Access Denied

I thought I was going to get a look around the flood-damaged Paramount Theater today for an upcoming column. I was wrong.

Three Gazette colleagues and I showed for the tour along with several community leader/interested citizen types. But Scott Schoenike, who manges the theater for VenuWorks, said the media would not be allowed on the tour.

Apparently we can't tour the place unless someone from Adjusters International, a city contractor, is there to escort us. Schoenike said the A.I. escort would make sure that we got the right "message." I guess that must be  a different "message" than he was going to deliver on this tour.

Huh.

If only we'd followed proper channels. I emailed Schoenike last week, but he ignored my request for a tour. Then I heard about today's tour through other channels. I had this odd notion that a public building being repaired with taxpayer dollars might be accessible.

I really should have known that it's another fiefdom protected by a nice thick blanket of bureaucratic efficiency.

So, what I can report today is that although the Paramount suffered heavy flood damage, its  message control system is fully functional. Thank goodness.