Week in Brief

Local movie theater in the works

PATRICK MCGARVEY/YH

POETIC LICENSE: Pulitzer Prize-winning Carolyn Kizer reads "Election Day, 1984" at a 'Yale Review'-sponsored reading on Thurs., Feb. 4. Gary Snyder also read from his new work.

Yalies may soon have a better selection when looking to catch a Friday night movie. Adam Gorlick, the owner of York Square Cinema, is working with New Haven officials on a possible movie theater at the site next to the Chapel Square Mall, where Macy's stood until it closed in the early '90s. James Cella, a New York developer involved in the project, described the proposed theater as a "traditional multiplex [that would] serve the whole New Haven community."

The planned theater would feature a wide scope of films. "We'll dedicate a couple of screens to art films, with the balance showing Hollywood hits," Cella said. When will this theater become a reality? "I hope in our lifetime," Cella joked, adding seriously that he expects the target date to be sometime in the next 18 months. "These things take time," he said, noting the long negotiation process.

The new movie theater is only one in a series of planned projects to renovate the Chapel Square Mall and its surrounding buildings. Other ideas include a bowling alley and a theme restaurant.

--Nancy Levy

McCurry charms with stories from the Beltway

PATRICK MCGARVEY/YH

SPIN CITY: Former Press Secretary Mike McCurry impressed students with his candor on D.C. issues.

With his trademark dry wit, former White House Press Secretary Michael McCurry addressed a packed audience at a Morse College Master's Tea on Tues., Feb. 2. Declaring himself open to talking about anything, including his collection of "Monica stories," Mc-Curry kept the audience entertained with his inside look at the personalities and politics in Washington, D.C.

"It's been an interesting run of it," McCurry said of his nearly four-year stint as press secretary to President Bill Clinton, LAW '73. He described Clinton's personality as a complex mixture of geniality, talent, and recklessness. "I've seen a lot of world-class historians come out of a meeting with him shaking their heads, saying `Wow, he knows most of what I know about the presidency,'" he recalled. "It's hard to think he squandered all that." As for Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr, McCurry expressed a similar sense of frustration, commenting that Starr "has become a partisan advocate, not an independent counsel." Nonetheless, McCurry believes the greatest harm has come from the "erosion of trust" in the presidency. "There's been very little heroism this past year," McCurry reflected. "What I think about the situation is probably not that different from what most Americans think."

--Emily Gold

Q-bridge causes local school to relocate

The Connecticut Department of Transportation has finally arrived at a plan to resolve the traffic tie-ups at the Quinnipiac River Bridge, commonly known as the Q-bridge. The project to build a new, 10-lane bridge over a widened Interstate 95 will cost $800 million. The Woodward School, which currently has 285 elementary students
enrolled, is in the way of the proposed bridge and will be relocated.

New Haven Mayor John DeStefano, Jr., is now talking with the state about where and how to relocate the school. "There are three schools on the East Shore, and we'll look to expand one or more of those to accommodate [students]," DeStefano's spokesperson, Michael Kuczkowski, said. "The state will compensate the city for the cost of the building."

These compensatory funds will go to the old school building. The Woodward School had been slated to close by 2008.

--Adrienne Lo

State sewage plants in need of overhaul

A recent report commissioned by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities has revealed that the state's sewage treatment plants are about to exceed their life expectancies. The project to replace them will cost over $3 billion.

Without additional state money, the report estimates that average household water usage rates will climb drastically, leaping from $135 to $271 a year. The report suggests tapping the state's Clean Water Fund for $120 million a year, paying off the debt over 25 years. However, the state needs to come up with an additional $600 million to improve sewage treatment plants in order to reduce N2 levels in Long Island Sound.

Don Ganyea, a water representative for the state Environmental Protection Agency, described how unsanitary the plants have become. "After heavy rains, the plants cannot handle the sheer volume of water, so overflow occurs," he said.

--Sue Tuddenham

Yale police networked to fight crime

The Yale Police force will soon have the world of information technology at its fingerprints. The department recently received a $42,750 grant that will allow it to install laptop computers in all 10 of its patrol cars. The computers will allow instant access to the entire network of law enforcement information--from license information to outstanding warrants.

In addition, the computers will cut down on the need for radio communications between the station and the patrol cars. Service calls will be displayed directly on the computer screens. Officers will then be able to report back to the base stattion via online messages.

--Sue Tuddenham

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