The Statesman on the Belterra Subdivision
The Statesman’s Asher Price has a piece in today’s Statesman about Belterra’s attempts to dump treated wastewater in Bear Creek
Belterra, developed by Calif.-based Makar Properties, had applied to the state environmental agency more than two years ago to expand its wastewater treatment plant, hoping to discharge some treated wastewater into Bear Creek, which feeds Barton Springs. Belterra — located off U.S. 290 in the Hill Country — originally asked to expand the capacity from 150,000 to 800,000 gallons a day. The developer, which has at least 350 houses on Belterra’s 1,600 acres now and plans as many as 2,000, said the facility will be a model for sewage disposal in a region dominated by aging septic tanks.
Quick updates…
Some small updates:
- It looks like Amazon now has a pre-order page for the DVD. The release date is September 18th. We will have much more to say about it as we get further along. (Short answer, if you’re a big enough fan to be reading this, then do us a favor and don’t buy from Amazon since we hope to be selling it from this very site.)
- Developer Robert Barnstone died this weekend. He has a small part in the film as one of the City Council members who ultimately denied the PUD for the Barton Creek development. (”We would go fight the devil himself to protect Barton Springs…”)
- Dallas’ Angelika run surprised us all with an over $3000 weekend, so it’s being held over for another week. Dallasites represent.
- We got some good press in the Metroplex which doubtlessly helped, including The Dallas Morning News, Ft Worth Star Telegram, and this Dallas Observer bit, a syndicated version of Jim Ridley’s Village Voice piece.
- There are some other really exciting developments happening right now that we can’t share yet. But we hope to be able to share the news some time soon. Watch this space.
- Also, if you haven’t picked it up, buy a copy of the Criterion Collection release of Days of Heaven. We’ve been watching it and they’ve done a truly incredible job with the transfer.
Back to the Angelika in Dallas
We screened the film at Dallas’ Angelika last year. The reception was… interesting. I’m not sure what to expect for the actual run but if you’re in Big D or have friends there, tell them we’re there. Here’s the showtimes.
The Unforeseen hits Houston’s Angelika
Houstonites The Unforeseen has just begun a week long run at the Angelika. If you’ve got friends or family in Houston, particularly you Texas Exes, then of course let them know about the film.
Showtimes are available here:
The Unforeseen gets another week in Austin’s Drafthouse
Alamo Drafthouse, the greatest theater in the US (a status they had in our hearts even prior to running the movie) has kept the film for another week. Only this time they’ve moved it from the South Lamar location to the new, awesome 6th street Ritz location. Not only is this your last chance to catch the film in Austin theaters for a while, but this is your FIRST chance to drink liquor while watching the film.
Showtimes and tickets are available here.
The Unforeseen opens in Chicago Today
The Unforeseen’s Chicago premiere begins today. You can see it at the Gene Siskel Film Center. The run goes from May 2 through May 9th. Showtimes are:
- Fri., Mon., Wed. and Thu. at 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm;
- Sat. at 3:15 pm, 5:15 pm., and 7:45 pm;
- Sun. at 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm
A little more info is available here.
The Unforeseen returns to Vancouver
The film plays the beautiful Vancity Theater starting Friday. So if you missed it at VIFF, this is your chance to see it again.
Ticket information here.
State University of NY at New Paltz Screening…
A proposed development in New York City’s watershed has citizens very agitated. Working with the Sierra Club, they’ve arranged for a screening of The Unforeseen on Tuesday April 29th at the Coykendall Building Auditorium at SUNY New Paltz.
More information here.
The Sierra Club’s Quest to Save the Mountain
http://oracle.newpaltz.edu/article.cfm?id=3728
By Christina Musso, Contributing Writer
Five years ago, a real estate developer came to Belleayre Mountain wanting to build a private resort in the Catskill Park in the New York City watershed and the constitutionally-protected borders.
The developer is “looking to develop the private resort less then 10 miles away from the Ashokan reservoir,” said Carolyn Zolas, the head of the New York City Chapter of the Sierra Club.
The private resort would be located right next to the public skiing and hiking area. The plans for the resort include adding more ski slopes for their guests, along with a golf course. The resort would be the size of 500 football fields.
Many local people were not as excited about it, and they began to protest. A campaign called Save the Mountain was created to help fight against the development.
“This plan, if it goes ahead, will turn public preserved land into private ruin,” said Donna Flayhan, an expert on public health.
The development plan has still not been resolved, five years later. Former Governor Eliot Spitzer created a Principle of Agreement contract that was supposed to please all parties, but not all parties in the Save the Mountain campaign signed onto it.
It wasn’t until the Sierra Club found out about the development, that the Save the Mountain campaign was rejuvenated,” Flayhan said. Now the Sierra Club is going full-throttle into the campaign to make sure that this resort is not built.
The biggest concern with this development project, according to the Save the Mountain campaign, is that it could cause pollution to the naturally filtered water. “A filtration plan will cost $30 billion,” Zolas said.
“New York City water is some of the purest public drinking water left in the world, because it comes from the Catskills, created by glaciers and nature, Flayhan said. “If the land is developed, the water will be polluted, not by terrorists, but by a developer.”
If that filtration system is put into place it could be the tax payers who are going to be paying for it. In addition, since this private resort would be so big, the layout for it would cause many trees and wildlife to be killed.
“We have to be able to protect this land from overdevelopment,” Rich Schaedle, chair of the Catskill Heritage Alliance, a local conservation group. “Once it’s gone, it’s gone. You’re not going to get it back,” he continued. “We need to protect it for our children and grandchildren for the future.”
Because this is such a huge issue, the Sierra Club has decided to show a movie at SUNY New Paltz to gain awareness. On Tuesday, April 29 they will show “The Unforeseen,” a film by Laura Dunn, produced by Terrance Malick and Robert Redford.
“The Unforeseen” is a film about a similar situation that happened in Texas where a real estate developer clashes with activists who want to preserve a local spring and the land surrounding it. The film will be followed by a panel discussion.
Those who attend the showing will find out about the devastation in Texas and how they can help.
Philly and San Diego openings this Weekend
Landmark graciously has us both in Philadelphia at the Ritz Bourse…
photo by
Officer Snow Pea
and San Diego’s Ken Cinema.
photo by Susan Williams
Tickets for both cities can be found at this page.
The Unforeseen Plays Denver’s Starz Center
The movie starts a week long run at Denver’s Starz Filmcenter.
Image by Shiwy1
Tickets available here.