Friday, April 15, 2005

Rumor-Monger At Work

VAUDEVILLE REDUX? Catskill’s Community Theater is being sold to New York-based entertainment professionals, who intend to bring some art films to upstairs screen, then make renovations suitable for live entertainment. Or not. TRIPLE HEADER? Three adjacent Main Street buildings in Catskill will change hands soon in deal worth more than a million dollars. Maybe. IT’S LOWE'S? That “other major retailer” reputedly headed for Catskill Commons, along with WalMart super store, is Lowe’s. And new up-market restaurant will be Applebee’s. Or won’t. 2 MORE GALLERIES? Half of frontage formerly occupied by Anne Stewart’s kilt-making (and Scots accessories) store will become Catskill’s seventh Main Street art gallery. And what recently and briefly was Mesa Traders, and before that was Smart Systems Group, will become gallery number 8. NEWTRITION? Currently vacant store next to Bob Meo’s barber shop will sell “natural” foods (which implies that other stores traffic in artificial food). FIRST CASE? After month-long absence to acquire new right knee, County Judge Daniel K. Lalor is back on bench. So: in first new trial did he have occasion to say “The charge here is theft of frozen chickens. Are you the defendant?” And did defendant reply “No sir, I’m the guy who stole the chickens”? LIBRARY IN SHAMBLES? Stay tuned. NEW BOOK? Anthropologists armed with new investigative tools, utilizing materials collected by GreeneLander Doug Nelson (among other sources), funded in part by little-known Rohrlich Trust, have managed to shed light on sex practices of Hudson River-dwelling “Indians” of yore. Their findings will be published by Bald Dome Press, under title Lust of the Mohicans. ACTUALLY LATEST DOWNTOWN acquisition by exemplary entrepreneur Frank Cuthbert is venerable, classic building at 408-10 Main Street, Catskill—now home, on ground floor, to Taste of West Indies cookery and to Sports Cards (postmaster Donald Stegall’s sideline). Frank plans renovation with ornate facade that restores look going back at least to 1888. (And by the way, in previous blog we incorrectly numbered Main Street address of future up-scale country furniture store. It’s to be at number 392, not 396, latter being Purple Heart boutique). GROWTH. GreeneLand’s population, according to Census Bureau estimate grew last year to 49,195 souls. Rate of growth, 0.7%, slightly exceeded Columbia County’s 0.6%. Biggest growers were Orange and Sullivan counties (1.6%, 1.2%). Total State population grew by 0.1%. Our most rural counties lost people. COOLER NEWS. GreeneLand’s jail currently is filled to capacity: 50, uh, guests; one cell under repair. And 31 more, uh, clients are being boarded in five neighboring county jails. It would be a relief, of sorts, if more defendants who are awaiting trial would make bail. Jail housing and feeding here, says Sheriff Richard Hussey, costs taxpayers $59 a day. Boarding elsewhere costs about $75 a day, plus transportation expense. But over-crowding is not main motive for present quest for new jail site and design. Our 93-year old pokey, behind county courthouse in Catskill, falls short of present legal standards for incarceration rules (cell size, etc.). It’s eligible for condemnation. TEAR DOWN Beattie-Powers House? With friends like advocate of that action (Village Trustee Angelo Amato, e.g.) Catskill doesn’t need enemies. Much more salutary, and sane, is scheme of moving County Council on the Arts into that historic Village-owned building, which would still serve, along with its majestic riverside grounds, for weddings and other special (fee-earning) events. Meanwhile, Council’s present 3-floor quarters in splendid 398 Main Street building could become substantial revenue earner. “NO TREE Left Behind.” That’s State Controller Alan Hevesi’s characterization of Bush Administration’s environmental mind-set. Hevesi was star attraction at pep rally of GreeneLand Democrats (there are some) at Pegasus Restaurant last Wednesday (4/13). Republicans won 2004 election, he opined, “because they lied” (about Iraq, among other things). Now they are “burying our economy in debt,” and their basic belief is that “government is The Enemy.” Lots of amens. SHOWING: narrative stick figure paintings and other works of GreeneLand artist (by way of Cuba, Beloit, San Francisco)Kico Govantes; from April 16; at Hudson’s Modo Gallery. For more info ring (518)828-5090 or treat self to view of excellent web site ModoGallery.com. And if you do venture across bridge Saturday, you could also check out Hudson Valley Literary Magazine and Small Press Fair, at Hudson Opera House, from noon on Saturday. UP HILL UP SCALE. Show called “Burgeoning Spring” opens Saturday at Windham Fine Arts. On display are works of Anthony Brownbill, Guy Chirico, Lynne Friedman, Fay Wood, Deborah Dorsey and Judy Thuss. More information: http://windhamfnearts.com. And that night, in Catskill Mountain Foundation’s red barn (Rte 23A, Hunter), master pianist and piano historian Vladimir Pleshakov expatiates on “The Hamburg Steinway Concert Grand” and plays Schubert, Chopin, Prokofiev and Liszt. AMPHIBOLY (as well as syntactic, vs. semantic, ambiguity) is what occurs in headline (Calgary Herald, via World Wide Words) “Police Kill Man With Machete.” L.O.N.G., qua lack of numerical agreement between subject and verb, is exemplified (among other faults in use of English), in sentence (from Daily Maul of 3/25) saying “He believes the plans to build a super Wal-Mart in the village is step in right direction for the village, but acknowledged it might hurt some of the existing business.”

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You'll soon learn that in Greenland if you have money or you hold office, you dont have to live by the same rules or laws that the commoners do. If your a Village Trustee, you can commit a crime and no one will suspect a thing. Infact you might be looked down on as being weak if you haven't screwed the system. Village President Seeley started his "cleanup the village campaign" by having a police Sgt issue 3 day notices to have unregistered vehicles removed from private property or face a fine. Despite the fact that the Village President had numerous unregistered vehicles on his property to include unregistered dump truck, unregistered motorcycle, and unregistered car on his property. Or that he had numerous condemmed buildings on his property which the fire department burned down for him a few years ago. Or that he still has a building that is as bad if not worse than the building that was torn down on the corner of West Main and Bridge Street. Do as I say , Not as I do! Why didn't Village President Seeley have to file work permits and appear in front of the planning board like the commoners when he had some 1800 ' of a water line run into his property. Who authorised his connection to or the use of the Village of Catskill Water Department Equipment used to trench and install this water line into his property? Why are the tax payers footing for this misuse of tax payer equipment? Was the Police Sgt who helped install this water line the same one who served some 30 or more violations of unregistered vehicles causing owners to get rid of their property?