By Tom McClimon
June 29, 2009

Two areas worthy of mayors' support — jazz and Chicago's 2016 Olympic Summer Games — stated Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann, Chair of the Tourism, Arts, Parks, Entertainment and Sports Committee as he began the discussions at the committee meeting.

Adrian Ellis, Executive Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center shared with the mayors his thoughts on ways mayors can be supportive of jazz programs in their cities. Some of the programs sponsored by Jazz at Lincoln Center, one of the nation's premier jazz performance and education programs, include the Essentially Ellington jazz program which provides high school jazz bands with jazz contests, materials, and compositions. The band director's academy provides educational support to high school jazz band teachers. "We are looking for new ways to work with you," stated Ellis. One new program is a jazz residency program that will have Wynton Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center's Artistic Director, live in selected cities for a two-to-three week period to provide music education and public performances.

Lori Healey, President of Chicago 2016 gave an update on Chicago's 2016 bid.

Tourism, Arts Parks, Entertainment, and Sports Committee adopted the following resolutions:

• American Investments in Arts — calls for the creation of a cabinet-level Secretary of Culture and Tourism; full funding of the national cultural agencies; expansion of arts education programs; and a call for a White House Conference on the Arts.

• Tourism — calls for the passage of the Travel Promotion Act, expansion of the VISA Waiver program, and the use by the Travel Security Administration of the most up-to-date passenger-friendly technology.

• Executive Orders and Administrative Actions to Support Arts and Tourism — calls for the President to have a Secretary of Homeland Security that believes in welcoming visitors to this country; and that the National Endowment for the Arts be directed to again place a priority on funding local arts agencies' programs.

• Federal Funding for the Arts, Humanities, and Museums — calls for full funding of the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Office of Museum Services.

• National Arts and Humanities Month — calls for October 2009 to be designated and celebrated in cities as National Arts and Humanities Month.

• Honoring Americans for the Arts on the Occasion of Their 50th Anniversary — congratulates this organization which works closely with the U.S. Conference of Mayors on its 50 years of service in promoting the arts in the United States.

• Jazz Day and Jazz Appreciation Month — urges mayors to celebrate April 9, 2010 and the month of April in celebration of jazz.

• Olympic Day — calls for mayors to support Olympic Day on June 23, 2009, and to support the Urban Youth Sports Initiative; and to select Chicago as the Host City for the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

• Support Meetings, Events and Incentive Travel to Protect Local Economies — urges mayors to support travel for meetings and events as economic development tool; and that the U.S. Treasury Department provide guidelines to TARP companies on developing policies as to how meetings and events are to be conducted within the normal course of business operations.

• Increasing Overseas Travel to the U.S. — calls for Congress to pass the Travel Promotion Act; and to improve visa entry policies and procedures.

• National Travel and Tourism Week — urges mayors to recognize the week beginning on the second Saturday in May of each year as National Travel and Tourism Week.

• Promoting Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism Criteria to Increase Travel to U.S. Cities — calls for the Conference of Mayors and mayors to support "green" sustainable travel.

• Edible Gardens — urges mayors to develop, grow, and maintain edible gardens in parks, city hall land, and municipal community gardens. This resolution has also been jointly referred to the Health Committee.

• World Equestrian Games — commends cities in Kentucky for hosting the World Equestrian Games in the United States for the first time.

• Modernizing America's Aviation System for the 21st Century — calls for the reform and modernization of America's aviation system through a new air traffic control system, development of alternative aviation fuels, and the development of a more system wide intermodal approach to transportation planning in order to deliver a more integrated air and rail network. This resolution has also been jointly referred to the Transportation Committee.

• Modernizing America's Aviation System for the 21st Century Through the Reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) — calls upon the Congress to act now to reauthorize this FAA rather than utilizing continuing resolutions making it difficult for airport officials to plan future projects and the efficient transformation to the NextGen, which would convert that nation's radar-based air traffic control system into a satellite-based air traffic control system; and urges Congress to fully fund NextGen; and urges the Congress to authorize at least $3.8 billion in Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding, with an increase of $100 million each year thereafter; and urges the Congress to raise the maximum Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) cap to $7.50 per flight and index this increase to inflation; and urging Congress to reduce the aviation industry's dependence on oil and reduce aviation's environmental effects, including carbon emissions, by providing resources to finance research and development of alternative fuels and engines that consume less fuel and significantly reduce aircraft noise, and funding and technical assistance for many airport environmental activities; and urging Congress to ensure that the proposed National Rail Plan and successor legislation to SAFETEA-LU and Vision 100 increase flexibility and streamline planning processes to encourage a more systemwide intermodal approach to transportation planning and development in order to deliver more integrated air and rail networks, whereby many short-range flights are replaced by high'speed rail (HSR) and intercity passenger rail (IPR); and urges Congress to consider measures that help to promote service to our nation's metropolitan areas where significantly diminished due to financial problems in the airline industry; and urging Congress to ensure that small communities continue to receive air service by fully funding the Essential Air Service (EAS) program.

• The United States Conference of Mayors National Culinary Award — calls for mayors to participate in The United States Conference of Mayors National Culinary Award to recognize the unique contributions the culinary industry provides cities and to the creative industry in America.

• Encouraging Green Communities — calls for an increase in federal funding to enhance the quality of life of city residents through investment in greening projects that engage the public in hands-on neighborhood stewardship of urban natural resources.