We can talk all day about the poor policy decision made by elected officials years ago to create and heavily subsidize Raleigh’s Exploris museum, but that would be a waste of time. It’s here and it continues to receive public dollars. However, recent actions-including staff layoffs-by Bonnie Hancock, a new executive, provide a glimmer of hope that the museum will be weaned off the Wake County public dole, at least in part. This Triangle Business Journal story contains the following encouraging paragraph:
County Manager David Cooke says he will meet with Hancock within the next week or so. He says commissioners are looking for progress in several areas, including private fundraising, debt reduction, cost controls and ticket sales.
So who is this new exec who’s willing to make tough decisions and seems to be one of the first to understand the museum is a money pit for public dollars? Here’s an interesting profile of Hancock and the museum from Raleigh News & Observer op-ed columnist Rick Martinez.