Colo. Court Strikes Local Program for Private-School Vouchers
The state’s Supreme Court ruled Monday that a Denver-area county’s plan to provide taxpayer-funded vouchers to parents to send their children to private schools violates Colorado’s constitution, reports The New York Times.
Del. Museum Sells 2 More Works to Retire Building Debt
The Delaware Museum of Art said Monday that it has sold paintings by Andrew Wyeth and Winslow Homer to private collectors, completing a controversial “deaccessioning” to repay construction debt and refill its coffers, The News Journal of Wilmington reports.
Nancy Brinker Shifts to Volunteer Role at Susan G. Komen
The founder of the world’s largest breast-cancer charity announced Friday that she is giving up her staff position, returning to what she called her “favorite role” as a volunteer, The Wall Street Journal reports.
‘Voluntourism’ Boom Draws Calls for Stricter Oversight
Some aid groups and academics are calling for tighter controls on the volunteer tourism industry as opportunities to travel with a purpose proliferate, raising questions about the good done by inexperienced Westerners on short-term visits to developing countries, the Thomson Reuters Foundation reports.
Gifts Roundup: $100 Million for Drug Research; Cornell Gets $50 Million
Other gifts include $25 million for Parkinson’s disease research and $4.5 million from former Facebook president Sean Parker to fight malaria.
By Maria Di Mento
Senior Editor
Ruling Could Mean Millions in Taxes for N.J. Hospitals
A New Jersey judge sided with the town of Morristown in its yearslong effort to assess property taxes on a local nonprofit hospital, ruling that the medical center had significantly intermingled for-profit and charitable activities, NJ Spotlight reports.
Gates Foundation Eliminates a Quarter of IT Staff
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has cut 33 of 129 jobs in its information-technology department as part of a reorganization of the unit, technology-news site GeekWire reports.
Faith Groups Prepare for Fight After Gay-Marriage Decision
In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling Friday that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, religious conservatives are focusing on the rights of faith-affiliated schools, hospitals, and charities to set their own policies on employing and serving gays and gay couples, The Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press write.
Mich. Appeals Court Puts New Charity-Poker Rules Into Effect
The Michigan Gaming Control Board can begin enforcing new limits on gambling fundraising events under an order issued Thursday by the state Court of Appeals, which had previously upheld the restrictions, reports Crain’s Detroit Business.
Smithsonian Plans New Rules on Disclosing Research Funding
The Smithsonian Institution will tighten its conflict-of-interest guidelines for researchers with an eye toward preventing corporations and other outside donors from exercising undue influence on scientific studies, reports The New York Times.