THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 18, 1994 TAG: 9409160221
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 08 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
Chatterbox is a not-quite-newsy look behind the scenes from City Hall to City Park.
SECOND CHANCE: All items on the City Council agenda last Monday night, when council met in the dark, will see the light one more time when they come up for a second vote at the regular council meeting Sept. 27.
Shortly before the 7 p.m. meeting, the electric power went off downtown.
Council members, who already were on the sixth floor, opted to meet in the dark, rather than delay the advertised session. They voted on seven items, including a comprehensive plan amendment and a zoning change to permit construction of a regional jail.
Some citizens who wanted to speak on the items were unable to climb the stairs to the top floor of City Hall.
City Attorney Stuart Katz said the public will be able to speak about the items Sept. 27.
TIME STANDS STILL: In Portsmouth, time doesn't seem to matter.
The multi-faced clocks on the downtown Commerce Bank building and on the plaza behind City Hall both are dysfunctional.
The clocks are so far off the actual time that at least they don't cause passers-by any problems. But non-working and inaccurate clocks do not project a very positive image to strangers.
HOME MOVIES? Vintage Simplex movie projectors from the original Commodore Theater are for sale.
Commodore owner Fred Schoenfeld said he restored and used the projectors for the first two years the restored theater was open.
``We also have the lamps and other equipment,'' he said. ``If somebody wanted to set up the projectors in a den or playroom, they'd be able to show movies at home.''
The projection equipment and other original artifacts from the Commodore have been stored.
``We just decided we don't need to be paying for storage and that some collectors might be interested in owning some of this stuff,'' Schoenfeld said.
He also is selling original movie posters dating back to the 1960s and his days at the Plaza in Churchland. by CNB