Laura Serena aka AstroGirl's Comments
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May 28, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 5
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl May 29, 2009, 10:12am EDT

Thanks, folks.

I feel like I should really clarify a few things that come up in those videos I posted.

The talk about CHAP refers to the city's interior landmark designation on the building, which limits what can be done with the interior. This should not present a problem for a new owner who wants to preserve the building and use it as a theatre. However, as current owner Tom Kiefaber points out in the videos, the specter of government interference in their business has scared off a few interested parties.

Tom, the current owner, does not want to continue to own the building. He has been trying to convert it to a non-profit for a few years now. The ideal outcome for the theatre is for someone to buy it at auction and turn it over to a non-profit, which would then be responsible for maintaining and restoring the building. This is what we all had hoped Baltimore City would work with us on, but the city government has been in such a big rush to oust the owner and do whatever it is they plan to do (there are many indications of a hidden agenda), that they have not been willing to engage in productive discussions with the community about finding the right solution. As a result, we are now hoping that publication of the upcoming auction will interest a bidder who is interested in preservation and will do the right thing with the theatre.

I have been one of a core group of volunteers who are now working at the theatre to keep it open and operating during the interim.
Mar 27, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 7
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Mar 27, 2009, 6:09pm EDT
People do sometimes snatch exotic pets like this. A friend of mine had cockatoos that were taken when they were outside and her eye was off them for a moment. Fortunately, the birds were later recovered. I hope this guy gets his parrot back.
Mar 25, 2009 | rating: 9.9 | comments: 13
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Mar 26, 2009, 10:05am EDT
Melinda, the city's guarantee will never come into play. The loan is over-collateralized. It has more property attached to it than the value of the loan is worth. If the city pays any portion of that guarantee in the end, it will be a small portion.

Meanwhile, the city has gotten FAR MORE out of The Senator than they have put into it. It's a vital part of the economic engine of the York/Belvedere area. It helps the other businesses in the area make money, by bringing foot traffic in. Those businesses pay taxes. When Belvedere Square was closed, The Senator was the only thing that kept that area looking like it had some life in it, and most of Tom Kiefaber's debts carry over from that time, because Belvedere Square has a reciprocal relationship with The Senator, and when one is hurting, it hurts the other one too. People going to one business in the area often go to others, particularly when you're talking about dinner and a movie, or a movie and shopping, or whatever.
Mar 25, 2009 | rating: 9.9 | comments: 13
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Mar 25, 2009, 4:26pm EDT
But Melinda, sadly, you are misinformed, and this is an example of how The Baltimore Sun is not doing its job on reporting this story. Baltimore City hasn't put a single dime into The Senator in this century! That's right. Not a dime.

They put a $600K loan guarantee on The Senator's mortgage with First Mariner Bank, but the city will ONLY ever have to pay out any of that money if, after a likely bankruptcy court proceeding, the bank can't get it out of Kiefaber. Not one dime of that money was an actual investment in The Senator, and in fact, it hasn't even been spent by the city. It's just money that they will owe if Kiefaber can't make arrangements to pay it. There's also a lot of other collateral on that loan, too, such as The Senator itself, Tom's house, and another residential property he was holding for possible future use in another potential business venture. The city will likely NEVER have to pay this money.

The last time the city put any money into The Senator, it was a $180K grant to fix the air conditioning, and that was in the last century!

The only time he's had help with keeping The Senator recently was in 2007, and that came from private donations voluntarily made by members of the public, so if you didn't want to help The Senator out at that point, you didn't have to.

What's also little known is that the city and state put $5 MILLION in grants into private enterprise redevelopment just across the street at Belvedere Square.

So there's a perception vs. reality thing going on here. $5 MILLION into Belvedere Square. Not a dime into The Senator this century. THAT'S the reality.
Mar 20, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 12
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Mar 25, 2009, 11:33am EDT
Mr. Cusack has now recused himself from meeting concerning The Senator, but the "Special List" move still goes forward, someone is still pushing it, and Mr. Cusack apparently still intends to bid at the auction. Also, he is still on the commission. This doesn't remove the conflict of interest, in my opinion.

However, there may be another person on the commission who is pushing this forward. Who is Mr. X?
Mar 20, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 12
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Mar 20, 2009, 6:04pm EDT
Chuck, I don't think that's an option, but thank you for your interest. The issue here is the city trying to fix the auction price. Nobody is saying that anyone who runs it in the future won't preserve it. At least, Tom Kiefaber's family has been preserving and protecting it for 70 years, and I would certainly hope any future owner will do so as well.
Mar 20, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 12
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Mar 20, 2009, 4:04pm EDT
Usually as far as I know they can't request it for the interior, though. I think that is probably unconstitutional.
Mar 16, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 15
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Mar 16, 2009, 10:56am EDT
Thanks, everyone. And in response to Chris E's post, it took so long to get to this point only because Tom Kiefaber is a hero who had cared more over the years about keeping The Senator open as a community resource than he cares about himself. That man and his staff have been doing something that is nearly impossible for the past twenty years. Most other single screens in the country have either closed, or they are non-profits that get a lot of help from government, corporate sponsors, and private donations. If this was about money for him, he'd have been out of it long ago. The man deserves an award. Unfortunately, at this time, if he's lucky, he might get to keep his house. He and his family deserve better.
Mar 13, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 7
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Mar 13, 2009, 4:23pm EDT
REMINDER for Baltimore residents: Very important town hall on The Senator's future on Monday, March 16th at 7 PM at the theatre.
Feb 27, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 15
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Mar 1, 2009, 7:39pm EST
Philip, that may be, but not THIS theatre!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If someone were offering to give the owner money to restore it, I'm sure that I would know that, since he is someone I know.

Again, it looks like you're making a very general comment about what may be happening in a larger context, but it does not apply AT ALL to this particular situation. Got it?
Feb 27, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 15
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Mar 1, 2009, 12:26pm EST
I should clarify the above by saying that in the very short term, we don't even need anywhere close to the $2 million I cited above, but a much lower figure.
Feb 27, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 15
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Mar 1, 2009, 12:18pm EST
No, Phillip. It has not awared millions for this very thing. Believe me. I am very much involved in this effort to save The Senator and very much aware of the financial situation here. If we had "millions" from any source, there wouldn't be an issue here. In fact, even $2 million would be more than enough startup capital for this non-profit.

It seems you're trying to fit this article into ideological pre-judgements you've already made, and in this case, you're way off the mark.
Feb 27, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 15
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Feb 28, 2009, 11:11pm EST
Everyone, thanks for the responses.

Philip, perhaps you meant to respond to another article? Your post seems particularly off-topic here, since Baltimore City has not spent a dime on The Senator for the past decade. They have made a loan or two, but no grant money whatsoever. (The millions they put into private enterprise at Belvedere Square just across the street is a whole other story.)

And in fact, the community is trying to set this up as a non-profit that would be run by the community, so that would take any future burden off the taxpayer as well.

In any case your point about "billions" being spent seems more appropriate to an article on federal budget spending, not city-level, so I just wonder if you hit reply on the wrong post.
Feb 27, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 15
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Feb 27, 2009, 4:26pm EST
Frugal Yankee, good points. The current owner is Tom Kiefaber (although he is mired in debts that make his future status with regard to the property uncertain), and it was his idea in the first place to transition the theatre to a community-based non-profit. The Senator Community Trust has sought his expertise and input, and so far he definitely seems amenable to working with us, although he is not directly involved in our efforts.

Baltimore City is somewhat trying to act on his idea about the non-profit, but at this point, they seem to want to be sure the current owner will have nothing to do with it in the future, which I view as an unfortunate "throwing the baby out with the bathwater" approach.
Feb 13, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 7
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Feb 13, 2009, 4:03pm EST
Oh no, Dame Ruth. Posting to this group has a much higher purpose than that! Points!
Feb 13, 2009 | rating: 10 | comments: 7
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Feb 13, 2009, 2:48pm EST
Melinda, I'm so sorry you're going to miss this. :(
Nov 3, 2008 | rating: 10 | comments: 17
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Nov 7, 2008, 9:37pm EST
Thanks, everyone.

I'm so glad the election went reasonably well and we're on the road to recovery now.

And Svetlana, thank you especially for sharing your well wishes from Moscow. I really love the way we can contact others far away in other places in the world on the internet. It gives me hope for the future that all of humanity might be able to learn to work together.

I just noticed a poem someone else wrote the day after the election. Yeah, the planet deserves a righteous party for sure.
Nov 3, 2008 | rating: 10 | comments: 17
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Nov 3, 2008, 2:24pm EST
Thanks, everyone.

And Dame Ruth, I'm more or less undecided on the whole divinity question, so I've got no problem with atheists or people of any other set of beliefs, so long as they can all realize that as humans we need to help each other and try to make the world a better place, not try to destroy each other as "competition." To me, it's not what you say you believe, but your actions toward others that matter.

Thanks, Jai. As I say, I'm fairly agnostic, but I want to believe there is a God who is a loving God.
Oct 24, 2008 | rating: 8.5 | comments: 44
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Oct 24, 2008, 5:40pm EDT
As someone who is trying to build a viable career from writing, I wholly applaud your article, Nippy. (I can very happily make an exception for a certain celebrity who has graciously been giving my writing a new audience with his copy and pastes, especially since those C&Ps have given me full credit.) In general, however, unless you are really sure the writer of an article has given you permission, don't copy and paste their work.
Oct 23, 2008 | rating: 10 | comments: 11
Laura Serena aka AstroGirl Oct 24, 2008, 11:32am EDT
Thanks, everyone. Carolion, I am glad someone got it. I love astrology, but also tend to find humor in it, and I see astrological symbols in things where the people who put them there may or may not have been aware of the significance. (I can't tell, in this case, if any of this was Cusack's intention.) But when I make astrology-related jokes, most people usually think I'm crazy.

And I really hope Mr. Cusack isn't offended by my little joke that references his movie 1408, because I was just having some fun. The truth is, I appreciate his crossposts.
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Laura Serena aka AstroGirl

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