COMMENTARY: Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down, Part III
by David M. Kinchen
Editor, Bluefield News Network
Huntington (BNN) — At my last newspaper, the editorial page staff periodically published a useful commentary column involving thumbs: Up for good, Down for bad. I’m using this format, which is offered in many variations at various magazines and newspapers, to comment on some recent news items or events. This is the third installment of an occasional series.
THUMBS UP to Curtis McCall of Marquee Cinemas in Beckley for bringing a state-of-the art movie megaplex to Pullman Square in downtown Huntington. Marquee Cinemas Pullman Square 16 would be welcomed in Los Angeles, Chicago or any other major metro area. The sound systems and stadium seating are obvious pluses. Instead of using a cookie-cutter approach, Marquee Cinemas made each auditorium special, with different color schemes and different sizes: The largest one seats 300 and the smallest 75. The megaplex deserves to be the centerpiece of Pullman Square. Now, if Hollywood and other movie production centers would only turn out more movies worth seeing! Please don’t remake classics like “Alfie” and “The Manchurian Candidate.”THUMBS DOWN to drivers who don’t slow down in rain and fog. On the way over from Hinton to Huntington, Friday, Nov. 19, 2004, I experienced the thrill of a lifetime, as just about every driver was speeding through heavy fog and driving rain. On the Turnpike and I-64 few people observed the signs warning drivers to slow down. Truck drivers were among the worst offenders, tailgating drivers in the slow lane and hogging the passing lanes. My driver education teacher in Illinois in the 1950s, Coach Wilky, would not approve! Slow down! You’re going to be late anyway! On the return trip, traffic on eastbound I-64 near Milton was at a crawl, as vehicles moved past emergency units attending to a compact that had turned turtle in the scooped-out shoulder. I told you so!
THUMBS UP to the building owners in Huntington who are making an effort to preserve the many beautiful office buildings that grace the city. As an observer who has seen many buildings in many cities, I definitely approve of the preservation efforts I noticed in my informal walking tour downtown Friday. A special note of appreciation should go to Dr. Joseph Touma, called by Mayor David Felinton the “soul” of Pullman Square for his restoration work on buildings across Third Avenue from the development. I don’t know if the former Stone & Thomas department store building is owned by the good doctor, but whoever owns it should consider creating loft apartments or condominiums in it. I believe there is a market for relatively affordable loft apartments above stores or offices. This is the model of a street where we lived in Milwaukee in the 1970s, Brady Street in that city’s equivalent of SoHo or Greenwich Village. Our apartment was conventional, but we lived above a store. Wall Street Journal reporter Ray A. Smith writes about apartment developers switching to “soft” or “faux” lofts in new projects. The article, “Apartment Developers Have Lofty Plans,” is in the Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2004 WSJ. It’s worth looking up.THUMBS UP to backers of a real trolley car line down Fourth Avenue in Huntington. This is an idea whose time has come. I’m not talking about a bus masquerading as a trolley—although those are worth considering for other streets, such as Third and Fifth Avenues. Chicago has several “faux” trolleys, including a line from the Loop to the Navy Pier shopping/entertainment zone. A trolley would be a perfect addition to the early 20th Century buildings that make up the bulk of the city’s core. It would move people from MU to the downtown area quickly and with much less pollution and congestion than individually driven cars. It would definitely boost business at Pullman Square and Keith-Albee. The third district’s resident porkmeister, Nick Rahall, should be able to get federal financing for an honest-to-God Huntington Trolley.
THUMBS ???? seeks printable Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down items from our readers. Send them to me as HTML text (no attachment) e-mails at: davidkinchen@hotmail.com and I’ll consider them for future columns, with credit, of course. Please include a phone number and/or e-mail so I can verify the information.
Happy Holidays!
Thumbs Archives:
10/16/04 — Part I
11/10/04 — Part II
11/26/04 — Part III
12/15/04 — Part IV
12/24/04 — Part V
12/31/04 — Part VI
01/08/05 — Part VII
01/14/05 — Part VIII
01/21/05 — Part IX
02/04/05 — Part X
02/11/05 — Part XI
02/18/05 — Part XII
02/25/05 — Part XIII
02/28/05 — Part XIV
03/06/05 — Part XV
03/10/05 — Part XVI
03/18/05 — Part XVII
03/26/05 — Part XVIII
03/30/05 — Part XIX
04/09/05 — Part XX