Week of May 1, 2025
From the editor’s desk
On Tuesday, Nevada Humanities received a lifeline—at least a temporary one—after being defunded by DOGE in early April.
The Mellon Foundation—a large, national, private philanthropic institution—announced a $15 million emergency grant to the Federation of State Humanities Councils, to be distributed to the 56 state and regional humanities councils that lost funding in April. The federation is also a private organization—not to be confused with the National Endowment for the Humanities, the federally funded organization that was eviscerated by DOGE.
Of the $15 million in Mellon funding to be distributed nationally, approximately $250,000 is earmarked for Nevada Humanities. That’s about a quarter of what that organization lost as a result of the April cuts.
Christina Barr, Nevada Humanities’ executive director, shared some details by phone yesterday. The group is expected to receive $200,000 in outright grant funding. It may also see additional funds in the form of a challenge grant—for each dollar that Nevada Humanities can raise, the federation has offered to match it, up to $50,000.
“This will help stabilize us in a time of great need,” Barr said.
She plans to put the new funding toward operations and keeping Nevada Humanities’ staff of four intact, but the group will not be able to disperse the grant funds that it had allocated for 30 Nevada arts and culture groups this year.
Among those groups is the Holland Project.
“We lost about $8,000 (in already-allocated Nevada Humanities funding), which for an organization like Holland is very significant,” said executive director Britt Curtis. That funding would have supported the group’s Curator Series, including related talks, workshops and publications. It is not yet clear which events may need to be canceled and which might be funded by other means.
Curtis, who has shepherded the all-ages arts organization through economic slumps in the past, most recently during the COVID-19 pandemic, is also concerned about a possible ripple effect as a result of what she called “the chaos and the uncertainty in the market.” She noted that philanthropists and donors may change their giving behavior during lean or uncertain times, which could affect the group’s ability to fund other programs.
I’m keeping a close eye on ongoing federal funding cuts that will affect local art and culture groups, and I’ll keep you up to date.
Take care,
—Kris Vagner, managing editor
Update, May 1, 4:21 p.m.: A federal lawsuit was filed today seeking to reinstate funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities. This news comes a month after sudden, drastic cuts threatened the existence of Nevada Humanities and imposed financial strain on the Nevada arts and culture organizations that it supports. The American Council of Learned Societies, the American Historical Association and the Modern Language Association filed the lawsuit against DOGE and the NEH, calling “to require the Trump Administration to operate NEH as Congress intended, unless and until Congress says otherwise.” Today’s press release has more details.
From the RN&R
Insider viewpoints on public lands: Secrecy and confusion abound regarding DOGE’s mass firings and cutbacks. Here’s what we know.
By Kris Vagner
April 26, 2025
The Trump administration cut tens of thousands of jobs across the federal government in February, and reinstated many of them in March. On April 18, a federal judge ordered the administration to concede in writing that the reason it gave to 17,000 probationary workers for their terminations—their performance—was a sham.
A move to ban book bans: AB 416 seeks protections for librarians while letting courts—not boards—decide on book-removal requests
By Jimmy Boegle
April 25, 2025
AB 416 would also criminalize harassment, threats or coercion toward library employees regarding the removal of books, and make it illegal to disseminate the personal information of school and library employees.
11 Days a Week: May 1-11, 2025
By Kelley Lang
April 30, 2025
Coming up in the next 11 days: hip-hop history for families at three venues; the Women on Fire Reno art and music festival; and more!
May letters: Readers sound off on proposed Jiffy Lube, Trump expenditures, Trump tariffs
By Staff
April 30, 2025
The proposed Jiffy Lube at Hunter Lake and Mayberry drives would create a serious safety hazard for local children, writes one reader.
Guest coment: Nevada’s future depends on fully funding our schools
By Vicki Kreidel
April 29, 2025
“While funding isn’t a magic fix, it is the foundation upon which meaningful progress is built. Quality education requires investment, and our children should not have to fight for the resources that are considered a given in other states.”
Friendly fire: ‘The Accountant 2’ trades some violence for a buddy-comedy vibe
By Bob Grimm
April 28, 2025
Returning director Gavin O’Connor keeps the action intense, but also opts for a more lighthearted vibe between Ben Affleck’s Christian Wolff and his brother, Braxton (Jon Bernthal).
Buried under bodies: The underdeveloped script of ‘Havoc’ wastes a lot of talent
By Bob Grimm
April 28, 2025
Director Gareth Evans delivers a couple of decent set pieces on the action side, but the script and performances fail to create any characters worth the audience’s emotional investment.
May skies: The month includes lovely early morning views of the Milky Way
By Robert Victor
May 1, 2025
Here’s what to look for in the night sky this month.
Note from the publisher: The undeniable cruelty of Trump’s cuts and methods
By Jimmy Boegle
April 27, 2025
The so-called Department of Government Efficiency’s cuts have been damaging, widespread and downright cruel.
Editor’s note: Money spent on the arts isn’t wasted
By Kris Vagner
April 27, 2025
The money that governments spend on arts and culture does not evaporate into thin air. It gets invested right back into communities, and it generates a substantial amount of tax revenue.
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April 25, 2025
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