**I know a lot of you are into the Crucible and Art Murmur. I received this from the RPSC mailing list today. I had no clue. It only take a minute to send an email, please do it!**

An Urgent Message from City of Oakland Cultural Affairs Commission and RPSC!

Dear Artists, Members & Patrons,

The Oakland City Council is considering suspending Oakland Arts funding this year as an alternative to the Mayor's Budget. We need your help- Whether you live or work in Oakland or elsewhere in the East Bay- Berkeley, Emeryville, Richmond, Alameda!

If you like the Oakland Art Murmur, community programming, free classes, and collaborations RPSC offers, then this affects you! A suspension of this program this year would have dire impacts on all of Oakland Arts, including Creative Growth, the Oakland/East Bay Symphony, the Crucible, Pro Arts, Eastside Arts Alliance, MOCHA, and RPSC!

This is the time to act! Here's how:

1.) Forward this urgent email to as many people as possible.

2.) Sign the online petition at www.ipetitions.com/petition...ndex.html

3.) Come to the Oakland City Council Meeting on Tuesday October 21,6pm
City Hall- One Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Second Floor Oakland, CA 94612

4.) Contact an Oakland Council Member and let them know how important Oakland/East Bay arts are to you!

Funding for the Cultural Arts and Marketing Department is on the chopping block and will be voted on by the Oakland City Council this Tuesday, October 21. The meeting begins at 6pm and this topic is currently Item 19 on the Agenda, so it could be a long night. Grant funding is in jeopardy, as are all of the staff positions. This is a serious threat to a thriving but already under-funded community. We do understand that the City's finances are in a dire situation, but the fact of the matter is that the cultural arts department has historically borne more than its share of cuts and now represents only .4% (4/10 of 1%) of the overall city budget, yet serves 6,273 children and youth through the art in the schools program (most of whom would not have access to arts without these programs), and another 957,650 people through performances, events, etc. Not only will department staff lose their jobs: staff an d teachers in the already-fragile arts sector will also lose jobs. The arts are not a luxury! Children and youth who participate in arts programs and learn positive ways to express themselves are less likely to engage in unsafe or criminal activities. Neighborhoods with visual and performing arts venues bring in $$s to the local economy, help prevent crime and violence by "keeping the lights on", and add to the overall quality of life in our city.

If you are an artist, educator, work for an arts organization, enjoy arts events, have a kid in an arts program in one of Oakland's schools or community centers, or have friends that are artists, please join us to make our voices heard. WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

There are currently three council members who are opposed to cutting arts funding: Nancy Nadel, Jane Brunner, and Desley Brooks. All other council members have indicated that they will vote to cut the program. Please don't let this happen!! Contact your council person immediately (preferably before Monday) and let them know that cutting the arts program is unacceptable. Also, let the three council members that support the arts know how much you appreciate their support. Below is contact info for each of the district council members:

District 1, Jane Brunner, jbrunner@oaklandnet.com, (510) 238-7001;
District 2, Pat Kernighan,pkernighan@oaklandnet.com, (510) 238-7002;
District 3, Nancy Nadel, nnadel@oaklandnet.com, (510) 238-7003;
District 4, Jean Quan, jquan@oaklandnet.com, (510) 238-7004;
District 5, Ignacio de la Fuente. idelafuente@oaklandnet.com, (510) 238-7005;
District 6, Desley Brooks, dbrooks@oaklandnet.com, (510) 238-7006;
District 7, Larry Reid, lreid@oaklandnet.com, (510) 238-7007
At-Large, Henry Chang, Jr., hchang@oaklandnet.com

Not sure who your council member is? Click here to find out: www.oaklandnet.com/oit/CDST/DistMain.cfm

Please forward this to your staff, board, friends, students, their parents, your mailing list, etc. It is our responsibility to make our voices heard - and to let the officials know that we represent a larger portion of the public than they think!

Thank you in advance for getting involved,

Lori Zook, Acting-Chair
City of Oakland Cultural Affairs Commission

Nicole Neditch, Co-Dierctor, Oakland Art Gallery
Vice-Chair, City of Oakland Cultural Affairs Commission

RPSC Members and Volunteers