Priscilla Murphy's blog
WCHL is reporting Bruce Stone's official announcement that he's closing the Varsity theater. He provided them a written statement that's likely to appear shortly in the newspapers as well.
Some excerpts regarding the film industry and Stone's situation with the Varsity: "This is a business decision, a bottom-line decision. . . . The Varsity especially has been struggling for over two years, with no prospect of an upturn any time soon. . . with the summers being especially difficult... Our landlord has been understanding and supportive throughout our tenure."
Of particular note, however, are his comments about the downtown situation:
The NY Times today ran a brief, not particularly incisive, story on increased town-gown friction because of the recession. "Slump Revives Town-Gown Divide Across US" http://tinyurl.com/NYTtownoGown (registration required) "As endowments everywhere sink with the economy, town-gown
relationships, often carefully nurtured during the boom years as
colleges and universities sought to expand, are fraying."
At a time when partisans seem to be cherishing antagonisms and keeping wounds open, it's nice to have a reason to celebrate a town treasure in common.
Rudy Tempesta, our 83-year-old letter-carrier on the Estes-West Coker Hills route (I think we're all the 2413 part of the zipcode), was honored yesterday for not one but two million miles without an accident over 63 years of service to the US Postal Service.
That's remarkable enough, but as "Rudy's people" have come to learn, there's a lot more to him than putting catalogues and bills in our mailboxes. At yesterday's ceremony amid the sorting stations at the Estes Dr. post office, Rudy showed off one of the five medals he got for flying missions in WW2, when he was part of the group covering the Tuskegee airmen, and he pointed out the other veterans he now works with.
Worry about the effect of the economic downturn coupled with changes in information technology is generating a lot of consterned discussion among those concerned with the history and future of libraries. Worries start with concern about reducing public access to books and book culture, as well as to the eroding relationship of public and research libraries to the educational system.
But libraries - the municipal buildings themselves and the staff therein - also see challenging changes in their community functions when times get hard.
This isn't front-page material, but a passing reaction and 'statement of concern' for the town's 9-year-olds:
The billboard on Estes Dr. in front of Estes Hills Elementary School is currently announcing "Third-Grade College and Career Night."
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