|
Just Like in the Movies
The curtain closed on Movies on Market Square after a resounding success! The last showing was a double feature of The Princess Bride and The Goonies. It was heartening to see this incredible event that we created together. There were people in lawn chairs all the way to Union Avenue and even behind the screen on Wall Avenue. They filled every inch of viewable space and some not so viewable space.
One very inventive 13-year-old girl decided to bake buttercream cupcakes and sell them to benefit the library! Her display would have made Martha Stewart proud. It is wonderful to see an event take on a life of its own.
We heard people all over the county talking about the Movies. In one short season, we made an impact that will affect the quality of life in Knoxville and help the continued effort to revitalize downtown. For the library, we were able to highlight our collections and programs and let people know about this incredible resource available to them. We are truly looking forward to creating this event next year.
On behalf of the Knox County Public Library, the Friends of the Library and Market Square District Association, thank you so very much for your contribution. The support from Metro Pulse made it possible. It was with your help that Movies on Market Square was such a fantastic success. See you at the Movies!
Mary Pom Claiborne
Communications Administrator
Knox County Public Library
Let Me Clear My Throat
As I was reading [the Oct 21] Metro Pulse, I was just astounded at Mr. John A. Guerin’s letter (“Tearing out the Hair” ). I felt compelled to rip him up one side and down the other, forget all that intellectual crap.
(Clearing my throat) I do not say to anyone “Accept gay marriage.” I say who are we to tell someone who they can or cannot marry. I do not say “Abortion on demand.” I say it’s a woman’s choice! Do you honestly think making abortion illegal will stop it from happening? I say “Spread democracy” but not by force!
I think that it is absolutely wonderful that Afghanistani women can now vote and go to school! Sir, I am no hypocrite!
If you could ever look past your up-in-the-air New York socialite Republican nose, you would see that most Democrats are very reasonable, positive and never boring.
I am not any kind of socialite, nor do I claim any uber-intellectual prowess. I am an average American hoping for a better future for my son, and it does not include George W. Bush. Now that brings a smile to my face!
Sunshine D. Harness
Knoxville
Council Travel Pays
I want to thank you for your Ear to the Ground piece on my travel efforts on behalf of the city (“A Ramblin’ Man,” Oct. 21). Since I began serving in elected office nearly three years ago, I’ve found that there are many things I do as a part of my City Council work that go unnoticed. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it is good for the people of Knoxville to know that their representatives are working on their behalf, and I believe it’s particularly helpful when they can know what we’re actually doing.
When I took office, I made the decision that I was going to treat this job as full time and do everything I could to accomplish as much as possible for this wonderful city within the short period of time available (a maximum of two four-year terms). I knew the areas where I would see the biggest payoff for my efforts over the long term would be in the areas of community and economic development, and transportation. These are two areas I care passionately about.
I have spent a significant amount of time and effort researching these areas of focus and networking with some of the most experienced practitioners in the nation prior to being elected to office, and I continue to do so. I have traveled on my own nickel and on the city’s in order to continue this effort of self-education and contact development. When I travel, I do so very frugally, so I can insure that I get the most from every dollar, whether it be my own or the taxpayers.
It has been common practice over the years for City Council members to attend the conferences of the National League of Cities (NLC), with the annual conference being the one normally attended. I have tried this traditional approach and have found the resulting opportunity to share with and learn from colleagues who hail from cities throughout the nation to be very rewarding. I have joined two NLC interest groups: The University Cities Caucus (NLC UCC) and the Central Cities Council (NLC CCC). The UCC provides an opportunity for elected officials from cities that contain major universities to share their unique experiences and solutions to problems. The CCC is a forum for cities that are the largest city and hub of their metropolitan region to come together.
I have found that the most rewarding NLC conference for me is not the general meeting, but rather the annual Congressional Cities Conference that occurs each March in Washington, DC. By attending that conference, I have the same networking opportunities, plus I am able to spend time on “The Hill” lobbying for the needs of our city and region. That really makes it a double duty conference. Also, it’s generally cheaper to travel to our nation’s capital than it is to most other cities the NLC annual meeting is held in, and I can usually stay with a friend there to further reduce my expenses.
The current City Council budget has a reasonable amount budgeted ($2,000/year) for travel, conferences and meetings for each Council member, and I believe it’s a good investment for our city if used judiciously. Used in such a manner, it’s a modest and well-spent investment in the education of those people we elect to be the legislators and policy makers for our city.
City Council members who are serious about their job benefit greatly from such educational efforts. I realize not all Council members can spend as much time as I do working on their Council responsibilities, but I fully expect that more of them will utilize this important opportunity in the coming months.
Joe Hultquist
Knoxville City Councilman
1st District
Betting on the Bijou
Please allow me to attempt to clarify for your readers what was reported in [the Oct. 28] “Ear to the Ground” [item] regarding the Bijou. What you reported simply isn’t accurate. You mentioned that the management ”of the Bijou had received an offer to buy the theater, and that management had rejected it and refused to take it to the board. First of all, management is the board of trustees.
This board has received many inquiries regarding buying the theater since June 15, but none have been bona fide written offers. In other words, most of what some might consider an offer has been just talk—phone conversations, what-ifs and the like. Further, most of the deals would have placed restrictions on the theater that are not acceptable to the board in keeping with its mission to keep the theater absolutely free of encumbrances to community use.
Lastly, and most importantly, the Bijou Theatre Center, Inc. has received, as a qualified 501(c)(3) organization, a capital improvement grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the amount of $567,000. It was championed by Congressman Duncan and has already been appropriated by Congress. We are completing the paperwork for a Dec. 31 deadline. This money will go a long way toward helping the theater catch up on deferred maintenance and may even be enough for some other improvements, including a new marquee and ticket booth. If the Bijou sells the theater to another party, we lose the grant.
Having said all of this, this wonderful old theater is indeed running out of time. Many in our community continue to step up, and I am grateful to them, but we’re not there yet. This board is committed to turning this theater around once and for all. This is not another “save the Bijou” campaign. Rather, it is an attempt to fix 30 years of accumulated debt and return the theater to a sustainable business model. That’s what I pledged to do as chairman, and God help me, I will not rest until it’s complete. We’re getting closer, day by day.
Chuck Morris
Chairman
Bijou Theatre Center
November 4, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 45
© 2004 Metro Pulse
|
| 
