantas nearly $60 million for illegally firing more than 1,800 ground workers and then outsourcing their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Australia's Transport Workers Union said in a statement that it was the largest employer penalty in Australian corporate history. "Against all odds, TWU members have sent a $90 million warning to corporate Australia: you can't break the law and get away with it," the union said, referring to the amount Qantas was fined in Australian dollars. Federal Court Justice Michael Lee said a little more than half of the penalty should be paid to the TWU, while the recipients of the remaining sum will be decided at a later hearing, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. Lee said that while Qantas has expressed "genuine regrets" about the situation, he believes that "this more likely reflects the damage this case has done at the company rather than unique remorse for the damage done to the affected workers." He said that the airline "resisted until it could resist no more." Qantas said the Monday judgement holds the company "accountable for our actions." "We sincerely apologize to each and every one of the 1,820 ground handling employees and to their families who suffered as a result," Qantas Group Chief Executive Officer Vanessa Hudson said in a statement. "The decision to outsource five years ago, particularly during such an uncertain time, caused genuine hardship for many of our former team and their families. The impact was felt not only by those who lost their jobs, but our entire workforce." The ruling brings an end to a five-year fight by the TWU over Qantas's firing of some 1,800 workers and then outsourcing their jobs in 2020. Qantas appealed through the Australian court system, with the High Court affirming that the airline had acted illegally by outsourcing the employment. The Monday fine is on top of the roughly $78 million that Qantas agreed to pay eligible workers in December, after its failed bid arguing that it should not have to offer workers compensation. "Qantas was not sorry to workers when it illegally outsourced these workers, many finding out they'd lost their jobs over loudspeaker in the lunch room. It was not sorry when it dragged them all the way to the High Court, or when it argued it should have to pay them no compensation at all," TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said in a statement. "Qantas is only sorrow now that it has to pay the larges penalty fine of any employer in Australian corporate history." The announcement comes about 14 months after Qantas reached a settlement with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to pay a multi-million-dollar fine for booking flights that had previously been canceled.
CNBC
an hour ago
- CNBC
Qantas to pay record fine of $58 million for pandemic sackings criticized by judge
A court ordered Australia's largest airline, Qantas Airways, on Monday to pay a record fine of A$90 million ($58.64 million) for illegally sacking 1,800 ground staff during the COVID-19 pandemic and criticized it for a lack of contrition. In imposing the penalty, the largest ordered by a court on a company in the history of Australia's labor laws, Federal Court Judge Michael Lee also inveighed against the airline's litigation strategy. While Qantas made changes to its board and management team, Lee said subsequent expressions of regret seemed more aligned with "the damage" the case had done to the company than remorse for the harm caused to workers. "I accept Qantas is sorry, but I am unconvinced that this measure of regret is not, at least in significant measure ... the wrong kind of sorry," he added. Lee said the size of the penalty, about 75% of the maximum he could have set, was important to ensure it "could not be perceived as anything like the cost of doing business". He said A$50 million of the fine would be paid to the Transport Workers' Union, which brought the case against Qantas. After the decision, Michael Kaine, the national secretary of the TWU, said, "Against all the odds, we took on a behemoth ... that had shown itself to be ruthless, and we won." Monday's decision follows a December agreement on a compensation fund of A$120 million struck by the airline and the sacked workers. During the pandemic in 2020, Qantas' senior management decided to lay off 1,820 ground staff and shift their work to contractors. Qantas said it was a commercial decision, but the Federal Court in 2021 held the move to be "adverse action", preventing staff from exercising their workplace rights and unionising, in breach of Australia's Fair Work Act. Assessing Qantas' actions, Lee said he was unconvinced it was truly contrite and criticized its culture, public relations approach and litigation strategy. For example, he said Qantas had announced it would appeal to the High Court against the 2021 court decision "without any time passing", to consider the 431-paragraph judgment. When its appeal failed, Qantas issued a statement "spinning" the outcome, however, and overlooking findings on its unlawful conduct, he added. He also criticized Qantas' conduct during litigation, such as opting to keep out of the witness box, Vanessa Hudson, its current chief executive and former chief financial officer. "It is one thing for the 'Qantas News Room' to issue press releases by a CEO saying sorry; it is quite another for written assertions of contrition, recognition of wrong and cultural change to be tested in a courtroom," Lee said. The penalty was the largest ever ordered by a court for violations of Australia's labor laws, said Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, which represented TWU. "This record-breaking penalty reflects the monumental scale of Qantas' wrongdoing," the firm's principal, Josh Bornstein, said in a statement. The fine also reflected the unprecedented finding of adverse action against so many workers, said Shae McCrystal, a labor law professor at the University of Sydney. "Adverse action cases are risky," she said. "It signals a message to employers that if they break the law, then trade unions may receive those penalties in order to assist them in enforcing the act." Qantas said it would pay the fine as ordered. "We sincerely apologise to each and every one of the 1,820 ground handling employees and to their families," Chief Executive Vanessa Hudson said in a statement. Qantas shares were down 0.4% at A$11.58 in early trading.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Bruce Dickinson reveals 2027 solo album plans, says Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris loves it
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson hopes to release his next solo album in 2027 – and bassist Steve Harris already loves the new material. Talking exclusively to Metal Hammer, Dickinson, who released his latest solo album The Mandrake Project in 2024, reveals that solo LP number eight will be out in two years' time, after Maiden have played their as-yet-unannounced live dates in 2026. The vocalist tells us: 'We've got, like, 18 tracks demoed, which I did in April. We're going to do a new album – not for next year, obviously. We're busy next year with other things, obviously Maiden things and everything, which is great, but '27 that's when it will come out.' The singer goes on to describe what we can expect from his next release, teasing 'bone-crushingly heavy' songs as well as moments that 'are just like tugging at the heartstrings'. 'If it's heavy, it's heavy,' he adds, 'but if it just happens to be acoustic, it's acoustic. That's the deal, you know? 'It's whatever the song dictates, whatever the story is you're trying to tell, but it's really exciting. I'm so stoked about these tracks. I played the demos to a few people in the record label and stuff, and everybody is like, 'Wow!'' Another fan of the upcoming music is Harris, who founded Maiden in 1975 and has served as the band's de facto leader and primary songwriter ever since. According to Dickinson, the bassist just so happened to overhear some of the new stuff, catching it as the singer played it for some of Maiden's team in the next room over. 'I was playing the demos to the team, the management, because I've got it on a little tablet,' Dickinson remembers. 'So I said, 'You want to hear some new stuff?' 'I didn't realise Steve was having his physio in the room next door. And he came out and he went, 'Is that your new stuff?' I went, 'Yeah.' He goes, 'That's the best stuff you've ever done. That's the best stuff I've ever heard from you!' I went, 'Well, thank you very much, boss!'' The three-year wait for new Dickinson music will be nothing compared to the gestation period for The Mandrake Project, which was released 19 years after its predecessor Tyranny Of Souls. The singer explained the wait during an interview with Classic Rock. 'It's been on the boil since 2014,' he said. 'Then I got diagnosed with throat cancer [in late 2014], then we had fucking Covid, so there were two years when I couldn't go to the USA. So by the time I reconvened with [guitarist and producer] Roy Z, everything had moved on.' Last week, Dickinson reissued his second solo album Balls To Picasso, originally released in 1994, with the new title More Balls To Picasso. The reissue features remixed overhauls of the original recordings, as well as live-in-the-studio takes of the songs God Of War and Shoot All The Clowns. Listen below. Meanwhile, Maiden recently wrapped up the European leg of their 50th-anniversary tour, Run For Your Lives. The trek is expected to extend into 2026, but no upcoming dates have been revealed at time of publication. Solve the daily Crossword
