Northampton’s Planning Board has approved Capital Video’s Site Plan by a vote of 4-3. This means Capital Video may now proceed with building a porn shop at 135 King Street. Capital Video did withdraw a photo of a bondage-themed storefront when a member of the Planning Board objected that it violated Northampton’s new ordinance about […]
Month: December 2006
New York Times: “Whatever Happened to Online Etiquette?”
David Pogue writes on technology for The New York Times, and we sure feel his pain in this post today… I’m OK with criticism, I’m fine with disagreement, I’m perfectly capable of handling angry mail… I’ve even accepted personal attacks as part of the job. I’m a columnist; the heat comes with the kitchen. But […]
Capital Video Attorney Michael Pill: Fickle Defender of Free Speech
Capital Video Attorney Michael Pill has tried to portray himself as a First Amendment hero, suggesting that legal restrictions on porn shops are impermissible infringements on freedom of speech. However, not so long ago he was on the other side of the argument, trying to use the law to impede people from practicing their religions, […]
Courant: “‘Adult’ Businesses Add To Hartford’s Image Woes”
Citizens of Northampton are not the only ones concerned about how adult businesses present themselves. The 12/10/06 Hartford Courant reports: Hartford has an image issue. For those trying to sell it, the city is all about New England charm, wholesome family outings, high culture, good food and vibrant neighborhoods… But…[f]rom either direction [on I-91], big […]
Potential Nuisance Claims Against Capital Video
A private nuisance is a thing or activity that substantially and unreasonably interferes with a landowner’s use and enjoyment of his property, or with his interest in that property. (Edward J. Kionka, Torts in a Nutshell, 3rd Edition [St. Paul: West Group, 1999], p.312.) The test is whether “normal persons living in the community would […]
Capital Video Plays Hardball, Proposes Bondage Display for Store, Attorney Disses Community Opposition Ahead of December 14 Public Hearing
A month ago, Capital Video was talking up its “excellent relationship with its host communities”. General counsel Lesley Rich suggested that their store would be “designed in a ‘mainstream’ manner… Capital intends on opening an ‘upscale’ store in Northampton, and would be very receptive to discussions with the community on the look, feel and the […]
2004: Cal/OSHA issues citations to adult film companies for failing to protect employees from health hazards
After an HIV scandal rocked the porn industry in 2004, California workplace regulators fined two adult film companies for safety violations, issuing this press release on 9/16/04: SAN FRANCISCO – Cal/OSHA, the state’s occupational safety and health program, yesterday issued its first-ever citations to employers in the adult film industry. Two employers, Evasive Angles and […]
Carol Queen: Time for the Porn Film Industry to Stop Being a Poster Child of Heterosexual HIV Transmission
Carol Queen is no anti-porn crusader. She’s the author of Real Live Nude Girl: Chronicles of Sex-Positive Culture. That doesn’t stop her from advocating for condom use in porn films in this 2004 article for the San Francisco Chronicle: As good a job as porn has tried to do in preventing its No. 1 occupational […]
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach: “All are deeply destructive images that erode male respect for women”
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach is a popular TV and radio personality who has authored 17 books, including Hating Women: America’s Hostile Campaign Against the Fairer Sex (2005). Rabbi Shmuley recently won the American Jewish Press Association’s highest award for excellence in commentary. In this article from 1/15/05, he takes a critical look at the impact of […]
Lizzy Borden: We don’t shoot “all the lovey-dovey stuff that there’s not a big market for” (explicit language)
Lizzy Borden, born Janet Romano, runs Extreme Associates with her husband Rob Black. This porn production company lives up to its name with films like “Forced Entry”, which, according to Salon is “the story of a serial killer and his gang who rape and murder a series of women–an 18-year-old virgin, a pregnant woman, etc.–before […]