RTP-area local music and culture

[Duncan Murrell <dvmurrell AT nc.rr.com>]

I offer these comments as a feeling-guilty bystander:

Having read this and the H-S article, I'd say that perhaps a little 
more work could be done to get it across to the press that the 
objections of that "young crowd" go beyond objections to the Clear 
Channel. I read that PowerPoint presentation, and it deserved much more 
consideration than the throw-away line buried in the second-to-last 
graf of the N&O article, "a local technology manager ...  presented 
data collected from theaters across the country to show they are 
money-losers." I thought the presentation was much more nuanced than 
that, and much more devastating. When the words "money-loser" and 
"Clear Channel" get equal weight in these articles, I think the effort 
will start to win over the people who, at the moment, aren't paying 
attention.

If you all are still willing to put together a website, I'd help 
write/edit some stuff.

d




On Jun 9, 2004, at 8:30 AM, info AT durhamloop.org wrote:

> Stifled debate unsettles council
>
> http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1317423p-7439885c.html
>
>
> By MARGIE FISHMAN, Staff Writer
>
> DURHAM -- Three City Council members said they regretted their votes to
> continue negotiations with the developer of a planned downtown theater
> without hearing from nearly 30 people who had signed up to speak at a 
> public
> meeting Monday.
>
> "It was probably not our finest hour," said council member Eugene 
> Brown, who
> explained that he was suffering from "fanny fatigue and mental 
> fatigue" when
> he agreed to curtail the debate shortly before 11 p.m. Monday.
>
> Brown, joined by council members Thomas Stith and Diane Catotti, said 
> they
> would have preferred more public comment before the vote, if only to 
> debunk
> the perception that they were immune to criticism of the deal.
>
> Mayor Bill Bell quashed public comment on the $42 million theater 
> project
> Monday and pushed a vote that allows the city to continue negotiating 
> for
> the next four months with a development team that includes Clear 
> Channel
> Entertainment. He also directed City Manager Marcia Conner to set up 
> monthly
> public forums on the project.
>
> "He was saying how important the public process is, and then he cuts 
> off
> public comment," said John Schelp, who attended the meeting and is 
> president
> of the Old West Durham Neighborhood Association. "It was actually 
> pretty
> amazing. I've never seen anything like it."
>
> Bell reaffirmed his decision Tuesday, explaining that it was late and 
> that
> opponents had an opportunity to voice their opinions by e-mail and at
> earlier meetings.
>
> "We do care what they have to say," he said. "What I was trying to do 
> was to
> provide a forum that was more meaningful." Bell, who routinely lets 
> members
> of the public exceed established time limits, described his actions 
> Monday
> as "an exception."
>
> Council member Howard Clement agreed with the move. Clement said he 
> knew
> going into the meeting that most comments would be against building the
> theater, which was "not on the agenda."
>
> Local artists and downtown residents have protested plans to have San
> Antonio-based Clear Channel manage and book shows at the theater, 
> saying the
> company excludes people on the fringe and tramples on free speech. 
> Now, they
> accuse their elected officials of the same.
>
> Bell "wants an events center, and he doesn't understand why these 
> people
> won't let him to do it," said Alex Kostelnik, artistic director of the 
> Scrap
> Exchange, who was among the people muted Monday. "It's a power play." 
> On
> Tuesday, Kostelnik said he met with other stunned project opponents, 
> all
> asking the same question: "Did that really happen?"
>
> The theater extension appeared Monday on the council's consent agenda, 
> which
> doesn't require a public hearing. Typically, the council disposes of 
> the
> consent agenda at the beginning of a meeting, but Bell moved up a 
> public
> hearing on the upcoming budget, after he said several residents 
> requested
> it.
>
> Four hours later, after 70 people had jockeyed for their priorities, 
> and one
> resident rehashed concerns over access to an Old North Durham park -- 
> an
> issue discussed at length during the last council meeting -- the 
> council
> took up the 4,000-seat theater, what could be the largest theater in 
> the
> state, subsidized by $24 million in public funds.
>
> Clement initially drew applause by criticizing a Clear Channel-owned 
> station
> for making "racist" comments about American idol winner and High Point
> hometown girl Fantasia Barrino. But he said he would support the 
> extension,
> because he wasn't ready to kill the project.
>
> Bell then asked the 28 people who had filled out yellow cards to 
> select a
> representative to speak for them. When they refused, the council 
> swiftly
> approved the item 6-1. John Best Jr., the only council member to raise
> concerns about limiting public comment at the time, said he dissented
> because the city has more pressing needs than a theater. A majority of
> council members could have voted to overrule Bell, according to the 
> council
> procedures.
>
> The vote disgusted some weary audience members, who hollered that it 
> was an
> insult to democracy. After the vote, four opponents were permitted to 
> speak,
> including a local technology manager who presented data collected from
> theaters across the country to show they are money-losers.
>
> Catotti said Tuesday she was uncomfortable with how the meeting 
> unfolded. "I
> didn't have a creative solution at the time," she said. "I think it was
> unfortunate."
>
> Staff writer Margie Fishman can be reached at 956-2405 or
> mfishman AT newsobserver.com.
>
>
> ***
>
> Ask ADF what it needs
> Herald-Sun letter to editor
>
> http://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/hsletters/index.html#488883
>
> I love ADF, you love ADF, we all love ADF.
>
> Serious questions arise, though, on how the proposed American Center 
> for The
> Performing Arts can mesh with Durham and its arts and artists, 
> including the
> American Dance Festival. The sketch of the center looks dandy -- bland 
> on
> bland. It matches up nicely with the nearby Durham County Jail.
>
> Compare this with the art and aesthetics of Durham. Durham is lively,
> enticing, alluring and downright funky. The American Center proposal 
> is none
> of the above. It blends with Durham's aesthetics as well as the jail 
> does.
> The arts in Durham are mostly homegrown, allowing a wide variety of 
> styles
> and moods. The proposed center, apparently to be run by a monolithic
> corporation, allows neither.
>
> The proposed center doesn't really meet ADF's needs. It is too large 
> for
> most dance performances. Perhaps Durham would be better off asking ADF 
> what
> it really needs and find a more Durham-like building to adapt for the
> festival.
>
> MARGARET CAMPBELL
> Durham
> June 9, 2004
>
>
>
>
> -- ch-scene: the list that mirrors alt.music.chapel-hill --
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/ch-scene

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