The economic recession is now trickling down to public centers. Milwaukee organizers who have been planning a $10 million African-American Cultural Center for the past 13 years is saying it’s nearly impossible to continue raising money to build the 60,000 square-foot center, according to the Associated Press. The space would have been used for meetings, banquets, exhibits, and businesses for Blacks in various communities. The operation will permanently shut down on April 15, 2009. The chairman of the group, Tyrone Dumas, released a statement saying that the poor economy forced organizers to give up.—JW