Teamwork can bring Mulkey back

By now you’ve seen the signs or pamphlets around town and likely have seen our front page article this week all touting the same message – Bring Back the Mulkey.

For several years, the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation Board (of which, your humble editor is a member) has dreamed of saving the Mulkey Theatre and returning it to operation. Acquiring the theatre was itself a process that took quite a lot of time and work; but after that was accomplished in 2008, the CEDC took immediate steps to replace the theatre’s roof and secure the building from the elements.

The board has since looked into the cost to restore the theatre’s façade and marquee as part of the CEDC’s ongoing effort to make downtown more attractive, and then recently a citizens committee was appointed to help raise funds for the further rehabilitation of the facility.

What do we want to do with it? Well, eventually we want to see movies dancing across a silver screen and have a wonderful facility for public meetings, conferences, and more. But we don’t have the funds to jump out there and do it all at once, so this will have to be a project that is accomplished one step at a time. It won’t happen overnight, and it can’t be done without the strong backing of the community.

For many of us who grew up here, the Mulkey holds treasured memories. Maybe it was just a fond part of your childhood, the site of your first date, or the setting for a story that demonstrates your mischievous youth. Did you sit in the balcony? Did you work for Mrs. Mulkey (or Mr. Mulkey at one of his earlier theatres) or for Gary Barnhill? Did you park your bicycle in the rack out front on Saturday?

I remember seeing several movies at the Mulkey growing up. I recall hating when my cousin got to pick the night we were going and she wanted to go see “Coal Miners’ Daughter.” I was nine years old, and I guess that was my first “chick flick.” But I also have very fond recollections of movies I loved. Disney movies and comedies were always good.

The popcorn, the Cokes, the neon, and the whole experience – the theatre was past its prime by the late 1970s, but a night at the Mulkey was still a special treat. My favorite memory was when I was seven or eight, sitting on the left side of the middle section, toward the back of the theatre, as I watched Superman come to life on the big screen, and Christopher Reeve made me believe a man could fly. It was a time before computer generated imagery or THX surround sound or most of the fancy things you find in 21st century films and theatres. But right there, right then, the Mulkey Theatre was a magical place for one little boy.

Sadly, we now have two generations who have never seen a show at the Mulkey or even seen its neon lights brighten the night sky. My own son and daughter can see only a lifeless building. But we can change that and make the Mulkey again a showcase for Hollywood hits and set the stage for memories that will last lifetimes. Together, we can “Bring Back the Mulkey” for our children, our grandchildren, and ourselves.

To find out how you can do your part, visit www.ClarendonEDC.org and then click over and leave us a comment on our website – www.ClarendonLive.com – or visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TheEnterprise.

Judge gives bitter pill to Obamacare

A federal judge this week ruled that an important part of the president’s health care reform is in fact unconstitutional.

District Judge Henry E. Hudson ruled in favor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, which had argued that the provision of the landmark law which requires all Americans to purchase health insurance or be penalized exceeded the authority granted by the Constitution to Congress.

“It is not the effect on individuals that is presently at issue – it is the authority of Congress to compel anyone to purchase health insurance,” Hudson wrote in his decision.

The Obama Justice Department responded that it would take the case to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and all sides agreed that the case will ultimately land before the US Supreme Court. Meanwhile a separate case brought by Texas, Florida, and several other states is moving forward on much the same grounds as the Virginia case.

Hudson let stand all other provisions of the health care law, but maybe someone will strike down the entire behemoth, which tramples on economic freedom and personal choice and will, in fact, cause health care premiums to increase dramatically.

There is always talk of compromise in Washington, but this decision illustrates perfectly why Republicans were justified in their unanimous opposition to this law. There should be no compromise when it comes to the integrity of the Constitution. The president, Pelosi, and Reid don’t understand that, but hopefully the will learn it very soon.