SAN FRANCISCO, July 15 (Xinhua) -- The Alaska State Council on the Arts (ASCA) was officially closed Monday, leaving Alaska as the only U.S. state without a state arts agency, a local newspaper reported.
Dozens of artists and Alaskan residents gathered in front of the arts council in Anchorage to bid farewell to the state's arts organization amid a somber atmosphere, as the 2.8-million-dollar funding for the agency was cut by a state budget veto by Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy last month, said the Anchorage Daily News (ADN).
Dunleavy withdrew 444 million U.S. dollars from Alaska's state operating budget, slashing services beyond the cuts already made by the Alaska Legislature to balance the budget without raising taxes. Critics said the vetoes mainly targeted education, healthcare and social services.
The ASCA is the only agency that had its state funding fully eliminated by Dunleavy's vetoes.
Alaskan lawmakers, whose views were sharply divided over the state's budget, failed to secure three-quarters of its 60 members, or 45 votes, to override Dunleavy's vetoes last Wednesday.
