Sunday, February 24, 2008 -- Leaders of New Jersey's theaters, museums, dance troupes and orchestras are bracing for cuts in state aid that will weaken their already unstable financial health. Gov. Jon Corzine has not released specific details of his budget plan, to be unveiled Tuesday in Trenton, but he has said it will include widespread and painful funding decreases in almost all areas. Any...

For 41 years, arts appropriations have been tied to the Garden State's up and down fiscal affairs. Next year, funding will increase by $2.8 million to $21.5 million. The funds will be distributed among 800 New Jersey arts groups. Last week, the New Jersey State Council of the Arts announced grants. The new funding plan includes increases for the Passaic County Cultural and Heritage Council...

Item: The Paper Mill Playhouse, one of the leading regional theaters in the country, $3 million in debt, threatens to close its doors unless it receives an 11th-hour transfusion of funds. Crisis temporarily averted. Item: The New Jersey Symphony, one of the best orchestras in the nation, also experiencing financial difficulties, considers selling rare and valuable musical instruments to stabilize...

Americans for the Arts is conducting a nationwide scan of the arts environment to help determine the best ways to advance the arts in America. Your voice and input are vital. Please take some time to complete the online survey no later than Friday, May 11 at http://www.AmericansForTheArts.org/go/artsurvey. Just as important, if possible, please send this email to your mailing lists. The more...

There were 19 of us in Washington DC for National Arts Advocacy Day on March 12-13. We spent Monday learning about the issues--from funding for the National Endowment on the Arts to tax law affecting artists and charitable contributions, to the reauthorization of NCLB or ESEA (No Child Left Behind aka the Elementary & Secondary Education Act). Monday night we heard Robert MacNeil deliver an...

Governor Corzine's budget contains a 10% increase in funding for arts and history for FY08. Arts funding for cultural projects through the NJ State Council on the Arts is proposed at $21 million, which is $1.7 million shy of the 2006 level prescribed by legislation that established the Hotel/Motel Occupancy Tax. History funding is proposed to increase $346,000 bringing it to the 2006 level. The NJ...