Not All Pornographers Deaf to Community Concerns

It’s not a given that a porn merchant will be deaf to community concerns. The Union-News reports… In Indian Orchard, there was enough interest for Adults Only to draw 1,000 members in a couple of months, but also enough angry residents to make operating a painful chore.“We’re avoiding neighborhood stores at this point,” [porn shop […]

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Parking May Not Be a Trivial Issue for Proposed King Street Porn Shop

Capital Video is proposing to build a 6,222-square-foot porn shop at 135 King Street. Their current plans call for 25 parking spaces, possibly less in the winter due to snow storage.In 1994, the Union-News made this observation about Bookends, a porn shop in Enfield: “The 44 Enfield St. Bookends, with a refurbished interior and 6,000-square-foot […]

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1990: Smith Students Mobilize Against Playboy

Our research turned up this episode in Smith history that many of today’s students may not be aware of… Angry Smith College students demand to be accepted for their brainpower rather than their beauty. More than 200 women gathered on the campus last night to protest Playboy magazine’s invitation to students to pose for a special issue […]

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Former Stripper Tells Easthampton Hearing about the Life: It Stinks

Some of our opponents have claimed that life in the sex industry is liberating and empowering for women. That didn’t prove to be the case for Karen Harrison, who share her experience at a public hearing in Easthampton. The Union-News reports… About 200 opponents turned out in opposition to nude dancing last night at a […]

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Chicopee Noted Springfield, Holyoke Problems with Adult Businesses, Passed Zoning Regulations in 1993 and 1994

In 1994, Chicopee aldermen unanimously approved regulations on adult businesses. These included keeping them at least 500 feet from schools, libraries, parks, playgrounds and recreational areas. The Union-News reported, Several aldermen on the 13-member body pointed to recurring problems and ongoing struggles in cities such as Springfield and Holyoke which do not have laws on […]

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Capital Video Representative Swears at NoPornNorthampton During Public Meeting

At today’s Planning Board meeting, NoPornNorthampton had a brief exchange with Capital Video’s Anthony Nota. Public documents submitted to the Planning Board list Mr. Nota as a Capital Video “project manager”. Mr. Nota is a large, tall man. He is pictured here standing in City Council chambers beside Capital Video’s lawyer, Michael Pill. Towards the end of […]

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A Response to John P. DiBartolo

Northampton’s citizens and legal community have every right to question the judgment of attorney Michael Pill in agreeing to represent the Capital Video porn store. John P. DiBartolo’s letter (Gazette, 10/26/06), responding to Andrew Sirulnik’s 10/24 guest column, argues that lawyers’ willingness to take on unpopular clients is what makes our system of justice work. […]

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Gazette: “Planning Board to hear video, hotel proposals”

Today’s Gazette reports on the Planning Board meeting scheduled for tonight. Capital’s Video’s Site Plan has been scheduled for review at 8:30pm, but the board may decide to “continue” (delay) voting on the plan in light of adult-use zoning now being considered by the City Council.“Even if a vote isn’t taken, [senior planner Carolyn] Misch said, the […]

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The Psychology of Porn for Men

What does porn do to men? Edward Marriott investigates for The Guardian (2003)… At its most basic level, pornography answers natural human curiosity. Adolescent boys want to know what sex is about, and porn certainly demonstrates the mechanics. David Morgan, consultant clinical psychologist and psychoanalyst at the Portman Clinic in London, which specialises in problems […]

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Springfield Citizens Beat Back an Expansion of Their Capital Video Porn Shop

Capital Video has had a porn shop at 486 Bridge Street in Springfield since 1990. Many citizens and local businesses were unhappy about it from the start. To protest the shop, residents Leslie Pasquini and her husband Ronald “helped garner 600 signatures sent to [District Attorney William M.] Bennett.” (Union-News, 1/24/92, p. 20)City Councilor William […]

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