This is not what is usually meant by "pork barrel".  Those are usually
projects of no use outside of the local area.  Museums are for the education
of all and sundry (and can often be a means of attracting outsiders).  As
such, they are of use to the country--much more so than many pork barrel
projects, IMO.

Robin K Panza                         [log in to unmask]
Collection Manager, Section of Birds          ph:  412-622-3255
Carnegie Museum of Natural History       fax: 412-622-8837
4400 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh  PA  15213-4008  USA

-----Original Message-----
From: Ross Weeks [mailto:[log in to unmask]]

I would guess this is certainly true in some states, including Virginia, and
it is unfortunate.

But it is not all "bad."  The initiative comes from the community to obtain
state support or to build this or that museum.  The Museum of American
Frontier Culture in Staunton, Va. is a good example -- the community leaders
had secured almost a million dollars before the state was asked to commit to
building it.  It is a state museum.

State legislative grants to non-state museums in Virginia must be matched
dollar for dollar, which helps encourage local philanthropy and therefore
local commitment.

Ross Weeks Jr.
Tazewell Va.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Indigo Nights" <[log in to unmask]>
> There's a rather interesting article in today's Sacramento Bee that says,
among other things:
>
> "But perhaps the most intriguing form of contemporary pork barrel spending
is an explosion of state-financed museums commemorating one thing or
another."
>

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