Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (47th District-Santa Ana/Anaheim/Garden Grove/Fullerton), above center, invited Arts Orange County Executive Director Rick Stein and Deputy Director Pat Wayne to brief her last week on the status of arts education in her district.  Among the encouraging news was the fact that Santa Ana Unified School District's new superintendent Dr. Thelma Melendez is supporting its arts plan.

Congresswoman Sanchez expressed pride that Anaheim's Chance Theatre had received its first grant from the National Endowment for the Arts recently.  But she was dismayed to learn from ArtsOC that the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Interior Subcommittee had just voted to cut the NEA budget for 2013.

ArtsOC also conveyed to the Congresswoman the arts community's growing alarm over reports that some in Congress are specifically targeting contributions to the arts for elimination from charitable tax deductions. 

Ms. Sanchez was adamant about the vital role that philanthropy has played in creating and sustaining Orange County's arts community and expressed her support for continuing to facilitate that through the charitable tax deduction.

ArtsOC encourages its constituents to contact their U.S. Representatives now to reject the NEA funding cuts.

Link here for an easy way to send your message

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ARTS & CULTURAL EVENTS + CALLS FOR ARTISTS + AUDITIONS + JOBS + CLASSES + VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES - SparkOC.com