The White House this month proposed a budget calling for the elimination of three cultural agencies: the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). While the impact to the federal budget would be negligible, the cultural impact at the community level could be more pronounced. This is the second in a three-part series examining that possible impact.

The loss of these cultural agencies would extend beyond the stages and galleries dotted across town and into the classrooms, where students have in the past benefitted in terms of materials and opportunities made possible by the NEA.

“It’s a huge loss,” says Dr. Larry Thompson, president of Ringling College of Art and Design. The college has no current grant with the NEA, but in the past has received many, including a four-year grant ending in 2015 that totaled just over $200,000. Ringling College was able to match that funding at a ratio of three to one and fund a series of scholarships for underprivileged youth looking to attend an art and design college. That’s tangible impact, but even more “tremendous,” according to Thompson, is the symbolic impact that an NEA endorsement can have on fundraising and reputation. And that’s something he’ll miss more than the funding.

“It signifies a lack of understanding of the importance of arts and culture in our society,” Thompson says, “and that’s the really troublesome piece, because arts and culture are where the heart and soul are.”

Alongside institutional offerings such as scholarships, the loss of the NEA and agencies like it would have scattered effects across the country, even reaching into individual classrooms. Dr. Amy Reid, a professor of French literature at New College of Florida, has for the last 16 years dedicated time not teaching to translating the works of the Cameroonian writer Patrice Nganang from French to English, completing two novels and an assortment of shorter pieces already. She uses these in her class, where she teaches students in both French and English.

“I wanted to be sure that my students who read in English, and the broader public, had access to beautiful and meaningful works of literature,” says Reid. Currently, and with help from a grant from the NEA, Reid is translating a third of Nganang’s novels exploring the history of Cameroon, particularly around the time of Charles De Gaulle and the Free French Forces. “We need to recognize that the NEA, the NEH and the CPB have huge impacts across our country,” she says, “and when we support artists, we are making the world of art accessible. This is something we should value.”

Thompson also sees the move to defund as shortsighted at a time when the future needs innovation and dreamers who can imagine the world of tomorrow. “One of the biggest things we need in our society is creativity,” he says. “It’s needed in all industries and the arts are really the epicenter of creative thought.”

“The arts are where it all begins.” 

Editor’s Note: This is part thirteen of an ongoing series documenting the flights of active-duty US Navy Pilot Ryan Rankin on his journey to fly 52 planes in 52 weeks through the year 2017.

When Rankin first started planning this yearlong project, the BushCat Light Sport Aircraft was at the top of the list. Like the Duke, it has that ineffable ramp presence—something aggressive but fun in the way it sits on the runway like 700 pounds of aluminum tubing and trilam skin waiting to pounce. “It just looks like a plane you’ll have fun in,” says Rankin. “Like you could just take off, land in a field and go camping.” After numerous flights cancelled by everything from scheduling conflicts to freak fog banks in North Florida, Rankin finally managed to take off with Brody Hughes of Salt Air Aviation on a chilly 45-degree morning.

Manufactured in South Africa by SkyReach, the no-frills bush plane has quickly become an aircraft of choice for anti-poaching outfits, thanks to its nimble nature. With big wheels and low weight, the BushCat can not only handle rough, unpaved terrain, but also needs little in the way of length when it comes to finding a runway to take off from or land on. Perfect for the backcountry and spontaneous flights, the BushCat’s usefulness in preventing poaching becomes obvious.

Rugged and utilitarian, the BushCat is decidedly not an aerobatic plane, says Rankin. “But aerobatics is a very small part of flying and general aviation,” he adds. The majority of aviation entails getting from Point A to Point B and simply enjoying the experience of flying. And in that column, Rankin gives the BushCat high marks, finding the plane “surprisingly stable and steady,” especially given that it’s “essentially sailboat fabric and aluminum tubing.” Cruising over the beach and swooping low over the waves (away from populated areas, says Rankin), the BushCat gave little jostle and required no extra manhandling by the pilot.

But while the BushCat is considerably stable in the air, groundwork has a learning curve. “Even for a tailwheel,” says Rankin, “it’s a little bit trickier of an aircraft.” The big wheels that make it so great for backcountry puddle-jumping, also give the plane an extra spring that can make landings sensitive. It’s even harder on  asphalt, where the tires have an extra bite, threatening to throw off directional control. “You really have to be on top of it,” says Rankin. “You can’t let it get away from you.”

For more about the flight in Rankin's own words and a video of the flight, follow the link below. 

Pictured: Brody Hughes (left) and Ryan Rankin fly the BushCat LSA. Photo courtesy of Ryan Rankin.

Ryan Flies

Even the most modern gal needs a bit of vintage flare every now and again. Retro Rosie is there to suit you up in the hippest of the old world, with brooches and pendants plucked straight from the Roaring '20s. Add one of these hand-carved cameos to your silk collar to update your working-woman uniform, stack the bracelet style with a delicate gold watch or string a pendant along a 16-inch gold chain for an unforgettable statement piece—you'll be the talk of the town.   

Photo courtesy of Retro Rosie.

Retro Rosie, 817 Manatee Ave. E, Bradenton, 941-708-0913.

Readers of Ballpark Digest and Spring Training Online were asked to select their favorite Grapefruit League venue this past March. Capturing at least 65 percent over three rounds of voting, LECOM Park was chosen as the fan favorite for the second straight year. The final round saw fans select the spring home of the Pittsburgh Pirates by a 67.9-percent to 32.1-percent margin over Hammond Stadium, spring home of the Minnesota Twins. The ballpark is also the regular-season home of the Florida State League’s Bradenton Marauders. Built in 1923 for the St. Louis Cardinals and known by many old-timers as the former spring home of the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, LECOM Park is a ballpark where Roberto Clemente gracefully patrolled the outfield, where Willie Stargell engaged the fans and where generations of Pirates greats began their seasons over the last 48 years in Bradenton. Enhancements over the past few years saw the construction of a right-field boardwalk and a center-field Tiki bar, installation of new seats and new grandstand roofs and expanded concessions. 

City of Bradenton

Starting this month, 11 Sarasota-Manatee area Jewish organizations will get the support they need building endowments, thanks to the newly launched LIFE & LEGACY program. The Sarasota-Manatee LIFE & LEGACY program, which joins similar efforts in more than 40 cities around the country, is a four-year partnership program of the Harold Grinspoon Foundation and managed by The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee. Through the program, lay leaders and staff from a cross-section of synagogues, social service agencies, and day schools will receive the appropriate training, support and monetary incentives to start conversations, secure legacy gifts, steward donors and integrate legacy giving into the philanthropic culture of the Jewish community. To lead this initiative and serve as the liaison between the community and the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, Gisele Pintchuck has been appointed the local LIFE & LEGACY director. 

The Jewish Federation of Sarasota-Manatee

Kendra Simpkins, MSW has joined MindSpa to provide Rapid Resolution Therapy (RRT) to support veterans and other clients dealing with trauma and mental health issues. She owns Sarasota Rapid Resolution Therapy and works with the founder of RRT, Dr. Jon Connelly. RRT is an integrative therapy that credentialed practitioners use to help clear anxiety, guilt and grief associated with prior trauma. Simpkins earned a master of science in social work from Columbia University and a bachelor of arts in psychology from the University of South Florida. She’s currently a registered clinical social work intern. Simpkins served in the US Army as an intelligence analyst and was honorably discharged in 2010. During her graduate studies at Columbia, she conducted research in PTSD and trauma at Columbia Medical Center and provided therapeutic counseling to many veterans. Simpkins has also served as a peer mentor with the Wounded Warrior Project. 

MindSpa Sarasota