“Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham announces cuts to recycling, education and cultural arts ... - LehighValleyLive.com” plus 1 more

Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham announces cuts to recycling, education and cultural arts ... - LehighValleyLive.com

Posted: 23 Aug 2010 06:09 PM PDT

Published: Monday, August 23, 2010, 2:40 PM Updated: Monday, August 23, 2010, 4:34 PM

Citing economic conditions and lack of revenue growth, Lehigh County Executive Don Cunningham announced today that numerous county programs will be cut or eliminated in 2011, according to a news release.

The cuts include the closing of the county's Organics Recycling Facility in North Whitehall Township. The facility is used by municipalities in the county to turn yard waste and natural debris into compost. The facility has operated at a financial loss to the county since a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision eliminated its funding source.

The county also will eliminate the "More for Children" program in 2011. The county has historically provided $100,000 to $150,000 a year to county school districts to support student educational visits to cultural arts and educational facilities in the county. That program is funded with hotel tax revenue, which has declined by 19 percent since 2007.

In a third proposal, the county will reduce Quality of Life grant funding for next year. Last year, the county contributed about $200,000 to more than 20 cultural arts and community organizations.

"I am an advocate for having a small portion of our budget go to support cultural arts institutions in the county," Cunningham said in the news release. "We intend to preserve this program but we cannot retain the same funding level next year."

Last week, Cunningham announced the elimination of 50 jobs for 2011, bringing a total of 150 position cuts during the last four years.

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Sharansky opens Budapest’s Israeli Cultural Institute - Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles

Posted: 02 Sep 2010 09:58 AM PDT

World

September 2, 2010

JTA

Jewish Agency for Israel Chairman Natan Sharansky was in Budapest for the inauguration of the Israeli Cultural Institute.

Organizers say the institute, which staged several inaugural events this week, is the first of its kind.

Located at the edge of the former main Jewish Quarter in downtown Budapest, the institute will host and organize concerts, exhibitions, film screenings and club activities for Jews and non-Jews.

A cafe will feature Israeli-style snacks, a bookstore, an information center and an education center featuring Hebrew lessons and other classes.

Institute director Gabor Balazs said the idea was to present to a broad public the diversity of Israel's "mosaic-like" culture.

The institute has been set up as a Hungarian-based foundation, formed via cooperation among the Jewish Agency and Hungarian and Israeli individuals. Sharansky told the media that the institute would demonstrate the Jewish Agency's aim to "support and strengthen," rather than direct, local Jewish communities.

As many as 100,000 Jews live in Hungary, nearly all of them in Budapest. Only a small minority is Jewishly affiliated, but there is an array of Jewish religious, cultural and social institutions. Budapest also is a popular hub for Israeli visitors, including tourists, students and businesspeople.

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Cultural

Wednesday, September 8, 2010