The City of Detroit is nearing a pension cuts deal which may allow the Detroit Institute of Arts to spin off from city ownership, provided state funding, foundation contributions and Detroit Institute of Arts fund-raising would provide $816 million to reduce potential cuts to city pensions.  The city is sell engaged with talks with representatives from the city’s largest pension funds. (more…)

Beginning May 1st, The Smithsonian Institution will initiate rolling cuts to the hours of certain museum institutions, and will close other galleries to compensate for the sequestration budget cuts.  The cuts, which consisted of a 5% reduction of the total budget, has been handled by scaling back travel and training programs, but museum leaders warn that major sacrifices may be necessary if the reductions remain in place through 2014. (more…)

In the face of a $40 Million cut as a result of Congress’s budget stalemate, the Smithsonian Museums are prepared to maintain their normal hours, vowing to find their way around the cuts in more creative ways.  The museums will absorb the cuts through delays in maintenance and construction, as well as other internal adjustments.  “We think we have a plan that allows us to squeak through to the end of this fiscal year. But we can’t sustain this,” Said Dennis Kelly, Director of the National Zoo. “At the end of the fiscal year, if we’re still in this mode, the entire Smithsonian is going to have to rethink all of our priorities.” (more…)