Entertainment sites should be in back of the line for aid

Bob Schaedler, Southbury


According to the Dec. 30 front-page story “Warner, Palace theaters set to benefit from aid,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said: “Connecticut’s economic well-being depends on our theaters, entertainment venues, concert halls, museums. They are the cultural lifeblood of our great state.”

Those local small businesses might be doing fine without the arbitrary and ineffective restrictions imposed on them.

The Warner Theatre in Torrington might not exist without significant support from the state and federal governments for its restoration, which was completed in 2002. That did not result in a black-ink business. The Palace Theater in Waterbury has a much more complex history of government involvement in the same time frame.

I like theater and the arts as much as anybody, but in my view, theaters and the like should be among the last to receive aid. Given the history, it’s hard to believe the aid funds will be efficiently and effectively used.

Supporting these entertainment venues without easing up small business restrictions is not an equation.

Our senators and Gov. Ned Lamont need to rethink their priorities.

Bob Schaedler


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