Latest news with #RinglingMuseum
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Hundreds attend town hall on potential New College takeover of Ringling Museum of Art
The Brief Hundreds attended a town hall to learn more about a proposed New College takeover of the Ringling Museum. Governor Ron DeSantis has proposed taking management out of FSU's hands and giving it to New College. Many worry that New College lacks the resources to manage the Ringling Museum properly. SARASOTA, Fla. - Hundreds of community members attended the "Citizens to Protect The Ringling" group's town hall to learn more about a proposed transfer of management from Florida State University to New College. The group was launched two months ago after advocates, including former Ringling Museum Board Member Nancy Parrish, found a bill listed in Governor DeSantis' budget proposal for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins on May 1. The backstory The item states that beginning August 1, FSU should transfer all duties, responsibilities and state financial obligations of the entire 66-acre Ringling Museum campus to New College of Florida. FSU has managed the Ringling Museum since 2000. PREVIOUS: Grassroots movement to stop New College's takeover of Ringling Museum gains strength | FOX 13 Tampa Bay The group believes that New College of Florida, the smallest university in the state, does not have the bandwidth to support such a large entity. What they're saying "This community has come together and raised over $200 million in the past 25 years for the Ringling Museum to go from surviving to thriving," Parrish said. "The collections, post 1936, could be sold. It's very concerning, and we're here to stop it." Parrish said it's a back-door deal. RELATED: New Ringling Museum of Art exhibit features flying fish "They're going to have to duke it out behind closed doors, and that's our concern," Parrish added. "If it's a good plan, why didn't they show it to us a year ago? Why didn't we see it? Why didn't the community have an opportunity to weigh in?" Dig deeper USF Sarasota-Manatee donors, board members and former staff share a similar feeling about their campus. John Horne, an advisory board member of the USFSM School of Hospitality, said he's heard there are talks that New College could also absorb USFSM. CLICK HERE:>>>Follow FOX 13 on YouTube "We're just hearing more and more that it's a done deal," Horne added. "We want to keep things the way they are. We want to keep the students here. We want to keep Ringling." The other side FOX 13 reached out to the governor's office, the Ringling Museum and New College about the alleged management transfers but did not receive a response. What's next A "Stand up for USF Sarasota-Manatee" forum is planned to take place on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the Anna Maria Oyster Bar Landside, located at 6906 14th St. W, Bradenton. To learn more about "Citizens to Protect The Ringling," click here. The Source FOX 13's Jennifer Kveglis collected the information in this story. WATCH FOX 13 NEWS: STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘That will destroy it': Town hall addresses potential leadership change at Ringling Museum
SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) — Dozens gathered at a town hall Tuesday, opposing the possible transfer of power at Sarasota's Ringling Museum. Art, history and architecture dating back a century are just few reasons tourists and locals across the region attend the Ringling Museum. 'Going green': Manatee School for the Arts transitioning entire campus to solar power For the last 25 years, Florida State University has managed the museum, but Gov. Ron DeSantis is laying out different plans in this year's budget proposal. He is suggesting that leadership transfers from FSU to Sarasota's New College of Florida. 'It's a beautiful institution and what's happening I don't think is the will of the people,' Lakewood Ranch resident Gretchen Fry explained. Fry and dozens of others gathered Tuesday at a town hall event, opposing the possibility of a transition 'To see this taken over in just such a cruel way, that will destroy it,' said Sarasota resident Jan Dorsett. Nancy Parrish is the former chair of the Ringling Museum Foundation, and the current president of a new group called 'Citizens to Protect the Ringling.' She said the state's smallest public college doesn't have the staff, expertise or infrastructure to take over the 66-acre property. 'Our grounds should be kept as is. Our 66 acres should not be trounced on, and our collections should be preserved, should not be sold off for funds, those are the things we are concerned about,' she said. News Channel 8 On Your Side previously asked New College of Florida for a comment on the proposal. We were directed to an op-ed written by President Richard Corcoran, where he described the transition as a win for Sarasota, the Ringling, New College and the state. He wrote, in part, 'It ensures the museum's legacy remains deeply intertwined with Sarasota's cultural and educational future.' Parrish's message to New College? 'What I would say to President Corcoran is, it's important for you to get your own house in order and take care of the transition in which you have undertaken, and you need to leave your neighbors alone,' she said. News Channel 8 On Your Side is still waiting to hear back from the governor's office. If this proposal moves forward, the change in leadership would take place by the start of August. You can read it in full below. Ringling-Center-for-Cultural-ArtsDownload Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Risky to entrust high caliber Ringling Museum to New College
I have read the news about Gov. Ron DeSantis commandeering a change in leadership of our wonderful Ringling Museum of Art to his appointed president at New College. It is chilling to imagine that, considering what they did to New College, tearing it apart rather than repairing a longstanding institution. Presently, under the leadership of Steven High and Florida State University, the Ringling Museum has hosted exhibits of the highest caliber within a range to interest anyone and everyone. In addition to the art galleries, there are frequent lectures, music and other performances that stir the imagination and lift the audience to new and wonderful ideas and experiences. As a conservator at the Museum of Natural History in the Smithsonian Institution, I have seen how museums function and the intricacies of and requirements necessary to exhibit works of art. The Ringling Museum already does it all to the highest caliber. Please don't entrust this intricate skill to someone steeped in toxic politics who has no museum experience and would surely degrade the quality of our museum. Natalie Firnhaber, Sarasota Some government agencies might warrant strategic cutbacks, but the IRS should actually have even more employees and a bigger budget – to help it find waste, fraud and abuse by wealthy people who do not pay their fair share of taxes but reap the benefits that taxes help finance. More than 11 million Americans owe back taxes, but the IRS is primarily interested in high-wealth groups and corporations. Its mission is to improve compliance and ensure fairness. After years of declining budgets, the IRS finally had the resources to improve collections. Last year it collected more than $1 billion in past-due taxes from millionaires. And since 2022, audits of taxpayers making less than $400,000 a year have not increased. Isn't that what we all want? That everyone pays their fair share? Our economy certainly could use that money, but it definitely shouldn't fund even more tax cuts for the wealthy. Isn't it strange that those who clamor to hobble the IRS are the "1 percenters," who probably already cheat on their taxes? Let your members of Congress know that you want a strong IRS that can improve compliance and fairness for all. Virginia deHaven Hitchcock, Sarasota Imagine being the richest man in the world. You just spent a quarter of a billion dollars buying close proximity to a president, so you can inflict immense suffering on countless others, including the world's poorest, in order to become even richer. This sickness is obviously not imaginary. What kind of a sociopath would fire: nuclear safety workers. Veterans Affairs workers. medical and scientific researchers. workers at our national parks. immigration judges (already in short supply). aviation safety workers. an entire agency that protects Americans from financial scammers. personnel who protect us from severe weather. emergency response workers at FEMA. researchers into Sept. 11-related diseases. thousands of IRS workers (all of whom add money to the Treasury). The list could obviously go on and on. But the clincher is that all these cuts, all the misery and suffering of both the workers and those they served, are intended to just partially offset an enormous tax cut for the wealthiest Americans, including President Donald Trump and Elon Musk themselves. That level of corruption is jaw-dropping. Meanwhile, Trump played golf on 10 of his first 30 days as president, costing taxpayers $10.7 million. Peter Burkard, Sarasota Tamiami Trail: For nearly 100 years it has connected Tampa and Miami. It's a practical, functional, useful name for the highway also known as U.S. 41. But what the heck – let's toss away "Tamiami Trail" as a name and reach into the taxpayers' pockets to pay for all new signs along the highway. And for all new maps. Let's confuse tourists. And most important, let's demonstrate fealty before the new self-proclaimed 'king' who is trying to distract us from the wholesale destruction of our government in order to increase the wealth of the billionaire class. Kirk Winters, Sarasota If an unknown entity hacked the U.S. information systems, everyone would be screaming for accountability. Elon Musk and his minions (with no security clearance) have done just that, and our Republican representatives remain silent. Since the mainstream media barely mentions it – and who knows what "Faux News" says? – many people may not even know about this attempted coup. I, for one, do not want a 22-year-old 'tech bro' noodling around in my private data. If President Donald Trump and his henchmen really want to streamline the government and cut waste, they don't need to break the systems to do it. Makes you wonder what their goal really is. Elon's cringeworthy press conference in the Oval Office says it all: He, not Trump, is in charge. Linda Dirk, Lakewood Ranch Write to us: How to send a letter to the editor This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: New College could degrade quality of Ringling Museum | Letters
