Showtime on thy dime

By: Barbara Hollingsworth
Local Opinion Editor
July 3, 2009

WHO: Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.

WHAT: DeLauro attached a $150,000 earmark to the 2010 Interior-Environment appropriations bill to refurbish an opera house in New Haven County, Connecticut. If the bill is approved by the Senate and signed by President Obama, the Sterling Opera House will get a massive interior makeover paid for with federal funding.

WHY IT'S AN OUTRAGE: The opera house has been vacant since 1965 and hasn't been used as a theater since 1945. New Haven County's 8.4 percent unemployment rate is at a 17-year high. DeLauro defended the earmark, claiming that the renovations will "generate tremendous interest in the arts."
WHERE TO VENT: Contact DeLauro at: 202-225-3661.

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Reader Comments

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matt

Jul 3, 2009

Even more outrageous is the fact that extensively renovating a theater won't create any work for local residents!

Oh, wait.

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