Off the news: Public funding for culture and arts saved

Supporters of public funding for the arts prevailed on Tuesday, when a Senate committee deferred House Bill 1807, which would have deleted the 1% of Capital Improvement Plan spending on public building renovations — typically about $2.5 million — appropriated annually for public art acquisitions and programs by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts.

Opposition to the cuts came from all islands, with sign-carrying advocates at the Capitol and more than 1,200 pages of testimony submitted. Keith Regan, comptroller for the state Department of Accounting and General Service, testified that “tremendous value to the public has been achieved” with the funding.