Lost Theaters, Lost Revenues…

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Culver Uptown Cinema picture borrowed from www. maxinkuckee.history.pasttracker.com

There was a recent discussion on LinkedIn about the value of small town theaters.  It linked to another article here.  Both made some interesting points that apply to Culver and Marshall County.  Culver’s theater, most recently the Uptown Cinema (Formerly the Lakeside Cinema and before that the El Rancho Theater in my lifetime.), shutdown several years ago citing costs for upgrading to digital projectors as a major factor.  Around the county, the Princess (or Lido) theater in Argos closed years ago and the same for Bourbon’s Comet and Gem theaters.  The Rees Theater (picture here) is no longer operational in downtown Plymouth.    The Tri-Way Drive-in Theatre has cited the digital projector issue as a potential obstacle to their continued operation.  (More on Tri-Way’s upgrade costs here.)

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Air Purification from Honeywell

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Image borrowed from www.filtration.com

Honeywell’s AirBRIGHT is a 24-V UV air purifier that installs within HVAC ductwork.  According to Honeywell, the system will remove potentially harmful viruses and bacteria from the air as well as eliminating odors from cooking and pets.

For germaphobes such as myself, this is just the ticket.  This is a whole house system that has a similar effect to the Arcalux HRMS disinfecting fluorescent fixture discussed in a previous post here.

The AirBRIGHT system can be installed in existing ductwork.  If this is something that interests you, we can put you in touch with qualified installers.

Remote Control Shades & Blinds

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Pella has introduced their new SmartSync technology that allows remote control access to raise and lower blinds.  This works with the integrated blinds and shades  in Pella’s Designer Series of windows and doors.

Not only does this let you adjust the shades without getting out of your chair, but it can be tied into your home or business automation system through web-enabled devices like computers and smart phones.

This is the first step to using your window shades to help control your environment.  For example, the west facing windows shades you opened in the morning to let light in might soon detect the movement of the sun and automatically close to reflect that excess heat in the summer or vice versa, open when the sun hits them in the winter to pick up that passive heat.  (Pretty cool even if it doesn’t qualify as Green That Saves Green.)  Likewise for security, if you normally close the blinds when you’re gone to keep out prying eyes, you’ll be able to check them and close them from your smartphone or work computer.  No more wondering if you remembered to close them before you left.

PIDCO

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PIDCO Logo 1-21-14I attended the PIDCO (Plymouth Industrial Development Corporation) Annual Meeting today and was voted into a position on the Board of Directors.  I have voiced some disappointment with PIDCO’s squandered potential the last few years and I guess now I have to put up or shut up!  Easterday Construction has long been a shareholder in PIDCO.  We’ve believed in the mission and the work they have done for Plymouth and Marshall County has been impressive.  I look forward to helping them recapture and advance their agenda for the betterment of the community.

There was a presentation from Dan Zuerner of Garmong Construction regarding his thoughts on economic development and the new shell building that is being built on PIDCO property.  This project is a combined effort with PIDCO, MCEDC, City of Plymouth and the Plymouth Redevelopment Commission.  This will give us a flexible state of the art building to offer on the market.  The presentation was interesting and hopefully a wake-up call to the PIDCO members and city officials that were there.  He chastised the City for high fees and difficult requirements that have added costs and slowed the project.  If this is a difficulty for a company we’re partnering with, just imagine the view from a new business looking to expand here…