February 3, 2010:
Oriental Theatre is target in foreclosure suit.
Several properties owned by New Land Enterprises, including the Oriental Theatre and Landmark Lanes, are the targets of a new foreclosure lawsuit. Local developer Boris Gohkman told WISN-Channel 12 that three properties in Milwaukee County are being targeted in the suit. Gohkman said Madison-based Anchorbank filed a foreclosure suit against him and other partners. Anchorbank is seeking nearly $15 million owed on the loans, late fees and interest. The Oriental Theatre, which is more than 75 years old, is still operating on Milwaukee’s east side. Gokhman said the Hebhegger Building on Milwaukee’s east side and a property in Whitefish Bay also are targets in the suit. Gokhman said New Land’s partners are confident they will come to a “mutually satisfactory conclusion” and continue with future development. (From BizTimes)
(November 26, 1927)
KENOSHA THEATER STOCKHOLDERS VOTE TO SELL BUSINESS
â€" Kenosha (AP)– Stockholders of the Kenosha Orpheum Theater corporation, controlling four playhouses here with assets placed at $1,500,000, voted unanimously Friday night to sell the assets of the company of the West Coast Theaters circuit, Los Angeles. Details of the sale were not given out.
(Monday, June 25, 1945) Poisonous Fumes Kill 2 Theater Employes
DETROIT â€" (AP) â€" Two theater employes were asphyxiated and three other persons were affected as poisonous fumes seeped into the cellar of a Detroit theater Sunday.
An audience of more than 300 was dismissed from the Iris theater as traces of the gas reached the main floor.
Police said George Spaeth, 65, manager and Charles L. Babcock, 22, were stricken fatally when they went to the cellar to investigate a strange odor.
(Racine Journal Times, March 24, 1942)
D. Luby Buys Rex Theater-
Pays $3,000 at Tax Sale; To Spend Large Sum in Improvements
The Rex theater in the 200 block on Main street, once one of the best legitimate playhouses in this section, was sold on a tax deed
by Racine county Monday, to Dave Luby of Luby’s Appliance company, 4i2 Sixth street, for $3,000.
Mr. Luby said he plans to spend from $30,000 to $40,000 to remodel
the place, which has a 40-foot frontage on Main street, and convert
it into a cocktail bar and bowling alley.
To Start Work Soon.
Work of tearing out the balconies, leveling the floor and reducing
the outer walls will be started in a few days, and the remodeling will be under way within three weeks. Mr. Luby plans to install 10 bowling alleys and have them in service as soon as possible.
Mr. Luby said he will cater especially to women, and will install
separate lounge and rest rooms and locker rooms for them. The
alleys will have a 10 foot high saw-tooth ceiling and be fluorescent,
lighted. Lockers and rest rooms will be on the second floor. Exterior of the structure will be remodeled. The cocktail lounge
on the main floor will be modernistic in design and appointments.
Delinquent Since 1930.
Sale was negotiated by County Clerk Lennie Hardie, County Treasurer Horace F. Edmands and Supervisor Fred Travers of the First ward. The property has been tax delinquent since 1930, and was seized by the county in 1940.
The Belle City opera house was built in the early 80’s by a stock company, the name later being changed to the Racine theater and still later to the Rex theater. In the 80’s and 90’s, before advent of nickelodeons, it was Racine’s only show house and many famous actors and stock companies played there.
January 14, 1955) (AP) FREIGHT TRAIN KILLS DELAVAN THEATRE MAN
Irwin Stephan, 36, was killed Thursday afternoon when his car collided with a freight train at a crossing in Delavan. Stephan, married and the father of four, came here six weeks ago from Palmyra (Jefferson County) to manage the Delavan movie theatre.
Security deposit halts foreclosure on vacant theater building
By Tim Knuss
Staff Writer
AUBURN â€" City officials accepted a security deposit â€" rather than full payment of more than $20.000 in back taxes â€" when they agreed not to foreclose on a property owned in part by Corporation Counsel John J. Pettigrass.
A state tax official in Albany said he is not familiar with the case, but knows of no legal authority for such an arrangement, which he called “unique."
Pettigrass. who is paid $35,708 a year in his part-time capacity as city corporation counsel, is a member of a real-estate partnership that owns the vacant Auburn Star Theater building on South Street.
Despite owing $21,000 plus penalties in back taxes, Pentagon Realty retained ownership of the vacant theater after failing to carry out a special repayment agreement authorized in 1983 by the City Council.
Pclligrass made payments totaling $9.600 in December. But Pentagon Realty still owes $11,377 in back taxes, about $1,000 in 1965 taxes and an undetermined amount in penalities, according to records in the city treasurer’s office. Pettigrass was out of town on business
Wednesday and could not be reached for comment. His son, John, said Pentagon Realty is a small, family-held partnership. Meanwhile, $10,000 in negotiable bonds that Pettigrass gave the city ss "security” last November have not been cashed. The bonds will be returned to Pettigrass if he and his partners pay up before the next tax auction in June, City Manager Bruce L. Clifford said. “The bond was a deposit on future payments. If he wants to pay us the $10,000,
then he can have the bond back,” Clifford said. Clifford said he knew of no other instances when collateral had been accepted from a delinquent taxpayer.
The former movie theater, which once housed a bar, but has been seldom used in the last two years, was not offered for sale at tax auctions last November and January. Clifford said Pentagon defaulted on its two-year repayment agreement by not making any payments, but said he was reluctant to foreclose on the property. “We could call in the balance (and foreclose), but then the question becomes do we have a buyer for (the theater)?” Clifford said. The theater was purchased by Pentagon Realty in 1978 and first became eligible for
foreclosure in 1983 after property taxes and penalties totaling ,461 had not been paid. In August 1983, Pentagon, represented by Pettigrass, made a down payment of $7,865 and agreed to pay $1,089 a month for 21 months to clear the bill. The agreement was authorized by the City Council under a special provision of the Real Property
Tax Law. Bui no payments were received from Pentagon prior to November 1981, when Pettigrass offered the bonds as security.
Karl Thurston Jr., Pettigrass' law partner and Auburn’s assistant corporation counsel, said he handles most of the city’s foreclosures, but than he waits for Clifford’s decision on when to foreclose on a property. Thurston said it was not unreasonable
for Clifford to accept a deposit from Pettigrass. “There are (legal) provisions for making repayment schedules — if you can get collateral, so much the boiler. Anything you can get is helpful,“ Thurston said. Hut an attorney at the state Office of Equalization and Assessment in Albany said the arrangement sounded "unique.” “I’ve never heard of this being done. I don’t know of any statutory authority for a city to withhold foreclosure in return for a bond,” Associate Attorney Richard Sinnott said. “They would probably have to have special authorization in the city charter for something like that,” Sinnott said. Thurston said he does not feel the arrangement required special legal authority. No provisions in the city charter relate to that issue.
Youth Enrichment Services (Y.E.S.), a group of young people in the seacoast area, is an organization of representatives from area social service agencies coordinated by “The Junction” Youth Resource
Center.
The purpose of the organization is to provide a structure in which youth may assume a leadership role in developing and enriching youth oriented community programs.
Y.E.S. is negotiating the rental of the old Arcadia Theatre on Congress Street. The Arcadia Theatre, once a major attraction in Portsmouth, has been closed since the mid-1950’s. The proposed use of the vacant theatre offers the Y.E.S. group a rare opportunity to provide the entire community with a facility that could be used for many purposes. Proposed uses for the building include rental of office space, public displays, lectures, a recreational center, concerts, movies, theatre, learning center, and all types of cultural and social activities. Considerable renovation would be required to meet modern health and safety regulations. The Y.E.S. Group is a non-profit corporation and is in need of money, materials, labor, interests, and ideas. Help us help the community. Contributions are tax deductible.
V.I.P.
The Keystone Players are no longer stageless.
The Valley theatre group last night approved an agreement which will make the Star Theatre in Monessen their headquarters.
The long vacant theatre was offered to the Players by Ted Manos of the Manos Theatre chain at “a minimum cost.” The Players voted unanimously to accept the “generous” offer.
Previously the theatre group made its headquarters in a storeroom along Belle Vernon’s Main St. Plays were staged in the Bellmar High School auditorium.
A spokesman for the Players pointed out there is a nationwide
trend to make more use of vacant movie houses by community theatre groups.
Two plays are planned before summer. There are still openings
in the theatre group for interested persons.
The next meeting will be held Wednesday at Studio Arts in
Monessen. Members and interested persons are invited to attend.
(October 14, 1951)
Youngsters Caught in Vacant Theatre
LOWELLâ€"Four South End juveniles were routed from a vacant
Central street theatre last night after police had been notified of a disturbance at this location.
The youngsters were questioned at police headquarters and
released after Norman Classman, theatre owner, had been notified.
The lads were picked up by Officer Jacob Goldman and Andrew Maguire, who found the juveniles hiding under a stairway.
Police stated it was fortunate a fire had not broken out at the vacant theatre, for candles had been lighted by the youths while inside the building.
(march 14, 1965)
Genoa Theatre gutted by fire Friday
GENOA â€" The Genoa Theater, which operated in Genoa for about 15 years, was gutted by fire Friday afternoon in a general alarm fire.
The theater, located in the middle of the Genoa business district, was owned by Margaret Kenyon of Genoa. The fire was discovered at about 3 p. m. when smoke and flames were seen coming from the front of the brick building.
Genoa firemen controlled the fire before it could spread to
the new U. S. Post Office, which is connected to the theater on
the east side.
Just west, across a narrow alleyway, is the frame Genoa Hotel, which was also saved from fire damage.
James “Scotty” Raitt of Genoa leased the building and operated the theater. It was open on Friday, Saturday and Sundays. The last movie house in Genoa also burned down sometime in the early 1940s, it was reported. Firemen speculated that faulty wiring may have caused
the blaze.
(MIDDLETOWN Times Herald, NY, FRIDAY. MARCH 15. 1935)
MILFORD MAN ENDS LIFE IN OLD THEATRE
Failing Health Believed Cause of Suicide of Thomas C. Pitney
SHOWHOUSE HE FORMERLY OWNED SCENE OF DEATH
Connecticut Police Investigate Fatal Shooting of Mill Work Company Head
MILFORD â€" Despondent because his health had failed and financial difficulties increased, Thomas C. Pitney, former owner of the Milford Theatre, killed himself with a shotgun in the abandoned theatre building at Fourth and Catherine streets next to his home yesterday. He was found lying on the floor by his wife who went to the theater shortly after 5:30 p. m. Mrs. Pitney had seen the theater door swing open when she looked from a window of her home a few minutes before and went over to investigate the cause. The theatre had been closed for a long time.
Dr. Walter Shannon and Sheriff Roswell Palmer were called. Dr Shannon said that Mr. Pitney had not been dead more than an hour when he arrived at 5:45. No one had heard the shot.
Sheriff Palmer said he believed Pitney went to the building late yesterday afternoon and prepared to end his life by connecting a wire hook to the trigger of his old shotgun. Seating himself on a cushion he placed the barrel of the gun in his mouth, it is believed, and discharged the gun by using his foot on the wire hook. His foot was caught in the hook when he was found. Coroner C. S. Black gave a verdict of suicide.
Mr. Pitney had lived in Milford most of his life and for many years had conducted the Milford Theater. He also managed the bus line from Milford to Port Jervis for several years.
Neighbors said last night that he had become despondent because his health had prevented his working any longer. They also said he had complained of financial troubles.
Ruston Daily Herald, April 13, 1943)
Theatre Managers Doing All Possible To Get Rid Of Rats
Call For Cooperation From Owners Of Other Business Places
Ruston theatre managers said today they were doing everything possible to rid their shows of rats and hoped within a very short time to have them eliminated from the premises as nearly as possible. C. J. Hubley said he had fought rats every day since he had been in Ruston but he could not rid the town of them by himself and called upon the city for more cooperation.
Mr. Hubley further said the Dixie Theatre Company had spent well over one thousand dollars during the past year for poison, traps and remodeling to prevent them from entering the building. He now catches from one to fifteen each day and has done everything from filling the House with cats to shooting them, but he can’t keep them out as long as other stores in the city do nothing to stop them from breeding and living on the premises.
An interesting thing about rats in the theatre is that none are ever caught before show time, but after the theatre is closed at the last show. They seem to come in or roam about only when people are inside eating and dropping particles of food on the floor.
Professional rat exterminators have rat-proofed the building and he said he would offer a reward to anyone finding where they can enter the theatre.
Both the Dixie and Varsity Theatres are being given a thorough cleaning and extermination campaign to rid the building of all vermin and Mr. Hubley has asked all owners and tenants of buildings near the theatres to cooperate in an effort to kill or drive them from the city.
Mr. Butterfield, of Tech Theatre, says he has not found any sign of rats in his theatre and has asked for another inspection from WAAC officers. However, he constantly has poison and traps scattered about his theatre to make certain none will enter or stay in the building.
He plans to keep a few cats as a further precaution, he said.
(Ruston Daily Herald, April 13, 1943)
Theatre Managers Doing All Possible To Get Rid Of Rats
Call For Cooperation From Owners Of Other Business Places
Ruston theatre managers said today they were doing everything possible to rid their shows of rats and hoped within a very short time to have them eliminated from the premises as nearly as possible. C. J. Hubley said he had fought rats every day since he had been in Ruston but he could not rid the town of them by himself and called upon the city for more cooperation.
Mr. Hubley further said the Dixie Theatre Company had spent well over one thousand dollars during the past year for poison, traps and remodeling to prevent them from entering the building. He now catches from one to fifteen each day and has done everything from filling the House with cats to shooting them, but he can’t keep them out as long as other stores in the city do nothing to stop them from breeding and living on the premises.
An interesting thing about rats in the theatre is that none are ever caught before show time, but after the theatre is closed at the last show. They seem to come in or roam about only when people are inside eating and dropping particles of food on the floor.
Professional rat exterminators have rat-proofed the building and he said he would offer a reward to anyone finding where they can enter the theatre.
Both the Dixie and Varsity Theatres are being given a thorough cleaning and extermination campaign to rid the building of all vermin and Mr. Hubley has asked all owners and tenants of buildings near the theatres to cooperate in an effort to kill or drive them from the city.
Mr. Butterfield, of Tech Theatre, says he has not found any sign of rats in his theatre and has asked for another inspection from WAAC officers. However, he constantly has poison and traps scattered about his theatre to make certain none will enter or stay in the building.
He plans to keep a few cats as a further precaution, he said.
Letter: “Phantom Empire: Gene Autry, Frankie Darro— Here is something different in serials. Based on the fantastic ideas made popular by the comic strips such as Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. Started this on a hot Sunday but it is building and holding those who started it. It is well done with more plot than most serials. Just showed the third episode. The producers deserve credit for this new idea in serials and the clever manner in which this has been produced. â€"J.E. Stocker, Myrtle Theatre, Detroit, Mich"
(Olean NY Herald, April 15, 1930)
THE BOTTOM RUNG
By Joseph Von Raalte
Every profession produces its eccentrics and in the theater they have their “punch drunks” as has the “cauliflower” industry.
• The saddest one I ever encountered was in the Myrtle Theater in Brooklyn, a dilapidated little house that plays three acts of independent vaudeville and pictures.
Thc acts playing there are starving old-timers, seeking their room rent, or new acts, using the place for a dress rehearsal, knowing they will not be “caught” by bookers or agents.
The general utility man backstage at The Myrtle is a middleaged chap with a huge red nose, dressed in an ill-fitting doorman’s uniform.
He swears he’s “Raymond,” of the old-time act of Raymond and Caverly, “Dutch comics”; and as each act put in an appearance he corners them to rehearse past glories and to whine about “stupid bookers” who won’t work him. He then madly does impersonations of Dave Warfield, Tom Naughton, Eva Tanguay, all the old-timers, now out of the public run.
For $20 a week he takes light cues, moves scenery, acts as call boy. Thus, he’s closing his life, backstage, with Memory ever bringing the light of “other days.”
Life is a Theatre.
Invite Your Audience Carefully.
Not everyone is spiritually healthy and mature enough to have a front-row seat in our lives. There are some people in our lives that need to be loved from a distance.
It’s amazing what we can accomplish when we let go, or at least minimize time spent with draining, negative, incompatible, not-going-anywhere relationships, friendships and fellowships.
Observe the relationships around you, and pay attention to which ones lift and which ones lean; which encourage and which discourage – which ones are on a path of growth uphill, and which ones are going downhill.
When you leave certain people, do you feel better or feel worse?
Which have drama, or don’t really understand, know and appreciate you and the gifts that lie within you?
When you seek growth and peace of mind, and love and truth, the easier it will become to decide who gets to sit in the front row and who should be moved to the balcony of your life.
You cannot change the people around you but you can change the people you are around.
Ask God for wisdom and discernment and choose wisely the people who sit in the front row in the theatre that is your life.
GALA OPENING PROGRAM STARTING MONDAY EVENING, APRIL 29 (1912):
BERNARDI- Justly entitled to the superlative commendation, “King of Protean Artists!” Alone enacting no less than a score of difficult and diverse roles with a facility well nigh uncanny.
HERMINE SHONE & COMPANY â€" Five favorite farceurs in a fantastic, frivolous ferment of fun.
LYDELL & BUTTERWORTH- The LITTLE BROWN LADY and the FUNNY DANCER.
TED BAILEY’S POSING DOGS- Novel Art Reproductions
MURRAY K. HILL- Merry Jester and Parodist
SUPERLATIVE ANIMATED VIEWS – FIRST RUN FILM REPRODUCTIONS
ORPHEUM CONCERT ORCHESTRA – DIRECTION PROF. O. M. COTTON
(Racine Journal-News, April 27, 1912)
MRS. H. DURANT IS PRIZE WINNER
(By the Spelling Editor)
It’s all over-and the enigma is solved. It really wasn’t a puzzle at
allâ€"-it was a cinch. Hundreds of Racine people had ‘figured out’ what all Racine was talking about before The Journal-News was off the press two hours last night, and this morning hundreds of letters containing the correct answer were received by special delivery at the Journal-News office. The letters scattered throughout the paper “Orpheum” of course, and of the big basket full of special delivery letters not one contained any other answer than the name of the vaudeville theater which opens Monday night. In accordance with the terms of the contest the first answer opened by the Spelling Editor was awarded the prize and the first place went to Mrs. H. Durant of 1420 Grange avenue. She gets two box seats at the new theatre, good twice a week for twenty weeks and valued at $40. Her letter was the first one signed for by the Spelling Editor who is now afflicted with writer’s cramp from putting his name in the special delivery mail carrier’s little book. There was nothing on the outside of the envelope to indicate who sent the answer inside so that Mrs. Durant’s victory was largely due to chance as many other letters were received at about the same time. Mrs. Durant’s box seats are the best in the new house and the prize accordingly is a very acceptable one. The first two hundred and first prizes inclusive were awarded to the
sender, of the next two hundred letters opened by the Spelling Editor.
(Milwaukee Journal, Jan 30, 1995)
AT THE Paradise Theatre, volunteers sell popcorn, take tickets and run the projector. Now they have taken to the stage.
Volunteer musicians now perform before the first showing of movies on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. From 6:30 to 7 p.m., visitors can pick their seats and settle in for some pre-film entertainment: classical guitar, cello, electronic keyboard and more.
Here’s the latest lineup of films:
“Twenty-One Days.” Starring Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier, directed by Basil Dean; 7 and 9 p.m. Tuesday jan 31, Wednesday feb1 and Thursday Feb. 2. (1937, black and white, 75 minutes.)
“Babes in Arms.” Starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, directed by Busby Berkeley; 7 and 9 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, through Thursday, Feb. 9. (1939, black and white, 93 minutes).
“Romeo and Juliet.” Starring Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey and Michael York, directed by Franco Zeffirelli; 7 p.m. Feb. 10-12 and 14-16. (1968, color, 139 minutes.)
“The Cameraman.” Starring Buster Keaton and Marceline Day, directed by Edward Sedgwick; 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 22-23. With live accompaniment by Sigmond Snopek III. (1928, black and white, silent, 78 minutes.)
“Rear Window.” Starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, 7 and 9:10 p.m. Feb. 24-26 (Friday-Sunday) and Feb. 28-March 2. (1954, color, 112 minutes.)
“Children of Paradise.” In French with English subtitles, starring Jean- Louis Barrault and Pierre Brasseur, directed by Marcel Carne; 7 p.m. March 7-9. (1945, black and white, 195 minutes.)
“Little Women.” Starring Katharine Hepburn and Joan Bennett; directed by George Cukor; 7 and 9:10 p.m. March 10-12 (Friday-Sunday) and 14-16. (1933, black and white, 117 minutes.)
“The Last Laugh.” Starring Emil Jannings and Max Hiller, directed by F.W. Murnau; 7 p.m. March 22 and 23. With live accompaniment by Snopek. (1924, black and white, silent, 73 minutes.)
“The Bridge on the River Kwai.” Starring William Holden and Alec Guinness, directed by David Lean; 7 p.m. March 24-26 (Friday-Sunday) and 28-30. (1957, Cinemascope, color, 161 minutes.)
The Paradise Theatre is at 62nd St. and Greenfield Ave., West Allis. Admission is $2.50, $1 for children with an adult.
City may find after-life in Paradise Theater
If money can be found, city could takeover historic site
By MARK SCHAAF
West Allis â€" With its boarded up windows outside and unused theater and office spaces inside, the historic Paradise Theater still looks like a building in transition at the corner of one of the city’s busiest intersections.
It’s a scene at Greenfield and National avenues and 60th Street that’s become pretty familiar to passers-by. Since movies stopped playing there in 1996, the building has struggled to attract a permanent tenant, which has contributed to its deterioration and the unsightly scene.
But West Allis officials are now exploring whether there is any historic preservation money to aid in the redevelopment of the theater, 6229 W. Greenfield Ave.
A developing situation
The city is in the early stages of seeing whether state funds are available to help the city purchase the property, with the ultimate goal of getting it into the hands of a private developer, city Planner Shaun Mueller said.
“We’re just seeing what’s out there to see if we could assist moving those properties along,” Mueller said.
The city has long sought to restore the building, in part due to its location in the emerging, redeveloped Six Points neighborhood and also because of its historic nature.
Banking on the future
The building is now owned by the State Bank of Chilton after a foreclosure. The Paradise Family Life Center was the latest tenant, holding religious services there for about four years.
The group that ran the church, Ziklag Global Investments, was forced out due to the foreclosure and after the Common Council last year revoked its special-use permit.
Aldermen at the time said the group didn’t live up to its obligations of the permit – one of the stipulations was putting windows on the east end of the building – and owed $70,000 toward parking for the area’s redevelopment.
The once-open aired east end of the building was eventually boarded up amid neighbors' and city officials' complaints of skateboarders and loitering.
A history of economic woe
Tough economic times are nothing new for the Paradise Theater. It was built during the Great Depression and allowed cash-strapped residents to see movies for a nickel, said Devan Gracyalny, West Allis Historical Society president.
Gracyalny has been told the building is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and he hopes grant money can help revitalize the building.
“I think it’s a wonderful building and I would hope it can be saved either privately or through a private-public joint partnership,” he said.
(February 23, 1954 – Racine Journal Times)
Call Meeting to Discuss Use of Mainstreet Theater
Persons and civic organizations interested in a proposed project to restore the Mainstreet theater building as a community theater for stage productions are being invited to express their ideas at an 8 p. m. meeting Wednesday in the Hotel Nelson.
A number of organizations have indicated interest in salvaging Racine’s last remaining legitimate theater. To bring the suggestions to a focal point, the Junior Chamber of Commerce has named Paul Lange as chairman of a committee to investigate the possibilities.
Will Meet Wednesday
Lange has called a meeting of all interested individuals and groups for Wednesday night to determine what, if anything, can be done.
Earlier, Edward L. Speer, president of the Kiwanis Club, proposed a similar project to renovate and salvage the theater. His suggestion is to be considered by the members of Racine’s two Kiwanis Clubs.
Speer pointed out Racine has two major amateur theatrical groups as wall as dramatics productions from Junior and Senior high schools who could make use of the theater. In addition, Speer suggested that a renovated Mainstreet Theater also might be used as a convention hall.
Since the installation of wide movie screens on the stages of two houses, there is no longer any theater of ample seating capacity which can accomodate a stage production, Speer said. The Kiwanis Club also will have to look for a new theater in which to present its annual minstrel show. Speer suggested the possibility that the theater building might be purchased and renovated through a public campaign, sponsored by the several civic groups which would be interested in retaining a legitimate theater in Racine.
Weak state laws let public officials stonewall citizens looking for information
By David Kidwell
Tribune staff reporter
May 3, 2008
Thom Rae wants to know why his town is spending $1 million to keep a second-run theater afloat.
Kevin and Anne Barber want to know what happened to the principal who forced their 8th grader and his classmates to kneel painfully on a gym floor during a lecture on respect.
Patricia and Joel Garza want to know why so many secrets surround the investigation into the crash that killed their grown son.
They all want answers. The answer they all got was “no.”
In Illinois, getting a public record is a frustrating labyrinth of excuses, delays and denials.
Public servants have all the tools they need to keep a grip on information that rightly belongs to the people, whether it’s a police report, a principal’s disciplinary file or a spending plan, a Tribune examination has found.
Since 2005, more than a thousand citizens have filed complaints about public officials in Illinois who refused requests for public records, most often by completely ignoring them.
A review of those complaints, along with dozens of interviews, reveals a culture of secrecy shrouding the machinery of your government. Public meetings are often theater, where votes are pro-forma endorsements of decisions forged in e-mails and memos you will never be allowed to see.
Government records routinely turned over at the front counters in many other states are routinely denied here — the result of a notoriously weak open records law, an unsympathetic political culture and an attitude of disdain among many public servants who consider documents their own.
“In my view, it is the worst state in the country when it comes to transparency and open records,” said Terry Mutchler, the first-ever head of the Public Access Bureau spearheaded by Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan.
“If you’ve been through the files then you know what we’re up against,” said Mutchler, who left last year to start a similar effort in Pennsylvania. “It was horrible, ineffective and unbelievably frustrating.”
Don’t like it? Hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit. In Illinois, that may be your only recourse. Even Madigan, the state’s top law enforcement officer, has little authority to pry loose public records beyond writing a strongly worded letter.
Her office wrote more than 100 of them last year alone, according to the Tribune’s review of her complaint files. Fewer than two dozen of those letters resulted in the release of the requested records, her files show.
The state’s Freedom of Information Act has more pages devoted to what records you can’t get than what you can, from public officials' personnel files to memos where they express opinions. Critics of the law, including the Chicago Tribune, have called for a complete overhaul to eliminate broad exemptions commonly used by government to deny records.
Proposals to strengthen the law gained some steam at the Statehouse this year following the corruption arrest of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But they focus less on eliminating loopholes and more on strengthening enforcement of the current law.
One of the most common exemptions is for “preliminary drafts,” cited by officials to withhold any number of documents written before government makes a decision — which is exactly when the records are most needed by those who might question it.
That was the case for the self-appointed La Grange watchdog who asked for all the internal reports, studies and staff memos village leaders used to justify spending nearly $1 million to help renovate the dilapidated La Grange Theatre.
‘It doesn’t look good for them’
Thom Rae has battled what he calls an attitude of secrecy in La Grange for years.
The 54-year-old, who runs a news blog called LaGrangetoday.com, sicced the attorney general’s office on the village manager and trustees last year for meeting in secret on a controversial plan to spend $1 million in tax money to help renovate the La Grange Theatre.
Then he asked for the records — consultants reports, fire code memos and other documents — that Village Manager Robert Pilipiszyn and the board members were using to justify spending tax money in the public/private partnership.
All he got was Pilipiszyn’s three-page summary to the board — with 15 of 19 paragraphs blacked out. La Grange officials cited the “preliminary draft” exemption as all the permission they needed to wield their marker.
Rae laughed as he pointed to a heading called “Community Involvement” and all the words beneath it were inked out. “The entire entry is a secret,” Rae said. “Tell me there’s no irony in that one.”
Madigan also laughed when the Tribune recently showed her a copy of the redacted document. “It doesn’t look good for them,” she said. Madigan’s deputies likewise expressed their own skepticism last year about whether the village was forthcoming, but told Rae there was nothing more they could do.
Last month, though, the Tribune made its own request for the records and got them.
Pilipiszyn released the complete memo and several other records following the newspaper’s inquiries, but by then the point was long since moot. The board voted 4-3 in November to spend the money.
The deciding vote was cast by Village President Liz Asperger, who won her seat with help from the theater’s owners. They gave her free slide ads at movies and provided $25 in popcorn for a rally.
Asperger said she supported the theater deal to preserve a village landmark and praised the village’s record of transparency.
“Appropriately, there are some things that should not be disclosed,” she said. “But we work hard to keep those to a minimum.”
Pilipiszyn said the village attorney approved withholding the records because the village was in early stages of considering the deal. He still won’t release the report on the theater’s financial health, citing potential harm to the owners “if their competitors got a hold of it.”
“What competitors?” Rae responded. “It is a second-run theater in La Grange, they don’t have any competitors. If they feel there is something to lose from showing the public their finances, then perhaps they shouldn’t be asking the public for money.”
Pilipiszyn said there were several public meetings where the theater deal was discussed in detail.
“I think we do a great job providing the citizens with all the information they need to make an informed judgment,” he said. “I don’t want to be the poster child for this issue.”
Withholding drafts and other documents used in decision-making may be common practice in Illinois, but it’s puzzling to officials from other states.
“Wow, that pretty much encompasses everything government does,” said Laurie Beyer-Kropuenske, Minnesota’s top public records official. “I don’t get it. How is the public supposed to evaluate the performance of its government if all those records are secret?”
The public needs to see drafts more than almost any other document, said Pat Gleason, a cabinet aide and open-records counsel to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist.
“They need to know what a government body did in order to reach a decision, what kind of other ideas did they explore and reject,” Gleason said. “All those records are public in Florida, and it hasn’t yet brought government to a standstill.”
‘Privacy’ excuse just a fig leaf?Another broad exception commonly cited is for anything considered a “clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” That’s the exemption school officials used when irate parents at Clinton Junior High School demanded answers after their 8th-graders were forced to kneel during a lecture about discipline.
The uproar prompted a written apology the next day from Principal John Pine and his deputy Karen Smith. They said the kneeling was used to get students' attention, lasted only a short time and was aimed at curbing an array of disciplinary problems that included swearing, running in halls and showing disrespect to staff.
To parents Kevin and Anne Barber, the apology raised more questions than it answered.
“Obviously, they don’t have control of the school,” said Kevin Barber, who insists his son did nothing to deserve that treatment. “I want to know what happened.”
The Barbers asked for video taken by a security camera in the gym, but were denied on grounds that it would invade the privacy of the children captured on tape. They complained to the attorney general’s office, which offered advice on how to request the video but said it could not advise the couple on whether the school in central Illinois had a legitimate reason to withhold it.
The Tribune helped the Barbers file a new request in April, seeking the video and records of any discipline meted out to the administrators. Supt. Jeffrey Holmes denied the discipline records, telling the Tribune the parents would have to trust him that Pine’s punishment for the inappropriate assembly was sufficient.
“It’s a personnel matter, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to release it,” he said.
But the Tribune inquiries did prompt Holmes to reconsider the decision to withhold the video.
“You cannot identify any of the students' faces, so we decided that it is not a student record,” Holmes said, acknowledging it shows the teenagers were forced to kneel twice for a total of eight minutes.
The Barbers said until this happened they had no idea how little access they had to their own school’s records.
“They have custody of our kids for most of the day, and they are telling us to just trust them to handle everything,” Anne Barber said. “Well, I am having a hard time trusting them. It is just a shame that it took the Chicago Tribune to get us that videotape.”
The Barbers said the incident has left them with a newfound appreciation for the need for open government.
“Just look at the politicians in this state and the corruption everywhere,” Kevin Barber said. “And then you look at the difficulty we had getting this little piece of information. It’s no wonder these people are so corrupt. It’s no wonder they get away with so much.”
But when public officials don’t make such records available, the secrecy sometimes breeds suspicion.
‘All I wanted was the truth'In south suburban Steger, Patricia and Joel Garza fought for months seeking copies of police reports and dispatch tapes after their son died in a car crash. When they finally got some records, with help from Madigan’s office, the names of all the witnesses — even the identity of the other driver — were blacked out for privacy reasons.
“I want to know what they are hiding,” Patricia Garza said of the police. “All I wanted was the truth.”
According to police, her 24-year-old son, Matthew, died when he blew a red light at 90 miles per hour, legally drunk, and his car was struck by another vehicle. He died instantly, minutes after taking the family van without permission early on the morning of Sept. 29, 2007.
But South Chicago Heights police took more than five hours to notify the Garzas their son was dead. Stunned and confused, the Steger couple demanded a deeper look into the case. Their numerous requests for police reports, photographs and dispatch tapes were at first ignored and then denied, records show.
The attorney general’s office tried to help, informing the Steger and South Chicago Heights Police Departments the 911 tapes and accident reports are public records. Garza got some 911 tapes and police reports with large sections blacked out.
“I was stonewalled at every turn,” Garza said.
The couple, who had called police to report their son took the car, suspect the police started a pursuit that led to his death. They have no evidence and police have denied it, but the 52-year-old mother scours every new document looking for the slightest discrepancy, sure police are hiding the facts.
The chiefs of both Police Departments involved in the investigation say they sympathize, and acknowledge mistakes were made in complying with the requests.
“I know she thinks we are covering up something,” said South Chicago Heights Police Chief Bill Joyce. “Of course we could have handled things better. I understand that.”
Joyce said the accident reconstruction took months to complete and the dispatch tapes were withheld because other jurisdictions had to be contacted for permission to release them.
The decision to black out information identifying witnesses and the other driver was made by Parker Johnson, the attorney for South Chicago Heights.
Johnson said he decided to black out anything that contained private information even though Illinois law specifies that identities of witnesses to traffic accidents should be released.
The Tribune obtained a copy of the complete report, and a review shows the deletions went beyond witness identities. Also blacked out was the make, model and year of the other car, as well as its contents which included a cooler, a radar detector and sunglasses.
“In hindsight, that was probably not necessary,” Johnson said about deleting those details.
“It is possible some words get blacked out that shouldn’t, but there is a very real concern about the disclosure of private and personal information.”
The frustrations of people like Patricia Garza have not been enough to change the law in Illinois.
Most states that have passed good transparency laws did so because lawmakers and politicians were forced to by a citizenry fed up with political scandal, said Charles Davis, director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition at the University of Missouri.
“I can’t imagine you guys in Illinois are not at that point,” he said. “History proves that government officials cannot be trusted to police themselves, whether it is a police department, a city hall, or a governor … and in the case of Illinois, two governors in a row.”
February 3, 2010:
Oriental Theatre is target in foreclosure suit.
Several properties owned by New Land Enterprises, including the Oriental Theatre and Landmark Lanes, are the targets of a new foreclosure lawsuit. Local developer Boris Gohkman told WISN-Channel 12 that three properties in Milwaukee County are being targeted in the suit. Gohkman said Madison-based Anchorbank filed a foreclosure suit against him and other partners. Anchorbank is seeking nearly $15 million owed on the loans, late fees and interest. The Oriental Theatre, which is more than 75 years old, is still operating on Milwaukee’s east side. Gokhman said the Hebhegger Building on Milwaukee’s east side and a property in Whitefish Bay also are targets in the suit. Gokhman said New Land’s partners are confident they will come to a “mutually satisfactory conclusion” and continue with future development. (From BizTimes)
(November 26, 1927)
KENOSHA THEATER STOCKHOLDERS VOTE TO SELL BUSINESS
â€" Kenosha (AP)– Stockholders of the Kenosha Orpheum Theater corporation, controlling four playhouses here with assets placed at $1,500,000, voted unanimously Friday night to sell the assets of the company of the West Coast Theaters circuit, Los Angeles. Details of the sale were not given out.
That organ was later removed and installed within the basement of a home in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.
PatioMike, apologies for not answering sooner. Yes, this is the same theatre, although now in much better condition.
ERWIN G. FREDRICK (correct spelling): Born March 14, 1897 – died May 11, 1989 in Cook County, Illinois.
(Monday, June 25, 1945) Poisonous Fumes Kill 2 Theater Employes
DETROIT â€" (AP) â€" Two theater employes were asphyxiated and three other persons were affected as poisonous fumes seeped into the cellar of a Detroit theater Sunday.
An audience of more than 300 was dismissed from the Iris theater as traces of the gas reached the main floor.
Police said George Spaeth, 65, manager and Charles L. Babcock, 22, were stricken fatally when they went to the cellar to investigate a strange odor.
(Racine Journal Times, March 24, 1942)
D. Luby Buys Rex Theater-
Pays $3,000 at Tax Sale; To Spend Large Sum in Improvements
The Rex theater in the 200 block on Main street, once one of the best legitimate playhouses in this section, was sold on a tax deed
by Racine county Monday, to Dave Luby of Luby’s Appliance company, 4i2 Sixth street, for $3,000.
Mr. Luby said he plans to spend from $30,000 to $40,000 to remodel
the place, which has a 40-foot frontage on Main street, and convert
it into a cocktail bar and bowling alley.
To Start Work Soon.
Work of tearing out the balconies, leveling the floor and reducing
the outer walls will be started in a few days, and the remodeling will be under way within three weeks. Mr. Luby plans to install 10 bowling alleys and have them in service as soon as possible.
Mr. Luby said he will cater especially to women, and will install
separate lounge and rest rooms and locker rooms for them. The
alleys will have a 10 foot high saw-tooth ceiling and be fluorescent,
lighted. Lockers and rest rooms will be on the second floor. Exterior of the structure will be remodeled. The cocktail lounge
on the main floor will be modernistic in design and appointments.
Delinquent Since 1930.
Sale was negotiated by County Clerk Lennie Hardie, County Treasurer Horace F. Edmands and Supervisor Fred Travers of the First ward. The property has been tax delinquent since 1930, and was seized by the county in 1940.
The Belle City opera house was built in the early 80’s by a stock company, the name later being changed to the Racine theater and still later to the Rex theater. In the 80’s and 90’s, before advent of nickelodeons, it was Racine’s only show house and many famous actors and stock companies played there.
January 14, 1955) (AP) FREIGHT TRAIN KILLS DELAVAN THEATRE MAN
Irwin Stephan, 36, was killed Thursday afternoon when his car collided with a freight train at a crossing in Delavan. Stephan, married and the father of four, came here six weeks ago from Palmyra (Jefferson County) to manage the Delavan movie theatre.
Security deposit halts foreclosure on vacant theater building
By Tim Knuss
Staff Writer
AUBURN â€" City officials accepted a security deposit â€" rather than full payment of more than $20.000 in back taxes â€" when they agreed not to foreclose on a property owned in part by Corporation Counsel John J. Pettigrass.
A state tax official in Albany said he is not familiar with the case, but knows of no legal authority for such an arrangement, which he called “unique."
Pettigrass. who is paid $35,708 a year in his part-time capacity as city corporation counsel, is a member of a real-estate partnership that owns the vacant Auburn Star Theater building on South Street.
Despite owing $21,000 plus penalties in back taxes, Pentagon Realty retained ownership of the vacant theater after failing to carry out a special repayment agreement authorized in 1983 by the City Council.
Pclligrass made payments totaling $9.600 in December. But Pentagon Realty still owes $11,377 in back taxes, about $1,000 in 1965 taxes and an undetermined amount in penalities, according to records in the city treasurer’s office. Pettigrass was out of town on business
Wednesday and could not be reached for comment. His son, John, said Pentagon Realty is a small, family-held partnership. Meanwhile, $10,000 in negotiable bonds that Pettigrass gave the city ss "security” last November have not been cashed. The bonds will be returned to Pettigrass if he and his partners pay up before the next tax auction in June, City Manager Bruce L. Clifford said. “The bond was a deposit on future payments. If he wants to pay us the $10,000,
then he can have the bond back,” Clifford said. Clifford said he knew of no other instances when collateral had been accepted from a delinquent taxpayer.
The former movie theater, which once housed a bar, but has been seldom used in the last two years, was not offered for sale at tax auctions last November and January. Clifford said Pentagon defaulted on its two-year repayment agreement by not making any payments, but said he was reluctant to foreclose on the property. “We could call in the balance (and foreclose), but then the question becomes do we have a buyer for (the theater)?” Clifford said. The theater was purchased by Pentagon Realty in 1978 and first became eligible for
foreclosure in 1983 after property taxes and penalties totaling ,461 had not been paid. In August 1983, Pentagon, represented by Pettigrass, made a down payment of $7,865 and agreed to pay $1,089 a month for 21 months to clear the bill. The agreement was authorized by the City Council under a special provision of the Real Property
Tax Law. Bui no payments were received from Pentagon prior to November 1981, when Pettigrass offered the bonds as security.
Karl Thurston Jr., Pettigrass' law partner and Auburn’s assistant corporation counsel, said he handles most of the city’s foreclosures, but than he waits for Clifford’s decision on when to foreclose on a property. Thurston said it was not unreasonable
for Clifford to accept a deposit from Pettigrass. “There are (legal) provisions for making repayment schedules — if you can get collateral, so much the boiler. Anything you can get is helpful,“ Thurston said. Hut an attorney at the state Office of Equalization and Assessment in Albany said the arrangement sounded "unique.” “I’ve never heard of this being done. I don’t know of any statutory authority for a city to withhold foreclosure in return for a bond,” Associate Attorney Richard Sinnott said. “They would probably have to have special authorization in the city charter for something like that,” Sinnott said. Thurston said he does not feel the arrangement required special legal authority. No provisions in the city charter relate to that issue.
(July 29, 1976)
Youth Enrichment Services (Y.E.S.), a group of young people in the seacoast area, is an organization of representatives from area social service agencies coordinated by “The Junction” Youth Resource
Center.
The purpose of the organization is to provide a structure in which youth may assume a leadership role in developing and enriching youth oriented community programs.
Y.E.S. is negotiating the rental of the old Arcadia Theatre on Congress Street. The Arcadia Theatre, once a major attraction in Portsmouth, has been closed since the mid-1950’s. The proposed use of the vacant theatre offers the Y.E.S. group a rare opportunity to provide the entire community with a facility that could be used for many purposes. Proposed uses for the building include rental of office space, public displays, lectures, a recreational center, concerts, movies, theatre, learning center, and all types of cultural and social activities. Considerable renovation would be required to meet modern health and safety regulations. The Y.E.S. Group is a non-profit corporation and is in need of money, materials, labor, interests, and ideas. Help us help the community. Contributions are tax deductible.
V.I.P.
(The Valley Independent, January 25, 1962)
Keystone Players To Use ‘Old’ Star
The Keystone Players are no longer stageless.
The Valley theatre group last night approved an agreement which will make the Star Theatre in Monessen their headquarters.
The long vacant theatre was offered to the Players by Ted Manos of the Manos Theatre chain at “a minimum cost.” The Players voted unanimously to accept the “generous” offer.
Previously the theatre group made its headquarters in a storeroom along Belle Vernon’s Main St. Plays were staged in the Bellmar High School auditorium.
A spokesman for the Players pointed out there is a nationwide
trend to make more use of vacant movie houses by community theatre groups.
Two plays are planned before summer. There are still openings
in the theatre group for interested persons.
The next meeting will be held Wednesday at Studio Arts in
Monessen. Members and interested persons are invited to attend.
(October 14, 1951)
Youngsters Caught in Vacant Theatre
LOWELLâ€"Four South End juveniles were routed from a vacant
Central street theatre last night after police had been notified of a disturbance at this location.
The youngsters were questioned at police headquarters and
released after Norman Classman, theatre owner, had been notified.
The lads were picked up by Officer Jacob Goldman and Andrew Maguire, who found the juveniles hiding under a stairway.
Police stated it was fortunate a fire had not broken out at the vacant theatre, for candles had been lighted by the youths while inside the building.
(march 14, 1965)
Genoa Theatre gutted by fire Friday
GENOA â€" The Genoa Theater, which operated in Genoa for about 15 years, was gutted by fire Friday afternoon in a general alarm fire.
The theater, located in the middle of the Genoa business district, was owned by Margaret Kenyon of Genoa. The fire was discovered at about 3 p. m. when smoke and flames were seen coming from the front of the brick building.
Genoa firemen controlled the fire before it could spread to
the new U. S. Post Office, which is connected to the theater on
the east side.
Just west, across a narrow alleyway, is the frame Genoa Hotel, which was also saved from fire damage.
James “Scotty” Raitt of Genoa leased the building and operated the theater. It was open on Friday, Saturday and Sundays. The last movie house in Genoa also burned down sometime in the early 1940s, it was reported. Firemen speculated that faulty wiring may have caused
the blaze.
(MIDDLETOWN Times Herald, NY, FRIDAY. MARCH 15. 1935)
MILFORD MAN ENDS LIFE IN OLD THEATRE
Failing Health Believed Cause of Suicide of Thomas C. Pitney
SHOWHOUSE HE FORMERLY OWNED SCENE OF DEATH
Connecticut Police Investigate Fatal Shooting of Mill Work Company Head
MILFORD â€" Despondent because his health had failed and financial difficulties increased, Thomas C. Pitney, former owner of the Milford Theatre, killed himself with a shotgun in the abandoned theatre building at Fourth and Catherine streets next to his home yesterday. He was found lying on the floor by his wife who went to the theater shortly after 5:30 p. m. Mrs. Pitney had seen the theater door swing open when she looked from a window of her home a few minutes before and went over to investigate the cause. The theatre had been closed for a long time.
Dr. Walter Shannon and Sheriff Roswell Palmer were called. Dr Shannon said that Mr. Pitney had not been dead more than an hour when he arrived at 5:45. No one had heard the shot.
Sheriff Palmer said he believed Pitney went to the building late yesterday afternoon and prepared to end his life by connecting a wire hook to the trigger of his old shotgun. Seating himself on a cushion he placed the barrel of the gun in his mouth, it is believed, and discharged the gun by using his foot on the wire hook. His foot was caught in the hook when he was found. Coroner C. S. Black gave a verdict of suicide.
Mr. Pitney had lived in Milford most of his life and for many years had conducted the Milford Theater. He also managed the bus line from Milford to Port Jervis for several years.
Neighbors said last night that he had become despondent because his health had prevented his working any longer. They also said he had complained of financial troubles.
Ruston Daily Herald, April 13, 1943)
Theatre Managers Doing All Possible To Get Rid Of Rats
Call For Cooperation From Owners Of Other Business Places
Ruston theatre managers said today they were doing everything possible to rid their shows of rats and hoped within a very short time to have them eliminated from the premises as nearly as possible. C. J. Hubley said he had fought rats every day since he had been in Ruston but he could not rid the town of them by himself and called upon the city for more cooperation.
Mr. Hubley further said the Dixie Theatre Company had spent well over one thousand dollars during the past year for poison, traps and remodeling to prevent them from entering the building. He now catches from one to fifteen each day and has done everything from filling the House with cats to shooting them, but he can’t keep them out as long as other stores in the city do nothing to stop them from breeding and living on the premises.
An interesting thing about rats in the theatre is that none are ever caught before show time, but after the theatre is closed at the last show. They seem to come in or roam about only when people are inside eating and dropping particles of food on the floor.
Professional rat exterminators have rat-proofed the building and he said he would offer a reward to anyone finding where they can enter the theatre.
Both the Dixie and Varsity Theatres are being given a thorough cleaning and extermination campaign to rid the building of all vermin and Mr. Hubley has asked all owners and tenants of buildings near the theatres to cooperate in an effort to kill or drive them from the city.
Mr. Butterfield, of Tech Theatre, says he has not found any sign of rats in his theatre and has asked for another inspection from WAAC officers. However, he constantly has poison and traps scattered about his theatre to make certain none will enter or stay in the building.
He plans to keep a few cats as a further precaution, he said.
(Ruston Daily Herald, April 13, 1943)
Theatre Managers Doing All Possible To Get Rid Of Rats
Call For Cooperation From Owners Of Other Business Places
Ruston theatre managers said today they were doing everything possible to rid their shows of rats and hoped within a very short time to have them eliminated from the premises as nearly as possible. C. J. Hubley said he had fought rats every day since he had been in Ruston but he could not rid the town of them by himself and called upon the city for more cooperation.
Mr. Hubley further said the Dixie Theatre Company had spent well over one thousand dollars during the past year for poison, traps and remodeling to prevent them from entering the building. He now catches from one to fifteen each day and has done everything from filling the House with cats to shooting them, but he can’t keep them out as long as other stores in the city do nothing to stop them from breeding and living on the premises.
An interesting thing about rats in the theatre is that none are ever caught before show time, but after the theatre is closed at the last show. They seem to come in or roam about only when people are inside eating and dropping particles of food on the floor.
Professional rat exterminators have rat-proofed the building and he said he would offer a reward to anyone finding where they can enter the theatre.
Both the Dixie and Varsity Theatres are being given a thorough cleaning and extermination campaign to rid the building of all vermin and Mr. Hubley has asked all owners and tenants of buildings near the theatres to cooperate in an effort to kill or drive them from the city.
Mr. Butterfield, of Tech Theatre, says he has not found any sign of rats in his theatre and has asked for another inspection from WAAC officers. However, he constantly has poison and traps scattered about his theatre to make certain none will enter or stay in the building.
He plans to keep a few cats as a further precaution, he said.
Letter: “Phantom Empire: Gene Autry, Frankie Darro— Here is something different in serials. Based on the fantastic ideas made popular by the comic strips such as Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon. Started this on a hot Sunday but it is building and holding those who started it. It is well done with more plot than most serials. Just showed the third episode. The producers deserve credit for this new idea in serials and the clever manner in which this has been produced. â€"J.E. Stocker, Myrtle Theatre, Detroit, Mich"
(Olean NY Herald, April 15, 1930)
THE BOTTOM RUNG
By Joseph Von Raalte
Every profession produces its eccentrics and in the theater they have their “punch drunks” as has the “cauliflower” industry.
• The saddest one I ever encountered was in the Myrtle Theater in Brooklyn, a dilapidated little house that plays three acts of independent vaudeville and pictures.
Thc acts playing there are starving old-timers, seeking their room rent, or new acts, using the place for a dress rehearsal, knowing they will not be “caught” by bookers or agents.
The general utility man backstage at The Myrtle is a middleaged chap with a huge red nose, dressed in an ill-fitting doorman’s uniform.
He swears he’s “Raymond,” of the old-time act of Raymond and Caverly, “Dutch comics”; and as each act put in an appearance he corners them to rehearse past glories and to whine about “stupid bookers” who won’t work him. He then madly does impersonations of Dave Warfield, Tom Naughton, Eva Tanguay, all the old-timers, now out of the public run.
For $20 a week he takes light cues, moves scenery, acts as call boy. Thus, he’s closing his life, backstage, with Memory ever bringing the light of “other days.”
Life is a Theatre.
Invite Your Audience Carefully.
Not everyone is spiritually healthy and mature enough to have a front-row seat in our lives. There are some people in our lives that need to be loved from a distance.
It’s amazing what we can accomplish when we let go, or at least minimize time spent with draining, negative, incompatible, not-going-anywhere relationships, friendships and fellowships.
Observe the relationships around you, and pay attention to which ones lift and which ones lean; which encourage and which discourage – which ones are on a path of growth uphill, and which ones are going downhill.
When you leave certain people, do you feel better or feel worse?
Which have drama, or don’t really understand, know and appreciate you and the gifts that lie within you?
When you seek growth and peace of mind, and love and truth, the easier it will become to decide who gets to sit in the front row and who should be moved to the balcony of your life.
You cannot change the people around you but you can change the people you are around.
Ask God for wisdom and discernment and choose wisely the people who sit in the front row in the theatre that is your life.
Merry Christmas.
GALA OPENING PROGRAM STARTING MONDAY EVENING, APRIL 29 (1912):
BERNARDI- Justly entitled to the superlative commendation, “King of Protean Artists!” Alone enacting no less than a score of difficult and diverse roles with a facility well nigh uncanny.
HERMINE SHONE & COMPANY â€" Five favorite farceurs in a fantastic, frivolous ferment of fun.
LYDELL & BUTTERWORTH- The LITTLE BROWN LADY and the FUNNY DANCER.
TED BAILEY’S POSING DOGS- Novel Art Reproductions
MURRAY K. HILL- Merry Jester and Parodist
SUPERLATIVE ANIMATED VIEWS – FIRST RUN FILM REPRODUCTIONS
ORPHEUM CONCERT ORCHESTRA – DIRECTION PROF. O. M. COTTON
(Racine Journal-News, April 27, 1912)
MRS. H. DURANT IS PRIZE WINNER
(By the Spelling Editor)
It’s all over-and the enigma is solved. It really wasn’t a puzzle at
allâ€"-it was a cinch. Hundreds of Racine people had ‘figured out’ what all Racine was talking about before The Journal-News was off the press two hours last night, and this morning hundreds of letters containing the correct answer were received by special delivery at the Journal-News office. The letters scattered throughout the paper “Orpheum” of course, and of the big basket full of special delivery letters not one contained any other answer than the name of the vaudeville theater which opens Monday night. In accordance with the terms of the contest the first answer opened by the Spelling Editor was awarded the prize and the first place went to Mrs. H. Durant of 1420 Grange avenue. She gets two box seats at the new theatre, good twice a week for twenty weeks and valued at $40. Her letter was the first one signed for by the Spelling Editor who is now afflicted with writer’s cramp from putting his name in the special delivery mail carrier’s little book. There was nothing on the outside of the envelope to indicate who sent the answer inside so that Mrs. Durant’s victory was largely due to chance as many other letters were received at about the same time. Mrs. Durant’s box seats are the best in the new house and the prize accordingly is a very acceptable one. The first two hundred and first prizes inclusive were awarded to the
sender, of the next two hundred letters opened by the Spelling Editor.
Paradise Theater adds to its attractions
(Milwaukee Journal, Jan 30, 1995)
AT THE Paradise Theatre, volunteers sell popcorn, take tickets and run the projector. Now they have taken to the stage.
Volunteer musicians now perform before the first showing of movies on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. From 6:30 to 7 p.m., visitors can pick their seats and settle in for some pre-film entertainment: classical guitar, cello, electronic keyboard and more.
Here’s the latest lineup of films:
“Twenty-One Days.” Starring Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier, directed by Basil Dean; 7 and 9 p.m. Tuesday jan 31, Wednesday feb1 and Thursday Feb. 2. (1937, black and white, 75 minutes.)
“Babes in Arms.” Starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland, directed by Busby Berkeley; 7 and 9 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 7, through Thursday, Feb. 9. (1939, black and white, 93 minutes).
“Romeo and Juliet.” Starring Leonard Whiting, Olivia Hussey and Michael York, directed by Franco Zeffirelli; 7 p.m. Feb. 10-12 and 14-16. (1968, color, 139 minutes.)
“The Cameraman.” Starring Buster Keaton and Marceline Day, directed by Edward Sedgwick; 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 22-23. With live accompaniment by Sigmond Snopek III. (1928, black and white, silent, 78 minutes.)
“Rear Window.” Starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly, directed by Alfred Hitchcock, 7 and 9:10 p.m. Feb. 24-26 (Friday-Sunday) and Feb. 28-March 2. (1954, color, 112 minutes.)
“Children of Paradise.” In French with English subtitles, starring Jean- Louis Barrault and Pierre Brasseur, directed by Marcel Carne; 7 p.m. March 7-9. (1945, black and white, 195 minutes.)
“Little Women.” Starring Katharine Hepburn and Joan Bennett; directed by George Cukor; 7 and 9:10 p.m. March 10-12 (Friday-Sunday) and 14-16. (1933, black and white, 117 minutes.)
“The Last Laugh.” Starring Emil Jannings and Max Hiller, directed by F.W. Murnau; 7 p.m. March 22 and 23. With live accompaniment by Snopek. (1924, black and white, silent, 73 minutes.)
“The Bridge on the River Kwai.” Starring William Holden and Alec Guinness, directed by David Lean; 7 p.m. March 24-26 (Friday-Sunday) and 28-30. (1957, Cinemascope, color, 161 minutes.)
The Paradise Theatre is at 62nd St. and Greenfield Ave., West Allis. Admission is $2.50, $1 for children with an adult.
From West Allis Now (West Allis, Wisconsin):
City may find after-life in Paradise Theater
If money can be found, city could takeover historic site
By MARK SCHAAF
West Allis â€" With its boarded up windows outside and unused theater and office spaces inside, the historic Paradise Theater still looks like a building in transition at the corner of one of the city’s busiest intersections.
It’s a scene at Greenfield and National avenues and 60th Street that’s become pretty familiar to passers-by. Since movies stopped playing there in 1996, the building has struggled to attract a permanent tenant, which has contributed to its deterioration and the unsightly scene.
But West Allis officials are now exploring whether there is any historic preservation money to aid in the redevelopment of the theater, 6229 W. Greenfield Ave.
A developing situation
The city is in the early stages of seeing whether state funds are available to help the city purchase the property, with the ultimate goal of getting it into the hands of a private developer, city Planner Shaun Mueller said.
“We’re just seeing what’s out there to see if we could assist moving those properties along,” Mueller said.
The city has long sought to restore the building, in part due to its location in the emerging, redeveloped Six Points neighborhood and also because of its historic nature.
Banking on the future
The building is now owned by the State Bank of Chilton after a foreclosure. The Paradise Family Life Center was the latest tenant, holding religious services there for about four years.
The group that ran the church, Ziklag Global Investments, was forced out due to the foreclosure and after the Common Council last year revoked its special-use permit.
Aldermen at the time said the group didn’t live up to its obligations of the permit – one of the stipulations was putting windows on the east end of the building – and owed $70,000 toward parking for the area’s redevelopment.
The once-open aired east end of the building was eventually boarded up amid neighbors' and city officials' complaints of skateboarders and loitering.
A history of economic woe
Tough economic times are nothing new for the Paradise Theater. It was built during the Great Depression and allowed cash-strapped residents to see movies for a nickel, said Devan Gracyalny, West Allis Historical Society president.
Gracyalny has been told the building is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places and he hopes grant money can help revitalize the building.
“I think it’s a wonderful building and I would hope it can be saved either privately or through a private-public joint partnership,” he said.
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Here’s a recent photo of the Paradise Building looking to the west-southwest: http://www.westallisnow.com/news/79320562.html
(February 23, 1954 – Racine Journal Times)
Call Meeting to Discuss Use of Mainstreet Theater
Persons and civic organizations interested in a proposed project to restore the Mainstreet theater building as a community theater for stage productions are being invited to express their ideas at an 8 p. m. meeting Wednesday in the Hotel Nelson.
A number of organizations have indicated interest in salvaging Racine’s last remaining legitimate theater. To bring the suggestions to a focal point, the Junior Chamber of Commerce has named Paul Lange as chairman of a committee to investigate the possibilities.
Will Meet Wednesday
Lange has called a meeting of all interested individuals and groups for Wednesday night to determine what, if anything, can be done.
Earlier, Edward L. Speer, president of the Kiwanis Club, proposed a similar project to renovate and salvage the theater. His suggestion is to be considered by the members of Racine’s two Kiwanis Clubs.
Speer pointed out Racine has two major amateur theatrical groups as wall as dramatics productions from Junior and Senior high schools who could make use of the theater. In addition, Speer suggested that a renovated Mainstreet Theater also might be used as a convention hall.
Since the installation of wide movie screens on the stages of two houses, there is no longer any theater of ample seating capacity which can accomodate a stage production, Speer said. The Kiwanis Club also will have to look for a new theater in which to present its annual minstrel show. Speer suggested the possibility that the theater building might be purchased and renovated through a public campaign, sponsored by the several civic groups which would be interested in retaining a legitimate theater in Racine.
Weak state laws let public officials stonewall citizens looking for information
By David Kidwell
Tribune staff reporter
May 3, 2008
Thom Rae wants to know why his town is spending $1 million to keep a second-run theater afloat.
Kevin and Anne Barber want to know what happened to the principal who forced their 8th grader and his classmates to kneel painfully on a gym floor during a lecture on respect.
Patricia and Joel Garza want to know why so many secrets surround the investigation into the crash that killed their grown son.
They all want answers. The answer they all got was “no.”
In Illinois, getting a public record is a frustrating labyrinth of excuses, delays and denials.
Public servants have all the tools they need to keep a grip on information that rightly belongs to the people, whether it’s a police report, a principal’s disciplinary file or a spending plan, a Tribune examination has found.
Since 2005, more than a thousand citizens have filed complaints about public officials in Illinois who refused requests for public records, most often by completely ignoring them.
A review of those complaints, along with dozens of interviews, reveals a culture of secrecy shrouding the machinery of your government. Public meetings are often theater, where votes are pro-forma endorsements of decisions forged in e-mails and memos you will never be allowed to see.
Government records routinely turned over at the front counters in many other states are routinely denied here — the result of a notoriously weak open records law, an unsympathetic political culture and an attitude of disdain among many public servants who consider documents their own.
“In my view, it is the worst state in the country when it comes to transparency and open records,” said Terry Mutchler, the first-ever head of the Public Access Bureau spearheaded by Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan.
“If you’ve been through the files then you know what we’re up against,” said Mutchler, who left last year to start a similar effort in Pennsylvania. “It was horrible, ineffective and unbelievably frustrating.”
Don’t like it? Hire a lawyer and file a lawsuit. In Illinois, that may be your only recourse. Even Madigan, the state’s top law enforcement officer, has little authority to pry loose public records beyond writing a strongly worded letter.
Her office wrote more than 100 of them last year alone, according to the Tribune’s review of her complaint files. Fewer than two dozen of those letters resulted in the release of the requested records, her files show.
The state’s Freedom of Information Act has more pages devoted to what records you can’t get than what you can, from public officials' personnel files to memos where they express opinions. Critics of the law, including the Chicago Tribune, have called for a complete overhaul to eliminate broad exemptions commonly used by government to deny records.
Proposals to strengthen the law gained some steam at the Statehouse this year following the corruption arrest of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But they focus less on eliminating loopholes and more on strengthening enforcement of the current law.
One of the most common exemptions is for “preliminary drafts,” cited by officials to withhold any number of documents written before government makes a decision — which is exactly when the records are most needed by those who might question it.
That was the case for the self-appointed La Grange watchdog who asked for all the internal reports, studies and staff memos village leaders used to justify spending nearly $1 million to help renovate the dilapidated La Grange Theatre.
‘It doesn’t look good for them’
Thom Rae has battled what he calls an attitude of secrecy in La Grange for years.
The 54-year-old, who runs a news blog called LaGrangetoday.com, sicced the attorney general’s office on the village manager and trustees last year for meeting in secret on a controversial plan to spend $1 million in tax money to help renovate the La Grange Theatre.
Then he asked for the records — consultants reports, fire code memos and other documents — that Village Manager Robert Pilipiszyn and the board members were using to justify spending tax money in the public/private partnership.
All he got was Pilipiszyn’s three-page summary to the board — with 15 of 19 paragraphs blacked out. La Grange officials cited the “preliminary draft” exemption as all the permission they needed to wield their marker.
Rae laughed as he pointed to a heading called “Community Involvement” and all the words beneath it were inked out. “The entire entry is a secret,” Rae said. “Tell me there’s no irony in that one.”
Madigan also laughed when the Tribune recently showed her a copy of the redacted document. “It doesn’t look good for them,” she said. Madigan’s deputies likewise expressed their own skepticism last year about whether the village was forthcoming, but told Rae there was nothing more they could do.
Last month, though, the Tribune made its own request for the records and got them.
Pilipiszyn released the complete memo and several other records following the newspaper’s inquiries, but by then the point was long since moot. The board voted 4-3 in November to spend the money.
The deciding vote was cast by Village President Liz Asperger, who won her seat with help from the theater’s owners. They gave her free slide ads at movies and provided $25 in popcorn for a rally.
Asperger said she supported the theater deal to preserve a village landmark and praised the village’s record of transparency.
“Appropriately, there are some things that should not be disclosed,” she said. “But we work hard to keep those to a minimum.”
Pilipiszyn said the village attorney approved withholding the records because the village was in early stages of considering the deal. He still won’t release the report on the theater’s financial health, citing potential harm to the owners “if their competitors got a hold of it.”
“What competitors?” Rae responded. “It is a second-run theater in La Grange, they don’t have any competitors. If they feel there is something to lose from showing the public their finances, then perhaps they shouldn’t be asking the public for money.”
Pilipiszyn said there were several public meetings where the theater deal was discussed in detail.
“I think we do a great job providing the citizens with all the information they need to make an informed judgment,” he said. “I don’t want to be the poster child for this issue.”
Withholding drafts and other documents used in decision-making may be common practice in Illinois, but it’s puzzling to officials from other states.
“Wow, that pretty much encompasses everything government does,” said Laurie Beyer-Kropuenske, Minnesota’s top public records official. “I don’t get it. How is the public supposed to evaluate the performance of its government if all those records are secret?”
The public needs to see drafts more than almost any other document, said Pat Gleason, a cabinet aide and open-records counsel to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist.
“They need to know what a government body did in order to reach a decision, what kind of other ideas did they explore and reject,” Gleason said. “All those records are public in Florida, and it hasn’t yet brought government to a standstill.”
‘Privacy’ excuse just a fig leaf?Another broad exception commonly cited is for anything considered a “clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.” That’s the exemption school officials used when irate parents at Clinton Junior High School demanded answers after their 8th-graders were forced to kneel during a lecture about discipline.
The uproar prompted a written apology the next day from Principal John Pine and his deputy Karen Smith. They said the kneeling was used to get students' attention, lasted only a short time and was aimed at curbing an array of disciplinary problems that included swearing, running in halls and showing disrespect to staff.
To parents Kevin and Anne Barber, the apology raised more questions than it answered.
“Obviously, they don’t have control of the school,” said Kevin Barber, who insists his son did nothing to deserve that treatment. “I want to know what happened.”
The Barbers asked for video taken by a security camera in the gym, but were denied on grounds that it would invade the privacy of the children captured on tape. They complained to the attorney general’s office, which offered advice on how to request the video but said it could not advise the couple on whether the school in central Illinois had a legitimate reason to withhold it.
The Tribune helped the Barbers file a new request in April, seeking the video and records of any discipline meted out to the administrators. Supt. Jeffrey Holmes denied the discipline records, telling the Tribune the parents would have to trust him that Pine’s punishment for the inappropriate assembly was sufficient.
“It’s a personnel matter, and it wouldn’t be appropriate to release it,” he said.
But the Tribune inquiries did prompt Holmes to reconsider the decision to withhold the video.
“You cannot identify any of the students' faces, so we decided that it is not a student record,” Holmes said, acknowledging it shows the teenagers were forced to kneel twice for a total of eight minutes.
The Barbers said until this happened they had no idea how little access they had to their own school’s records.
“They have custody of our kids for most of the day, and they are telling us to just trust them to handle everything,” Anne Barber said. “Well, I am having a hard time trusting them. It is just a shame that it took the Chicago Tribune to get us that videotape.”
The Barbers said the incident has left them with a newfound appreciation for the need for open government.
“Just look at the politicians in this state and the corruption everywhere,” Kevin Barber said. “And then you look at the difficulty we had getting this little piece of information. It’s no wonder these people are so corrupt. It’s no wonder they get away with so much.”
The privacy exemption is broadly used in Illinois to protect everything from performance evaluations and disciplinary cases to résumés and employment contracts of public servants. It can also be used to deny 911 tapes and redact police reports.
But when public officials don’t make such records available, the secrecy sometimes breeds suspicion.
‘All I wanted was the truth'In south suburban Steger, Patricia and Joel Garza fought for months seeking copies of police reports and dispatch tapes after their son died in a car crash. When they finally got some records, with help from Madigan’s office, the names of all the witnesses — even the identity of the other driver — were blacked out for privacy reasons.
“I want to know what they are hiding,” Patricia Garza said of the police. “All I wanted was the truth.”
According to police, her 24-year-old son, Matthew, died when he blew a red light at 90 miles per hour, legally drunk, and his car was struck by another vehicle. He died instantly, minutes after taking the family van without permission early on the morning of Sept. 29, 2007.
But South Chicago Heights police took more than five hours to notify the Garzas their son was dead. Stunned and confused, the Steger couple demanded a deeper look into the case. Their numerous requests for police reports, photographs and dispatch tapes were at first ignored and then denied, records show.
The attorney general’s office tried to help, informing the Steger and South Chicago Heights Police Departments the 911 tapes and accident reports are public records. Garza got some 911 tapes and police reports with large sections blacked out.
“I was stonewalled at every turn,” Garza said.
The couple, who had called police to report their son took the car, suspect the police started a pursuit that led to his death. They have no evidence and police have denied it, but the 52-year-old mother scours every new document looking for the slightest discrepancy, sure police are hiding the facts.
The chiefs of both Police Departments involved in the investigation say they sympathize, and acknowledge mistakes were made in complying with the requests.
“I know she thinks we are covering up something,” said South Chicago Heights Police Chief Bill Joyce. “Of course we could have handled things better. I understand that.”
Joyce said the accident reconstruction took months to complete and the dispatch tapes were withheld because other jurisdictions had to be contacted for permission to release them.
The decision to black out information identifying witnesses and the other driver was made by Parker Johnson, the attorney for South Chicago Heights.
Johnson said he decided to black out anything that contained private information even though Illinois law specifies that identities of witnesses to traffic accidents should be released.
The Tribune obtained a copy of the complete report, and a review shows the deletions went beyond witness identities. Also blacked out was the make, model and year of the other car, as well as its contents which included a cooler, a radar detector and sunglasses.
“In hindsight, that was probably not necessary,” Johnson said about deleting those details.
“It is possible some words get blacked out that shouldn’t, but there is a very real concern about the disclosure of private and personal information.”
The frustrations of people like Patricia Garza have not been enough to change the law in Illinois.
Most states that have passed good transparency laws did so because lawmakers and politicians were forced to by a citizenry fed up with political scandal, said Charles Davis, director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition at the University of Missouri.
“I can’t imagine you guys in Illinois are not at that point,” he said. “History proves that government officials cannot be trusted to police themselves, whether it is a police department, a city hall, or a governor … and in the case of Illinois, two governors in a row.”
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