Latest news with #andEntertainment
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Baltimore mayor creates new office to unite city arts
BALTIMORE — Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott has created a new office to consolidate all the city's arts offerings from the festivals to film. The Mayor's Office of Arts, Culture, and Entertainment follows the example of cities such as Atlanta, Chicago and Austin, which groups together different genres under one big tent, Scott said Wednesday in a news release, 'improving coordination, growing cultural infrastructure, and driving strategic outcomes.' In addition to hosting such public events as AFRAM and Artscape, the new office will also operate the programs that provide grants to individual artists and cultural groups. These events used to be run by the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, the city's previous events-planning and grant-making organization. The city's contract with the financially flagging quasi-governmental agency was terminated last year by Scott. But since then, interim BOPA CEO Robyn Murphy appeared with Scott at news conferences announcing plans for such popular festivals as Artscape. Murphy couldn't be reached immediately for comment. The new office will be directed by Linzy Jackson III, the city's director of external partnerships and the producer of Baltimore's AFRAM and Charm City Live. He will be supported in his new role by Tonya Miller Hall, the mayor's senior adviser for arts and culture. Scott said that Baltimore was visited last year by more than 28 million tourists. 'Baltimore has serious momentum right now,' he said. 'And more and more people are seeing it for themselves.' The news release predicted that creating a centralized agency to manage the city's arts, events, nightlife and film will grow revenues, increase operational efficiency and provide critical assistance for grassroots artists and neighborhood-based cultural organizations. The new agency 'isn't just a new office,' Jackson said in the news release. 'It's a new way of connecting Baltimore and showing who we are. It's where murals meet music, festivals meet film, and community voices take center stage.' _____
CBS News
23-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Baltimore Mayor Scott announces launch of Mayor's Office of Arts and Culture
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott announced the launch of the Mayor's Office of Arts, Culture, and Entertainment (MOACE). The mayor stated that the office will help shape the future of Baltimore's live events, cultural workforce, creative economy, nightlife, and film industry. Baltimore champions numerous arts and cultural festivals and initiatives each year, including the Baltimore AFRAM Festival, Artscape, City, Charm City Live, seasonal programming like Baltimore's Christmas Village, and a plethora of other events that take place throughout the year. The mayor said that the goals for the new office include unifying arts events, nightlife, and film under one creative strategy; boosting operational efficiency; supporting grassroots artists; expanding revenue through sponsorship and grant leverage; and strengthening Baltimore's cultural infrastructure. "Baltimore has serious momentum right now. And more and more people are seeing it for themselves. We had over 28 million tourist visits to our city last year. We're also home to incredible outdoor events – including Artscape, AFRAM, and Charm City Live," Mayor Scott said. What about the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts? The update comes after the city ended its contract with the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (BOPA) was terminated in January due to financial instability and management concerns. After the city cut ties with the organization, BOPA voted out Rachel Graham, who served as the former CEO. The city did not explicitly say that the new MOACE office was created to replace BOPA, which previously managed Artscape, the Baltimore Farmers Market, the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Parade, and Light City Baltimore.
CBS News
02-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
What's in Baltimore City's fiscal 2026 budget?
Mayor Brandon Scott has announced Baltimore City's fiscal 2026 budget, which is expected to address an $85 million shortfall while making several investments. The budget balances the deficit through $26.6 million in new revenue from updated fee structures, $43.7 million in citywide cost optimizations, and $14.7 million in agency-specific reductions. The proposal does not include increases in property or income taxes. "These decisions look to avoid mistakes of the past, which balanced the budget on the backs of core services and investments in our communities," Scott said in a statement accompanying the budget proposal. The spending plan includes $624.8 million for youth initiatives, including $6.9 million to expand the YouthWorks summer jobs program to 8,500 participants at $15 per hour and funding for two new recreation centers. Public safety receives $1.2 billion, with full funding for the citywide expansion of the Group Violence Reduction Strategy and continued efforts to transition administrative police tasks to civilian roles. These efforts are expected to save $1.1 million annually in overtime costs. The budget allocates $1.1 billion for neighborhood services, including $5 million to enhance trash and recycling collection with 15 additional crews and $36.7 million from the Opioid Restitution Fund to combat the opioid epidemic. Scott's plan also includes $346.4 million for neighborhood development, featuring an additional $1.5 million for the mayor's $3 billion vacant housing initiative. That funding will also cover Bmore FAST , a new program to improve the city's property permitting process. $2 million to establish a new Office of Art, Culture, and Entertainment. The capital budget marks the largest investment in 20 years, with $125 million in borrowing for capital projects 56% increase from previous levels-targeting affordable housing, school construction, and city parks. The budget now moves to the City Council for review before the start of the fiscal year on July 1. According to The Baltimore Banner , the plan relies on $200 million in federal funding and does not account for any cuts to income tax revenue as a result of Baltimoreans laid off by the federal government. The Trump administration's recent cuts to federal funding and ongoing efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce have created an air of uncertainty. As many of Maryland's federal workers who were laid off search for new career opportunities , agencies, and organizations are assessing the impact of federal funding cuts. On Monday, state education leaders said they were shocked after the federal government rescinded a reimbursement of $360 million in funding that was previously committed to state schools.
