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Monday, February 23, 2009

Arts / Theater Day Trip to Olympia?

Posted by Brendan Kiley on Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 6:10 PM

Last year around this time, a few dozen folks drove from Seattle to Olympia to support a hotel-motel tax bill that would help fund arts in King County, including 4Culture.

(Asleep yet?)

The bill passed, but with an expiration date set for this summer. Tomorrow, a bunch of folks are going back down to Olympia to sit in hearings for a bill that would strike the expiration date from the original bill, making the funding permanent.

Basically, it involves carpooling to Olympia, milling around the government buildings for awhile with other special-interest groups (last year there were leather-faced cowboys smoking in the drizzle, wearing hide jackets with “Backcountry Horsemen of America” patches), signing into a hearing, supporting the bill being a body that sits in a room in front of lawmakers, then getting up and going back home.

The hearings are at 8 am and 3:30 pm. If you'd like to get a ride down there or to learn more about the bills, see here.

Comments (12) RSS

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What about using that to build an expansion to the convention center, which could employ artists, laborers, plumbers, electricians, and generate revenue for retail businesses and hotels? Why not that?

Posted by The Hotel Tax is not a fucking piggy bank. on February 23, 2009 at 8:38 PM

Despite what the neocons would have you believe, no evidence has been shown to suggest that the Community Reinvestment Act has had anything to do with the current economic meltdown. This is mostly in part because there is none. This is because the housing bubble that led to the sub-prime lending collapse was predominately caused by suburban lending whereas the C.R.A mostly dealt with urban developments, and was an insignificant factor in our current crisis. So in short, Fuck you Republicans, you have noone to blame this on but yourselves and deregulation.

Posted by yeah on February 23, 2009 at 10:33 PM

The Backcountry Horsemen are good dudes. My respects to them. They often speak for conservation and environmental protection in politically conservative districts -- but do so in the language that their republican and NRA pals can understand.

Posted by arts&letters on February 23, 2009 at 10:33 PM

WHILE YOU'RE THERE TELL OUR OFFICIALS ABOUT THIS MAN WHO IS ABOUT TO BE DEPORTED TO VIETNAM AND POSSIBLY KILLED FOR HELPING AMERICA!

http://savejojo.com/

March 11th is his last day here if he isn't rescued

Posted by asdf on February 23, 2009 at 11:21 PM

@1, because we aren't even filling the convention center we have.

@Brendan--good for you for posting this.

Posted by TValley on February 23, 2009 at 11:39 PM

By "artist" do you mean that woman who make the Bush Christmas tree ornament?

Posted by Puget Sound "Artist" on February 24, 2009 at 6:46 AM

@5 because we lose business due to our size.

Posted by It takes 3 days to load in, 3 to load out... on February 24, 2009 at 8:04 AM

And the upside is, an expansion would not touch any tax that it isn't already collecting. It would be budget neutral to the state and provide jobs.

Posted by It takes 3 days to load in, 3 to load out... on February 24, 2009 at 8:07 AM

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@8, Funding the arts creates jobs.

http://www.artsusa.org/information_servi…

Just in case you're premising your argument on the idea that it doesn't.

Posted by TValley on February 24, 2009 at 10:53 AM