[Chat] Tom Kiefaber on WCBM
Hello, neighbors, I was lucky and managed to catch part of an interview with Tom Kiefaber, owner of the Senator theater, on WCBM's Tom Marr Show. In case you hadn't heard, the Senator is saved! It got enough donations to pull through and avoid the auction. A caller asked why if the Senator is getting so many donations, why he doesn't make it a nonprofit. Kiefaber said he hears that suggestion a lot. He says there is a misunderstanding about nonprofit status. If the Senator were to become nonprofit, it could no longer show first-run movies. He says a number of old theaters that closed were reopened by a Friends of ... nonprofit organization and show only older movies. I've heard that a nonprofit can't compete head-on with for-profit businesses, because otherwise the tax benefits that a nonprofit enjoys would make for unfair competition. Kathleen tells me that's one reason why her organization, the House Rabbit Society, can sell discount supplies only to its members. If the HRS were to sell to the public, then it would be competing with for-profit retail stores, which wouldn't be allowed under the HRS nonprofit status. Kiefaber went on to say that the Senator does have nonprofit educational activities, like showing movies to school children as part of an educational program. There either already is or soon will be a nonprofit partner organization to the Senator to which you can make deductible contributions that will go to support the educational activities. He said this will indirectly help the Senator's bottom line by bringing in more viewers. A caller asked about why the Senator doesn't have more arts films. Kiefaber said that clearance contracts are part of the reason for this. A clearance is an agreement that one theater has with a distributor to disallow other movies from being shown at another theater within the same region. Kiefaber said that for 12 years since the General Cinema in Towson opened, the Senator could never show any movie that was playing on any screen of the Towson GC. He said he knows that The Charles is a sacred cow, but the fact is that The Charles uses clearance agreements to ensure that only it can show the arts films that it gets. He says that a Landmark theater is going to open in the Inner Harbor later this year, and that he suspects The Charles will experience the problem of clearances from the other side. This part of the discussion also went into how clearance agreements are a major reason why the Senator has had a lot of difficulty over the years. Kiefaber says that clearance agreements are an anti-competitive business practice that were developed by chain cinemas to drive traditional single-screen theaters out of business by depriving them of a variety of movies to screen. He said that when people saw the old cinemas going out of business, they assumed that it was economic Darwinism, that the old cinemas just couldn't compete. In fact, it was death by asphyxiation. A caller asked whether the Senator could get more movies by asking further in advance. Kiefaber said he asked to get Little Miss Sunshine far in advance (I think he said two months before distribution was announced) and that he still couldn't get it. Kiefaber was asked if the Senator will still show old movies. He said that they missed doing it this year, because of the financial difficulties. But they will go back to running 1939-style movie nights where you can see Casablanca or It's a Wonderful Life for a quarter. Kiefaber says the other night, they put a film can in the lobby of the Senator to collect contributions for the SOS fund. He said he felt like George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life because so many people were throwing in money and checks. --Emil -- Emil Volcheck [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://acm.org/~volcheck ___ Chat mailing list Chat@charlesvillage.info http://charlesvillage.info/mailman/listinfo/chat_charlesvillage.info
[Chat] chat needed
Hi all: I have another column to write so send me your news! Thanks, Dawna ___ Chat mailing list Chat@charlesvillage.info http://charlesvillage.info/mailman/listinfo/chat_charlesvillage.info
[Chat] FW: Maryland: Support Bill to Restrict Cruel, Dangerous Chaining of Dogs
I know several people are against PETA. But I think that this bill, see below, is important for those who care about animals. Christine Gray _ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, February 23, 2007 3:12 PM To: Christine Gray Subject: Maryland: Support Bill to Restrict Cruel, Dangerous Chaining of Dogs PETA's Action Center Alert http://www.peta.org/enews/actioncenter/images/ac-header-dog.jpg Mail icon http://www.peta.org/enews/actioncenter/images/icon-send.gif http://getactive.peta.org/PETA/join-forward.html?domain=PETAr=P7LYR391y__u Send to a Friend | Dove icon http://www.peta.org/enews/actioncenter/images/icon-donate.gif https://ebiz.isiservices.com/peta-e/peta/donation.asp?section_code=H06P001X Donate Now | Check icon http://www.peta.org/enews/actioncenter/images/icon-join.gif http://www.animalactivist.com/actjoin.asp Join Our Activist Network Dear Christine, As you know, keeping dogs chained-or tethering http://getactive.peta.org/ct/O7LYR391PXo2/ , as it is sometimes called-is cruel because it deprives these highly social pack animals of proper socialization and often leaves them unable to reach whatever shelter, food, and water they've been provided. The dogs grow aggressively protective of their tiny space and often attack children who come near them. Senate Bill 696 http://getactive.peta.org/ct/OdLYR391PXoN/ , which would help make the state a safer place for dogs and the public, has been introduced in the Maryland General Assembly. Today, please urge your state senator to support this bill-and encourage your state representative to support its companion, House Bill 673 http://getactive.peta.org/ct/O1LYR391PXoM/ . If it becomes law, the legislation would prohibit the tethering of an unattended dog to any fixed object or running cable trolley system between the hours of 12 midnight and 6 a.m. and during weather emergencies. The bill would also prohibit any use of tethers less than five times the length of the dog. Such violations would be punishable by as many as 90 days behind bars, as would the use of tethers that restrict animals from accessing food, water, and shelter. Please urge your http://getactive.peta.org/ct/6pLYR391PXoA/ state senator and representative to support SB696 and HB673. Please forward http://getactive.peta.org/PETA/join-forward.html?domain=PETAr=P7LYR391y__u this message to others in your state who might be willing to lend their voices to this important issue. Maryland's forgotten and neglected dogs are counting on you. Thank you for your compassion for animals and your willingness to act. Sincerely yours, Dan Paden Domestic Animal and Wildlife Rescue Information Department People for the Ethical http://getactive.peta.org/ct/OpLYR391PXow/ Treatment of Animals _ Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this. http://getactive.peta.org/join-forward.html?domain=PETAr=P7LYR391y__u Tell-a-friend! If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for http://getactive.peta.org/PETA/join.html?r=P7LYR391y__uE PETA's Online Community. This message was sent to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit your subscription http://getactive.peta.org/PETA/smp.tcl?nkey=wkkgxusr1673xe7; management page to modify your e-mail communication preferences or update your personal profile. To stop ALL e-mail from PETA's Online Community, click to remove http://getactive.peta.org/PETA/remove-domain-direct.tcl?ctx=centernkey=wkk gxusr1673xe7 yourself from our lists (or reply via e-mail with remove in the subject line). This e-mail was sent by: PETA 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510 United States http://www.convio.com http://getactive.peta.org/nlor/wkkgxusr1673xe7 ___ Chat mailing list Chat@charlesvillage.info http://charlesvillage.info/mailman/listinfo/chat_charlesvillage.info
