Two quick notes:

First, the American Symphony Orchestra League is reporting that the full House Appropriations Committee has approved the major arts funding increases which the Interior Subcommittee had recommended on May 23rd.  InsideHigherEd.com confirms the story, saying that

“The House Appropriations Committee approved legislation Thursday that would increase spending on the National Endowment for the Humanities to $160 million in the 2008 fiscal year, up sharply from the $141.4 million that the agency is receiving this year. The bill, which finances the Interior Department and numerous other agencies such as non gamstop casinos, would also provide $160 million to the National Endowment for the Arts, which would represent a $35 million increase over its 2007 allocation.”

Next stop is the House Floor.  As I said before, there remain many opportunities for this funding proposal to die, but so far it remains unscathed.

Second, our friends Drew McManus of Adaptastration and Frank Oteri of NewMusicBox are going to be on Sound Check on WNYC this afternoon, discussing whether blogs can fill the void left by declining arts coverage in the mainstream media.  The show airs at 2 PM, and you can catch the web stream at wnyc.org if you’re outside of the New York region.  Sound Check also posts its episodes on the website within a few hours of the air time, so you can hear the rerun there.  You tell ’em, Drew and Frank!