South Dakota House panel kills bill to tax coins, currency

A roll of 20 brilliant uncirculated 1888 Morgan silver dollars. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales.
A roll of 20 brilliant uncirculated 1888 Morgan silver dollars. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales.
A roll of 20 brilliant uncirculated 1888 Morgan silver dollars. Image courtesy of LiveAuctioneers.com Archive and Leland Little Auction & Estate Sales.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) – The owner of a rare coin shop in Rapid City said he’s relieved a South Dakota House Committee has killed a bill that would apply a sales tax to coins, currency and bullion.

“It would put me out of business,” said Louis Anagnostopulos while testifying against a House bill that would levy a 6 percent tax rate on sales of coins and metals at Thursday’s hearing of the Taxation Committee.

Would-be customers would either go online or buy from another state, he told the committee.

“If people brought gold in, it’s not fair to them,” Anagnostopulos said. “We would have to sell out of state because no one is paying 6 percent tax when there are no extra fees online.”

The bill would have repealed the July 2007 removal of state taxes on these collectibles.

Though a summer study committee recommended the repeal on tax exemptions, the house committee disagreed, voting 11-2 against it. The bill proposed a 2 percent city tax on top of the state’s 4 percent sales tax rate. Legislators couldn’t agree on whether the coins and currency should be considered collectibles, which are taxed, or commodities, which aren’t.

Wyoming, North Dakota, Iowa and Montana have no sales tax on rare coins and precious metals. Nebraska and Minnesota do.

Rep. Bernie Hunhoff (D-Yankton) said South Dakota’s sales and use tax is very broad based, and that the tax should apply to retail purchases of coins for investments or collections.

The Revenue Department also supported the bill, estimating the state would bring in about $32,000 a year from the tax.

“It’s nice to add something once in a while to revenue,” the department’s Jane Page said. She said collectibles should all be taxed. “A rare penny from the 1700s is valued at over $1 million — that’s what we’re talking about,” she said.

But Anagnostopulos said the 2007 exemption paved the way for him to open shop. He said gold and silver are commodities and shouldn’t be taxed the same way collectibles such as stamps, old guns and art are.

“A 6 percent tax is more than our margin on gold,” he said, adding that since 2007, four rare coins and precious metal shops have opened in Rapid City.

In February 2007, Bill 1151 passed, exempting coins, currency and bullion, which includes a bar, ingot or commemorative medallion of gold, silver, platinum or palladium, from taxation. The legislation went into effect that July.

___

Follow Veronica Zaragovia on Twitter at http://twitter.com/verozaragovia.

#   #   #

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Small Patton exhibit at Chennault military museum

In this 1943 photo taken near Brolo, Sicily, Lt. Gen. George S. Patton (left) discusses the second daring amphibious landing behind enemy lines on Sicily's northern coast with Lt. Col. Lyle Bernard, who was Commanding Officer of the 30th Infantry Regiment. This U.S. Army Signal Corps photo is currently in the collection of the National Archives and Records Administration.
In this 1943 photo taken near Brolo, Sicily, Lt. Gen. George S. Patton (left) discusses the second daring amphibious landing behind enemy lines on Sicily's northern coast with Lt. Col. Lyle Bernard, who was Commanding Officer of the 30th Infantry Regiment. This U.S. Army Signal Corps photo is currently in the collection of the National Archives and Records Administration.
In this 1943 photo taken near Brolo, Sicily, Lt. Gen. George S. Patton (left) discusses the second daring amphibious landing behind enemy lines on Sicily’s northern coast with Lt. Col. Lyle Bernard, who was Commanding Officer of the 30th Infantry Regiment. This U.S. Army Signal Corps photo is currently in the collection of the National Archives and Records Administration.

MONROE, La. (AP) – An exhibit about Gen. George Patton — including the boots he was wearing in the wreck that killed him — will be on display through March 3 at Chennault Military and Aviation Museum.

The News Star reports that other memorabilia include a photograph of the wrecked car in which Patton was a passenger, a toy soldier he played with as a child and a photograph of Patton and his grandsons John and Pat Waters.

The items are on loan from Patton’s grandson, George Patton Waters, who spoke to a crowd of 200 museum supporters and military buffs at a recent Friends of Chennault Museum.

Museum director Nell Calloway says the exhibit is small, but the museum is “honored to be able to display historical items that belong to the family of an American hero.”

The museum is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.

Patton died Dec. 21, 1945 — 12 days after the car in which he was riding hit a 2 1/2-ton Army truck.

The front of the 1938 Cadillac 75 was smashed, and Patton’s head hit the partition between the front and back seats. His neck was broken.

His chief of staff, in the rear seat next to him, was unhurt.

#   #   #

Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

In this 1943 photo taken near Brolo, Sicily, Lt. Gen. George S. Patton (left) discusses the second daring amphibious landing behind enemy lines on Sicily's northern coast with Lt. Col. Lyle Bernard, who was Commanding Officer of the 30th Infantry Regiment. This U.S. Army Signal Corps photo is currently in the collection of the National Archives and Records Administration.
In this 1943 photo taken near Brolo, Sicily, Lt. Gen. George S. Patton (left) discusses the second daring amphibious landing behind enemy lines on Sicily’s northern coast with Lt. Col. Lyle Bernard, who was Commanding Officer of the 30th Infantry Regiment. This U.S. Army Signal Corps photo is currently in the collection of the National Archives and Records Administration.

Rembrandt exhibit draws 150,000 to N.C. art museum

This Rembrandt self portrait from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is included in the exhibition. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
This Rembrandt self portrait from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is included in the exhibition. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
This Rembrandt self portrait from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is included in the exhibition. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – The North Carolina Museum of Art says its three-month exhibit of Rembrandt paintings collected by Americans pulled a big crowd.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reports the show of works by the Dutch master and others once attributed to him drew more than 150,000 people to the Raleigh museum at $18 per adult ticket.

The museum says that ranks an all-time third behind shows highlighting French painter Claude Monet and sculptor Auguste Rodin with his Thinker. The Rembrandt exhibition of nearly 50 paintings beat earlier shows of works by Picasso and Norman Rockwell,

The exhibit gathered more than $1 billion worth of artwork loaned by private collections and other museums. It now moves to museums in Cleveland and Minneapolis.

___

Information from: The News & Observer, http://www.newsobserver.com

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

This Rembrandt self portrait from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is included in the exhibition. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
This Rembrandt self portrait from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., is included in the exhibition. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Replica ships Nina and Pinta to visit Louisiana ports

Replicas of Christopher Columbus's ships sailed from Spain to the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Replicas of Christopher Columbus's ships sailed from Spain to the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Replicas of Christopher Columbus’s ships sailed from Spain to the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

HOUMA, La. (AP) – Replicas of two of the three ships that Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World will be displayed next month in Houma.

The Nina and Pinta will be open to the public Feb. 17-26 at the Downtown Marina, and will depart on Feb. 27.

A statement from the Columbus Foundation says the Nina was built by hand and without power tools. The Pinta is larger than the ship used by Columbus. It was built recently in Brazil to accompany the Nina.

The vessels tour together as a sailing museum, providing education to school children and maritime enthusiasts about caravels, the broad-bowed three-masted ships used by Columbus and many early explorers.

After Texas visits in March, the ships will be in Lake Charles, La., on April 27-May 8 for the Contraband Days celebration.

Self-guided tours cost $6 to $8. Group tours are $4 per person. A minimum of 15 people is required for group tours.

___

Online:

http://www.thenina.com

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Replicas of Christopher Columbus's ships sailed from Spain to the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Replicas of Christopher Columbus’s ships sailed from Spain to the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Purdue President France Cordova to chair Smithsonian

France A. Codova. Image courtesy of Purdue University.
France A. Codova. Image courtesy of Purdue University.
France A. Codova. Image courtesy of Purdue University.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Smithsonian Institution is having a change in leadership as Purdue University President France Cordova becomes chairwoman of the governing board for the world’s largest museum and research complex.

Cordova was elected in September and assumes the post Monday. She is an astrophysicist and has led the university in Lafayette, Ind., since 2007. Previously she held posts in the University of California system and was chief scientist at NASA. She has served on the Smithsonian Board of Regents since 2009.

Cordova succeeds Patty Stonesifer, a former Microsoft executive and former chief executive of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Stonesifer has served as chairwoman since 2009 and will become vice chair of the board.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

France A. Codova. Image courtesy of Purdue University.
France A. Codova. Image courtesy of Purdue University.

Underground Railroad art on display in Charleston

A map of the Underground Railroad compiled from 'The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom' by Willbur H. Siebert published by the Macmillan Company in 1898. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
A map of the Underground Railroad compiled from 'The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom' by Willbur H. Siebert published by the Macmillan Company in 1898. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
A map of the Underground Railroad compiled from ‘The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom’ by Willbur H. Siebert published by the Macmillan Company in 1898. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) – As the observance of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War continues, artwork depicting the Underground Railroad is going on display in the city where the war began.

The exhibit, entitled “Color in Freedom: Journey Along the Underground Railroad,” opens Saturday at the City Gallery at Charleston’s Waterfront Park.

The exhibit features drawings, paintings and etchings by artist Joseph Holston and was developed by the University of Maryland University College.

The Underground Railroad was a series of routes and safe houses that escaped slaves used to journey to freedom in the North.

The Civil War began with the Confederate bombardment on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor almost 151 years ago.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

A map of the Underground Railroad compiled from 'The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom' by Willbur H. Siebert published by the Macmillan Company in 1898. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
A map of the Underground Railroad compiled from ‘The Underground Railroad from Slavery to Freedom’ by Willbur H. Siebert published by the Macmillan Company in 1898. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Boston Tea Party ship restored, ready for launch

Nathaniel Currier's 1846 lithograph depicts the Boston Tea Party. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Nathaniel Currier's 1846 lithograph depicts the Boston Tea Party. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Nathaniel Currier’s 1846 lithograph depicts the Boston Tea Party. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

GLOUCESTER, Mass. (AP) – The new Boston Tea Party Museum reaches a major milestone this week with the launch of a replica of one of the three tall ships involved in the 1773 event, which helped spark the American Revolution.

The Beaver is scheduled to be launched Monday in Gloucester after a major rebuilding effort that included new frames, hull planks, deck, bow and stern.

The other two ships, the Eleanor and the Dartmouth, are awaiting renovations.

The museum, including the ships, is scheduled to open in June in the Fort Point Channel in Boston, not far from Griffin’s Wharf. That’s the original site of the December 1773 tea party, when colonists dumped tea in the harbor to protest British taxes.

An earlier museum at the site burned in 2001 after a lightning strike.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Nathaniel Currier's 1846 lithograph depicts the Boston Tea Party. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Nathaniel Currier’s 1846 lithograph depicts the Boston Tea Party. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Portrait of Senator ‘Wild Jim’ Lane returns to Kansas

James Henry Lane, first senator of Kansas. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
James Henry Lane, first senator of Kansas. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
James Henry Lane, first senator of Kansas. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

LECOMPTON, Kan. (AP) – An 1890 painting of Kansas’ first senator, “Wild Jim Lane,” will be unveiled next month at the Lecompton Historical Society.

Lane’s descendants recently donated the portrait to Lecompton, where Lane lived during the Civil War.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Lane was a celebrated orator who fought to keep Kansas a free state. He was known as “Wild Jim” because his political opponents successfully characterized him as a bit loony.

The portrait was donated by Lane’s direct descendent James Shaler, of Massachusetts. It will be unveiled as part of a “Bleeding Kansas” history lecture series on Feb. 5.

___

 

Information from: Lawrence Journal-World, http://www.ljworld.com

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

James Henry Lane, first senator of Kansas. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
James Henry Lane, first senator of Kansas. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Multimedia exhibition reprises CBGB’s last riffs

Bruno Hadjadj shot this CBGB visitor wearing a lighted Ramones jacket. Image courtesy of Clic Gallery.
Bruno Hadjadj shot this CBGB visitor wearing a lighted Ramones jacket. Image courtesy of Clic Gallery.
Bruno Hadjadj shot this CBGB visitor wearing a lighted Ramones jacket. Image courtesy of Clic Gallery.

NEW YORK – Barely five years have passed since the famous New York music club CBGB closed, but memories of punk rock’s raucous heydays will come screaming back with multimedia artist Bruno Hadjadj’s exhibition “Bye Bye CBGB,” which will open Monday, Jan. 30, at Clic Gallery, 255 Centre St., in Manhattan.

“Bye Bye CBGB” is composed of black and white prints and silver prints mounted on light boxes with the flickering electric lights animating the figures. The accompanying sketches are rendered with a mix of ink and pencils.

The exhibition chronicles the final goodbye to one of the last relics of New York punk rock and 1970s/1980s underground culture. On Oct. 14, 2006 people came from all other the world to say farewell to CBGB. There were 48-hours of star-studded performances, but it was the emotionally charged goings-on right outside the club’s doors that captivated Hadjadj. Using sketches, photography and videos, he immortalized the anonymous throngs who queued up to pay their final respects. For two days people dedicated poems, artworks, mementos and performances to the legacy of the legendary rock club. Hadjadj’s resultant body of work not only pictures the end of an era, but also pays testament to the incredible endurance of CBGB’s influence.

CBGB is a place that continues to thrive on in the collective unconscious. It’s a historic landmark that belongs just as much to teenagers buying their first Ramones album as it does to those who attended the first Ramones gigs in 1974. It was in this dingy rock den on Bowery and Bleecker that the seeds of punk rock germinated before transforming worldwide counterculture forever.

Forget the Sex Pistols or The Clash—it was homespun heroes like Patti Smith, Television and The Ramones who were at the forefront what we now understand as punk. Dirty, rebellious, crass, unpracticed and irreverent, this new breed of rock ’n’ roll hellcats who performed nightly at CBGB, redefined what it means to be a voice of a generation. During its 33 years in existence, CBGBs dictated and detected new currents and strains of rock ’n’ roll like no one place has since.

Hadjadj was born in Paris and studied at art schools in both Paris and London. In the 1980s he was a participant in the street art movement and was featured in numerous group shows and auctions for emerging artists. At the end of the 1980s, Hadjadj moved to New York where he established himself in the city’s underground art scene and collaborated on music, movies, and art. As a production designer he has worked on more than 200 commercials, music videos and feature films including spots for Canal+ and Les Nubians and The Roots. In 2001 he directed and produced his first feature film, Bandidos, and in 2009 he created the Cutlog, a French art fair dedicated to emerging and avant-garde art.

For details visit Clic Gallery’s website www.clicgallery.com or call 212-966-2766. Copies of Hadjadj’s book, Bye Bye CBGB, can also be ordered at Clic Gallery’s website.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

Bruno Hadjadj shot this CBGB visitor wearing a lighted Ramones jacket. Image courtesy of Clic Gallery.
Bruno Hadjadj shot this CBGB visitor wearing a lighted Ramones jacket. Image courtesy of Clic Gallery.
CBGB club facade, Bowery Street, New York. Photograph by Adam Di Carlo, taken 10/1/2005, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.
CBGB club facade, Bowery Street, New York. Photograph by Adam Di Carlo, taken 10/1/2005, licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.

Abu Dhabi relaunches Guggenheim, Louvre projects

A scale model of Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where the Guggenheim and Louvre museums will be built. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
A scale model of Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where the Guggenheim and Louvre museums will be built. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
A scale model of Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where the Guggenheim and Louvre museums will be built. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.

ABU DHABI (AFP) – The emirate of Abu Dhabi announced on Tuesday that it had given the green light for the completion of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums after construction delays.

The executive council of Abu Dhabi, which functions like a government for the emirate, said it had “approved the budgets and deadlines for the inauguration of projects on the island of Saadiyat, particularly the Louvre, Guggenheim, and Sheikh Zayed” museums.

The statement gave no specific timeline for completion.

In October, the Tourism Development and Investment Co, the government agency in charge of developing the Saadiyat Cultural District, said the plan to open the museums between 2013-2014 was delayed.

Local media reported at the time that projects valued at $30 billion were frozen in a bid to scale back spending.

U.S. architect Frank Gehry designed the Abu Dhabi Guggenheim museum, which aims to be larger than the existing Guggenheims in New York, Las Vegas, Berlin, Bilbao, Spain; and Venice, Italy.

French architect Jean Nouvel designed the desert Louvre.

Oil-rich Abu Dhabi is engaged in an ambitious development plan, “Abu Dhabi 2030,” aimed at modernizing the emirate and diversifying its economy.

Despite the global financial crisis and its severe impact on neighboring Dubai, construction has been going ahead in Abu Dhabi, although at a pace slower than planned.

ADDITIONAL IMAGE OF NOTE

A scale model of Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where the Guggenheim and Louvre museums will be built. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
A scale model of Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where the Guggenheim and Louvre museums will be built. Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.