Latest news with #NEA
Los Angeles Times
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
Trump-era cuts to public art create a ‘state of emergency' for L.A. dance community
Linda Yudin was sipping coffee with family and friends on May 3, the morning of her birthday, when they warned her not to check her emails. Later that afternoon, she learned why: Her dance company, Viver Brasil, had lost a $20,000 grant. It was among 30 Los Angeles arts organizations that received a grant termination letter from the National Endowment for the Arts the night before. 'Was I mad? Yes, I was mad. I was really angry. We were all really angry because it slows our process down,' Yudin, Viver Brasil's founding artistic director, told The Times. The money was intended to support staff salaries and artist fees for a national tour of 'Rezas e Folhas (Prayers and Leaves),' choreographed by co-artistic director Vera Passos. The piece blends Afro-Brazilian and Indigenous dance with experimental choreography to examine the climate crisis and social change — subjects playing out in real time in L.A. Now, Viver Brasil has to pause and reevaluate what that tour will look like. Possible adjustments include performing in smaller venues and cutting down the size of the cast. 'We have to rethink perhaps, but I'm proud to be part of such a creative dance ecosystem,' Yudin said. 'We dance hard, we fight hard, and that's what we do.' Dance is one of the most underfunded arts disciplines, according to Raélle Dorfan, executive director of L.A.'s Dance Resource Center. She points to inherent economic challenges that inhibit the industry's infrastructure and growth potential — such as limited funding sources — which consequently can make it challenging for companies and venues to fill seats. With the stress of federal and local funding cuts, as well as the January fires, many L.A. dance organizations are scaling back their programming and outreach. While small nonprofits and underserved communities have been impacted the most, larger companies are feeling the pain as well. 'We're really in the middle right now of compounding crises,' said Gustavo Herrera, chief executive of Arts for LA. 'It's really a state of emergency for arts organizations.' Arts organizations across the country have been reeling from NEA grant terminations amid priority changes under President Trump's administration. Twelve L.A. organizations are currently at risk of needing to eliminate jobs and programming due to federal funding cuts, according to Herrera. In his 2026 budget proposal, Trump has called to eliminate the NEA, the largest arts funder in the country, altogether — a proposal he also made in his 2018 budget that failed to move through Congress. In response, a group of senior officials resigned from the agency, including dance director Sara Nash. Dance specialists Kate Folsom and Juliana Mascelli followed suit, leaving the NEA without an active dance division. These sudden changes have proven frustrating for many companies, including Dance Camera West, which received a termination letter for its $15,000 grant. 'For an organization our size, you have to be so nimble,' executive director Kelly Hargraves said. 'Because we're dancers, we know how to pivot. And we have to pivot every single year based on which grant we did get and didn't get, and change what we're doing and not doing.' Hargraves had already spent the money before receiving the termination notice and, to her knowledge, does not owe any of it back. Still, she's concerned about future funding and has decided to cut the Visibility commission project — which supports the creation of new dance films from underrepresented artists — for the next Dance Camera West festival. 'I was joking that I should basically just take my old applications and put the word 'not' in front of everything,' she said, 'because it's a very DEI program.' For her 2026 grant application, Hargraves wrote a proposal for a series of documentaries about the great masters of dance and dance film, including Martha Graham, Anna Sokolow and Shirley Clarke. But she, like many other company directors, has been left in the dark regarding the status of her application. 'I've sent emails that don't get responded to,' she said. 'I feel like I'm that emoji with the hands in the air. Let's just do what we can, not count on anything.' L.A. Dance Project, founded by acclaimed choreographer Benjamin Millepied, also has a pending $66,744 grant application for Launch:LA, its residency program for emerging artists. Each year, the company supports two projects by providing three weeks of rehearsal space, a stipend and production resources. The program culminates with performances at the company's downtown performance space. While Launch: LA is partially funded by private foundations and individual donors, receiving the full amount from the NEA would make it possible to offer the program biannually, supporting four projects each year. But until L.A. Dance Project hears back, the company is focused on safeguarding its current annual offering. 'To get this kind of news and see our colleagues experiencing this sort of rug being pulled out from underneath them, it's difficult,' said Rachelle Rafailedes Mucha, director of foundation and government grants. 'We just are now trying to share the case for arts funding, and we need the private foundations and the individuals and our local and state agencies to step up and fill the void of what's happening with the NEA.' Keeping employees on the payroll presents another challenge for small dance organizations — especially after AB5, which makes it more difficult for companies to classify their workers as independent contractors, went into effect in 2020. This means many arts groups have had to reclassify workers as employees, leading to increased expenses to cover payroll taxes, overtime pay, paid sick leave and more. The Performing Arts Equitable Payroll Fund was implemented in March to help performing arts companies comply with AB5 by reimbursing a portion of their payroll costs. The $11.5 million allocated for PAEPF was put on the chopping block in Gov. Gavin Newsom's May proposal but was ultimately restored in the final budget. Still, it can be difficult to secure funding through the PAEPF due to high demand and the first-come, first-served nature of the program. Hargraves is currently on hiatus from Dance Camera West until the fall in order to reduce administrative costs. '[The PAEPF] would make it feasible for me to be on salary again,' Hargraves said. 'Obviously I keep working because I'm not going to let [Dance Camera West] die in the meantime. But I still have a day job or two or three.' On the county level, the Department of Arts and Culture budget was slashed by $1.7 million this month, impacting its organizational grant, community impact arts grant and arts internship programs, according to the department's website. At least 17 dance companies are at risk of losing their funding because of these cuts, said Herrera. The Organizational Grant Program, which provides two years of funding to grantees, offers money for general operating costs, not just specific projects. Grantees for the 2024-2025 fiscal year were first paid in November 2024 and will receive money again this November. Their promised funding will not be affected by the cuts, according to the department's website. Yudin, whose company was granted $23,600 last year to support director salaries and invest in a new position, said she deeply values the funding Viver Brasil has received from the county. 'Is it enough? I think we all recognize that it is not enough, but it is an important recognition, and we appreciate that very much.' The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs also faced steep cuts in Mayor Karen Bass' proposed budget, but the funding was ultimately restored in the final version. The DCA was the only department whose funding wasn't cut, according to Arts for LA. Funding cuts to the arts affect more than just the arts, said Herrera. A study commissioned by Arts for LA found that for every 100 performing arts jobs, there were an additional 156 jobs supported in other sectors. 'It activates entire neighborhoods and communities,' Herrera said. 'We really feel that elected officials need to do more to come to the table and support this sector, because at the end of the day, it impacts the bottom lines of cities, regions, states, countries.' In Orange County, Anaheim Ballet did not receive its $10,000 NEA grant to support Step-Up!, an afterschool program that provides free dance classes to youth. The money would have come through the Challenge America grant — canceled by the NEA for the 2026 fiscal year — which supports arts programs for underserved groups and communities. Anaheim Ballet will continue to offer classes to underserved youth, but it now relies on private donations, other grants and funds shifted from other operations. 'We just want to make sure they're able to dance if they want to. There are kids, young people, that do want to, and it's prohibitive for many families that are struggling just to make ends meet,' said executive director Lawrence Rosenberg. 'From day one, from our inception, we saw the need. It's always been a part of what we do. Our go-to slogan is 'Anaheim Ballet: more than dance.' 'The point is we think that people respond to something in ballet when it's more than dance — when you're seeing persistence and hope and effort and things that we can all relate to, whether it's dance or any other area of our lives that we know is worth struggling in.'
GMA Network
5 hours ago
- Business
- GMA Network
Department of Energy fast-tracking nationwide electrification
The Department of Energy (DOE) is expediting efforts to achieve President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s goal of full nationwide electrification, especially in far-flung off-grid areas, by the end of his term in 2028. "The President mentioned electrification, particularly in remote areas where it's costly for electric cooperatives to expand. There are three approaches: first, microgrids; second, solar-powered homes; and third, continued expansion by electric cooperatives. The government is currently looking for investors for microgrid projects," Energy Secretary Sharon Garin said at the Post-State of the Nation Address (SONA) forum in San Juan City on Wednesday. "It's not just about electrification in remote areas—many homes near existing power lines remain unconnected due to permitting issues. There are ongoing discussions on how to reduce or waive application fees," Garin said. The Energy chief said the DOE and the National Electrification Administration (NEA) are working with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) to reduce or waive these fees to fast-track household connections. Data from the Energy Department showed that the national household electrification level is at 94.75%, equivalent to 27.9 million households with electricity access as of December 2024. The DOE is estimating about 3.08 million households which are still needed to be electrified by 2028. Last February, the DOE said the government needs to spend at least P85 billion to provide electricity to all households in the entire Philippine archipelago. In a news release on Wednesday, the Energy Department said it will undertake a Competitive Selection Process (CSP) for Microgrid System Providers to reach geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas beyond the coverage of existing power distribution networks. Through the initiative, approximately 12,000 households in off-grid areas, located in Quezon, Camarines Norte, Palawan, Masbate, Samar, Negros Occidental, and Zamboanga del Sur, are targeted to be energized through microgrid systems (MGS), according to the DOE. Each MGS is equipped with self-contained power generation units and localized distribution networks. It comes with a solar panel, a battery-powered home system, and basic components that can power four LED bulbs, charge a mobile phone, and operate a built-in radio. These microgrid systems are designed to provide reliable and sustainable electricity in areas that existing distribution utilities (DUs) and electric cooperatives (ECs) can no longer reach. For 2025, the DOE is targeting to energize an additional 5,000 households nationwide. For households located in remote and mountainous areas that are completely inaccessible to conventional power distribution lines, the DOE said part of the solutions is the deployment of Solar Home Systems (SHS). For this year, NEA aims to bid out SHS to energize 100,000 households until the first quarter of 2026. Similarly, NEA will conduct early procurement for 54,000 SHS for its target household energization in 2026, benefitting a total of 154,000 households for the next two years, according to the DOE. Meanwhile, the Energy Department said it is also intensifying its efforts to expand access to the government's Lifeline Rate Program—key subsidy initiative that provides electricity discounts to marginalized households. As of June 2025, around 4.5 million households have been identified by the DSWD as eligible for the Program, primarily through the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). This number is expected to increase following the President's directive to expand eligibility to include households listed under the DSWD's "Listahanan" database, a key reference in identifying poor and vulnerable sectors. Despite the high number of potential beneficiaries, only about 330,000 households, or 7.34% of the eligible 4.5 million, have registered with their respective DUs as of July 2025, the DOE said. In response, the Energy Department said it is implementing a multi-pronged approach to bridge this gap and ensure wider access to the program. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
Fox News
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Teaching hate, hiding truth: NEA's real agenda revealed in leaked handbook
The National Education Association (NEA) tried scrubbing its radical 2025 handbook from the internet after I leaked its contents on X, but I saved a copy of their 434-page manifesto. This document, meant to guide America's largest teachers' union, exposes a radical agenda: erasing Jews from the Holocaust, blaming "white supremacy culture" for systemic racism, pushing illegal racial quotas, calling for "educational reparations," and attacking homeschooling while ignoring their own failing schools. The NEA, armed with a unique 1906 federal charter, has become a money-laundering operation for the Democratic Party, funneling over 99% of its 2022 political contributions to Democrats. Its president, Becky Pringle, an at-large Democratic National Committee member, engages in histrionics to rally this partisan machine. The "Stopping Teachers Unions from Damaging Education Needs Today (STUDENT) Act," introduced last week by Senator Cynthia Lummis and Representative Scott Fitzgerald, would gut this cartel by banning lobbying, political activity, and racial quotas, mandating transparency, and stopping strikes that shutter schools. Congress must pass this bill to leverage the NEA's charter, force it back to education, or make it beg to lose its special privilege. The NEA's handbook is a blueprint for extremism, not education. It downplays the Holocaust's targeting of Jews, framing it as a generic tragedy while emphasizing other groups, effectively erasing Jewish suffering from history. It declares that "educators must acknowledge the existence of white supremacy culture as a primary root cause of institutional racism, structural racism, and white privilege," vowing to push "strategies fostering the eradication of institutional racism and white privilege perpetuated by white supremacy culture." It demands school districts provide training in "cultural competence, implicit bias, restorative practices, and racial justice." Worse, it calls for illegal racial quotas, stating, "The National Education Association believes that at every phase of governance and on all decision-making levels of the Association there should be minority participation at least proportionate to the identified ethnic-minority population of that geographic level." These quotas prioritize identity over merit, dividing teachers and distracting from student needs. The handbook even attacks homeschooling, claiming "home schooling programs based on parental choice cannot provide the student with a comprehensive education experience"—ironic, given that only about a quarter of public school eighth graders are proficient in math despite $20,000 per student in annual spending. The NEA's federal charter, a privilege no other union enjoys, was meant to advance teaching and learning, not fuel a partisan agenda. With nearly $400 million in annual revenue from teacher dues, the NEA bankrolls Democratic campaigns while neglecting classrooms. Pringle's DNC ties and histrionic convention speeches ensure the NEA serves progressive politics, not educators. The union's 2025 convention in Portland, Oregon, doubled down this month. Ashlie Crosson, the 2025 NEA Teacher of the Year, declared teaching "deeply political." Resolutions read like a DNC war plan: one pledged thousands to smear President Trump as a "fascist," misspelling "fascism" as "facism." Another committed over $200,000 to evade a Supreme Court ruling allowing parents to opt out of gender ideology instruction. The NEA also vowed to fight Trump's immigration and education policies. In 2019, it rejected a resolution to "rededicate itself to the pursuit of increased student learning in every public school in America." The NEA's attempt to erase its handbook after my X leak shows they fear transparency. That 434-page document, which I preserved, reveals an organization obsessed with divisive ideologies and political power, not education. Over a million families have fled public schools since 2019 for charters, private schools, or homeschooling, driven by the NEA's focus on politics. Its attacks on parental choice and accountability, coupled with embarrassing academic outcomes, prove it's failing students and teachers alike. The STUDENT Act is a kill shot. Unlike revoking the NEA's charter – a symbolic jab that wouldn't stop its antics – this bill dismantles its power. It bans lobbying and political activity, choking off its Democratic pipeline. It ends racial quotas, ensuring merit-based leadership. It mandates annual reports to Congress, exposing Pringle's $400 million war chest. It prohibits strikes, keeping schools open for nearly 50 million students. It scraps the NEA's D.C. property tax exemption and requires informed consent for dues, ending automatic deductions. A charter repeal would bruise the NEA's ego, but leave its operations intact. The STUDENT Act cuts deeper. The union might beg Congress to ditch its charter to escape these shackles. The teachers unions are destroying the public school system. Test scores are tanking, teacher morale is at historic lows, and families are fleeing. The NEA's radical handbook – erasing Jews from history, pushing racial quotas, and attacking homeschooling – shows it's part of the problem. The STUDENT Act can force the NEA to refocus on students or fade away. Congress must pass this bill, leverage the charter, and end the NEA's reign as a partisan cartel. The handbook is out there for the world to see, NEA. You can run, but you can't hide.
The Star
6 hours ago
- Business
- The Star
Cambodian employment agency, ILO link 3,000 Battambang employees with employers
PHNOM PENH: Around 3,000 migrant workers and youth have been connected with jobs in Battambang province amid an influx of returning Cambodian migrant workers from Thailand following the armed clashes along Cambodia-Thai border. The connection was made at a provincial employment forum, organised by the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training's National Employment Agency (NEA), in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Battambang on July 25. The conference aimed to share information on recruitment and training opportunities, internships, volunteer programmes and scholarships that are currently on offer across various sectors, ranging from tourism, food-processing and automotive manufacturing. 'The forum represented a timely and strategic initiative aimed at addressing current labour market needs, with a particular focus on youth, jobseekers, persons with disabilities, returning migrant workers and other vulnerable groups,' explained Hang Sereyvorlak, NEA deputy director-general, in a joint press release. She added that NEA values the collaboration and support of all stakeholders, particularly the ILO and UN Children's Fund (Unicef), whose contributions were instrumental in the successful organisation of the important employment event. With an influx of returning Cambodian migrant workers and young people entering the workforce, it is timelier than ever to ensure that they have access to decent employment opportunities and social security benefits for a seamless integration into the economy. According to the General Population Census of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Battambang province ranks as the fifth most populous province, with a total population of 997,169 — accounting for 6.4 per cent of the population. The province also demonstrates a robust labour force participation rate, with 76 per cent of individuals aged 15 and above actively engaged in the workforce. Because of its demographic advantages, Battambang has a strong economy supported by 49,748 businesses, employing approximately 121,845 individuals. Its economic strength stems mainly from various industries such as services, agricultural processing and manufacturing, according to the Socio-Economic Census of Cambodia 2022. Additionally, Battambang stands out not only for its numerous enterprises and diverse workforce potential but also for its important role in aiding the government with job placement and the effective reintegration of returning migrants into the local labour market. The forum served as a unique platform for over 1,000 attendees to interact with well-known domestic and international companies, institutions and training providers to learn about employment prospects and what capacity building initiatives are available in the market. 'We are honoured by the continuous partnership with the labour ministry to effectively match young jobseekers, vulnerable groups, including women and persons with disabilities as well as returning migrants in Battambang, to the fast-evolving labour market demands,' said Xiaoyan Qian, director of the ILO Country Office for Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. She noted that despite comprising two-thirds of the population, young people under the age of 30 still struggle with limited access to high-paying jobs. 'Our collective efforts to advance decent work and social protection for all can address these pressing issues and contribute to Cambodia's national priorities outlined in phase one of the seventh-mandate government's Pentagonal Strategy and the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) 2024–2028,' she added. Labour minister Heng Sour recently warned that the border dispute and the violence against Cambodian workers have forced more than 400,000 workers to return to Cambodia. 'The next two to three weeks is the time for all actors in society to go to all localities where there are workers to bring information and job opportunities to distribute to them to ensure that they have jobs,' he said. The ministry claimed that there are over 250,000 job opportunities available for the Cambodian citizens returning from Thailand. - The Phnom Penh Post/ANN
Independent Singapore
7 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
Man caught urinating on lorry in Geylang while friends take photos
Photo: Reddit Singapore: A Reddit user posting on subreddit r/singaporehappenings has drawn public attention to a disturbing incident involving a group of foreign visitors allegedly behaving inappropriately in Geylang. The user recounted witnessing a man urinating on a parked vehicle while posing for photos taken by his companions. 'Took place near Geylang Lorong 9, at around 6 p.m. I had just dabao-d beef hor fun from the nearby stall and chanced upon this [alleged] bunch of tourists. One of them was peeing onto the lorry's tyre while laughing and posing for pictures taken by his friends,' the post reads. According to the poster, no video or close-up photos were taken, but they claimed to have clearly witnessed the stream of urine coming from the man, directed at the lorry's tyre. The act has sparked online outrage, and netizens have encouraged reporting the incident to the authorities, citing the date, time, and location for potential investigation. An average of 600 people were fined each year for urinating or defecating in public from 2020 to 2024, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA). The highest number of fines, totalling 1,300, was issued in 2023. Public urination is an offence under the Environmental Public Health Act and carries a penalty of up to $1,000 for a first offence, and up to $2,000 and $5,000 for the second and third offences, respectively. () => { const trigger = if ('IntersectionObserver' in window && trigger) { const observer = new IntersectionObserver((entries, observer) => { => { if ( { lazyLoader(); // You should define lazyLoader() elsewhere or inline here // Run once } }); }, { rootMargin: '800px', threshold: 0.1 }); } else { // Fallback setTimeout(lazyLoader, 3000); } });
