Dog Days

My wife, son and I became fans of the band OK GO just after they left their record label EMI and it was covered on NPR’s All Things Considered. Molly Sheridan wrote on her AJ blog about this high profile split in January too. It even made the cover of Billboard Magazine. We absolutely became fans […]

On Sunday, I’m participating in University of Hartford’s President’s College Showcase 2010. Dean Aaron Flagg of the Hartt School is convening a panel to focus on the future of orchestras. (We start at 11:30am) He asked each of us to submit a written response to this question for publication in the program. The orchestra field […]

The race for California Governor is sure to be the highest profile, most expensive, and most media focused election in the country this year. This means it’s also the most important race for arts advocates to engage. So we’re doing it! This week a consortium of California artists, arts organizations, arts educators, and arts coalitions […]

San Diego is hosting the first of a series of events across California to bring attention to the importance of the arts and arts education to candidates for elected office. If you are in San Diego for the day on Friday, join us at 5pm for our 2010 Arts and Culture Election Mixer at the […]

I’ve had the good fortune to participate in a variety of state and national gatherings focused on the future of the arts, arts advocacy, and non-profit advocacy since May. This week, I attended a Nonprofit Advocacy Policy Roundtable organized by the Nonprofit Listening Post Project based at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Civil Society Studies. […]

San Diego may be far from the halls of power in Washington D.C., and even Sacramento, but it’s a rising leader in high tech economic development – an acknowledged key to the United States’ economic future. And the business leaders that have made San Diego a technology success are making the case for the arts […]

I’ve never wished I could be at an event hosted by Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggar before this week. I missed his very public endorsement of the Arts License Plate campaign on Monday. Unfortunately, being in Los Angeles just wasn’t an option for me this week. But being there isn’t the important thing, being a Californian with […]

Over the last week, multiple people have said, “I saw you on TV!” (Including a City Councilmember) My celebrity moment was really a coat tails moment as I spoke at San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders’ press conference release of our 2009 Arts and Culture Economic and Community Impact Report. And I know the people that saw it on […]

NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman came to San Diego on Monday to launch Blue Star Museums. Over 600 museums (including 14 in San Diego) will be free from Memorial Day to Labor Day for active duty military and their dependent families. This was a national media event for the arts and San Diego Youth Symphony. Check us […]

I came up with the name Dog Days for this blog because I knew sometimes the world around overwhelms all intention of being an active advocate. I now realize that it can overwhelm the intention of blogging. The name is my call to myself and everyone not to succumb to inertia since everyday has the […]