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Problem Corner is an iconic radio show that has become a vibrant community hub. Callers engage in a wide array of discussions, ranging from local political debates to community commentary and casual advertisements for listeners looking to buy, sell, or trade personal items.
The show's rich history is marked by its association with several prominent local figures. Notably, Dennis Egan, a former mayor of Juneau, was a key personality in shaping the show's direction in the 1980s.
As a testament to its enduring relevance and appeal, "Problem Corner" has etched its name in the annals of Alaskan broadcasting history. It's not just a radio show but a cultural landmark, celebrated for being the longest-running radio show in Alaska.
Welcome to Problem Corner, Alaska's longest running radio show. Connect and discuss the topics important to Juneau and all of Southeast Alaska. Call (907) 586-1800, and subscribe to the podcast at kinyradio.com. Powered by Princess Cruise Lines, Alaska Laundry and Dry Cleaning, Juneau Powersports, and Dawson
Speaker 2:Hello, Juno, and welcome back to Juno's Problem Corner. I am your Tuesday host, Connor Lindrum, and I'm so, so glad to be here with you today. Give us a call at (907) 586-1800 if you want to let us know about things you're trying to sell, about local services you want to provide, if you're looking for a little help. And I have a guest in here with me in the studio today, James Edward Mc Sweeney the third, one of the masterminds behind the revitalization of the old theater downtown, once Gross Alaska, now Aurora Grand. Thank you so much for coming on the air with me today, James.
Speaker 3:Hello. Thank you.
Speaker 2:It is an absolute treat to have you on here. So if anyone, just as we're getting started, I wanna say if you got any questions about the new theater, about Aurora Grande, about how that works, or you wanna share some memories that you've had in that theater when it was The Gross Alaska, give us a call at (907) 586-1800 or give us a text at the same number. And, of course, I can accept email. I'm here in the twenty first century. Email me at air@kinyradio.com.
Speaker 2:So, James, the Aurora grand. Great name.
Speaker 3:Thank you. Thank you. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Really like it. Was that the very first thought for your name for the show? No.
Speaker 3:We went through, like, a million different iterations. Mhmm. I I would I was thinking about a Sterling Cinema for a
Speaker 2:while. Because of a silver screen.
Speaker 3:Silver screen. That's smart. We wanna do stage, so it's not just a cinema. And so that
Speaker 2:was Absolutely. Very exciting. We got our first caller coming on. Hello. You're on the air with KNY's Problem Corner.
Speaker 2:How can we help you today?
Speaker 4:Yes. I'm trying to sell my motorcycle.
Speaker 2:Okay. Selling a motorcycle.
Speaker 4:It's a 2022 Indian Chief Nice. For low miles, And I'd like to I'm asking 8,000 for
Speaker 2:it. Okay.
Speaker 4:Name is George.
Speaker 2:Eight thousand. Phone
Speaker 4:number is 907907. 419419. 6808.
Speaker 2:6808. Okay. Great. Thank you so much for calling in, George. If anyone out there's looking to buy a 02/2022 Indian chief motorcycle with low miles for eight k, call George at 419-6808.
Speaker 2:And, oh my gosh, George, we're hopping off. We got another caller on the air. Hello. You're on the air with Juno's Problem Corner. How can we help you today?
Speaker 4:Yes, sir. Good morning to you.
Speaker 2:Good morning to you.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Grumpy grandpa here.
Speaker 5:Hey, grandpa.
Speaker 4:Yeah. Grumpy grandpa.
Speaker 2:Hey, grumpy grandpa.
Speaker 4:Doing a show up for my firstborn daughter, Michelle Howard. Her birthday today.
Speaker 2:Michelle Howard.
Speaker 4:Special day for her.
Speaker 2:Special day
Speaker 6:for you And
Speaker 4:my wife from '62 is listening. I know all the family's listening, but I'd like to wish her a happy birthday, and I thank you for your program.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much, grumpy grandpa. Really appreciate it. Happy birthday, Michelle Howard, and happy birthday to people out there in Sitka. Oh my gosh. The ringer the phone is just going off the hook today.
Speaker 2:We got another call coming in. Hello. You're on the air with Juno's Problem Corner.
Speaker 6:Hello? Hello?
Speaker 2:Hello. How are you this morning?
Speaker 6:I'm fine. Thank you. I was trying to turn my radio down.
Speaker 2:Appreciate that.
Speaker 6:Yeah. Absolutely. Please, people, turn your radio down because all we hear is echo echo. But, anyways, and it's annoying. But, anyways, in regards to the Gross Alaska Theater, I love, and my former husband loved, the theater as well.
Speaker 6:We would go downtown and and watch every now and again when they would have old movies and that sort of thing. It was so nostalgic, and then it was very reasonable to get in at the time. Think, gosh. What was it? Like, two dollars to get in the door.
Speaker 6:And then, of course, we bought our popcorn and and soda pop there and candy, what have you, and it was so enjoyable. Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Have you had a chance to go down to the Aurora Grand yet now that it's sort of in its second life?
Speaker 6:No. Not yet. I'm out I'm out I'm out here at 19 and a half mile. Mhmm. So I very seldom ever get downtown anymore because I don't I'm but I used to work down at Fish and Game there by the bridge, and so, of course, that was my commute.
Speaker 6:So I I was actually kinda like the weather forecaster for the radio station in the morning. And Yeah. Went through so many different weather patterns that I would call in back in the day, back in, like, 2002 to the real Jeff McCoy and say, well, there's an accident here. There's an accident there. Go to this way, that way to avoid a backup.
Speaker 6:Try to get to work in the morning. Take Old Glacier Highway. Don't take don't take Vanderbilt today because of an accident. And it's raining downtown. It's hailing at Fred Meyer, and it's snowing out the road.
Speaker 2:And I see. I see. So you sort of like because we've you know, there's no weather chopper here, like, in LA. You took it on yourself to sort of, like, make sure we're getting up to the minute updates from all the things going on around Juno. Really appreciate your service, your public effort.
Speaker 2:Now I have a question for you. If there was a movie that was gonna bring you all the way downtown from 19 and a half mile, what would you want the Aurora Grande to put on that could lure you all the way down to our crowded metropolitan heart?
Speaker 6:How about Smokey and the Bandit? Smokey and the Bandit. Isn't that the root excuse me. The Burt Reynolds and Sally Field movie and which I think I think it's Smokey and the Bandit. Was I always thought that they should be together, that they should always have narrated each other because Burt Reynolds and Sally Field were just, like, two peas in a pod when they act when they acted together on on on screen.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Burt was a real heartthrob.
Speaker 2:Mhmm. And Sally Field was no was a was a no joke now. We love Sally Field. Well, thank you so much for calling in. We've got another call coming in.
Speaker 2:So I'm gonna hop over to our other line, but thank you so much for calling in. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 6:You. And thank you for bringing back the theater, and I will be there as quick as I can to patronize your enthusiasm, sir.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much.
Speaker 2:Hello. You're on the air. Oh, we missed our call. Give us a callback if you want to. Smoking the Bandit, do think?
Speaker 2:Do think it has a future at Aurora Grande?
Speaker 3:Absolutely. Yeah. We're we're, we've been talking about how to bring older, older movies to a younger audience. And, like, a lot of what those movies are missing is the context of, like, who is this person?
Speaker 5:Who is
Speaker 3:Burt Reynolds? What does he mean at the time? Right. And so we're we're talking with some people and if there's someone on the you know, listening right now who feels like there might be that person, we're looking someone who would wanna talk about older films, how they fit into the context of the time that they were made and filmed, and kind of give backstory. So we'd have, like, a movie club that gave important context to a movie like Casablanca where you you sit for maybe a half hour, we have a discussion, we talk about who were these actors, what was going on in the movie, what is Casablanca, what was going on in the world at the time, to give more context and gravity to the film.
Speaker 2:That's really, really cool. It's like a lecture series because I took some film classes when I was in college. I took a great series on a few different things, but I took a great Hitchcock class. That was really fantastic. And there is so much of that historical context that gets lost.
Speaker 2:I think it's a really great idea. Yeah. So if anyone out there thinks that you could give a really good primer about the cultural context and significance of Smoking the Bandit or any other films, we got any other film historians out there, give us a call. We wanna hear from you. We have call on the line though, so we're gonna hop over.
Speaker 2:Hello. You're on the air with KNY's Problem Corner. How can we help you today?
Speaker 4:Hi. I'm looking for some PlayStation four games.
Speaker 2:Okay. Looking for PS four games.
Speaker 4:Yeah. My my number is 523-3040.
Speaker 2:Okay. Great. And so
Speaker 4:And name is Joe.
Speaker 2:And name is Joe. Okay. Great. So you're looking for these games. Are these games for you, Joe?
Speaker 2:Are these for someone else in your life?
Speaker 4:Yes. They are.
Speaker 2:Okay. Great. We got a game. We're looking for some PS four games. Give a call to 523-3040 to Joe if you're looking to sell some PS four games.
Speaker 2:Thanks for calling in, Joe.
Speaker 4:Thank you.
Speaker 2:Hello. You're on the air with oh. We lost that one. Alright. So you have been how long has it been since, Aurora Grant has sort of opened their doors?
Speaker 3:Opened their doors? It's been, oh, what's the date? It's been, like, five weeks now that we've been actually doing stuff.
Speaker 2:Our first long.
Speaker 3:Not very long.
Speaker 2:You've been doing a lot in that amount
Speaker 3:of time. It's been a very busy period of time. Can you
Speaker 2:give us a rundown of sort of, like, your pedigree already in just that five weeks?
Speaker 3:Like, what we've done yeah. So we've done we did Gigi's drag show. We did the Glitz. Awesome. So that was our first, like, big push out into the world Mhmm.
Speaker 3:Which was a lot for us. It was because it's not a movie. It's full tech. So there was, it was really amazing because go back, I was in that space by myself effectively for months. And then to go from that to just full packed with people to see, like, life in the building was so trippy.
Speaker 3:It was like a very emotional experience for me Yeah. To go because it was just me toiling in the dark for months and months on end to get up to the point where I could invite people in. And then all of a sudden, the floodgates just poured open, and it was just people everywhere. And it was I felt, you know, bombarded, but also so grateful and so, like, just overwhelmed. The the range of emotions was, staggering.
Speaker 3:And then after that, we did princess bride, which was extremely popular. My favorite movie.
Speaker 2:Great movie.
Speaker 3:Arguably the best movie ever made. And so that was a huge turnout. And, you know, it was during the Rin Faire was happening at the same time.
Speaker 2:Oh, cool.
Speaker 3:And so we had like a nice cross promotion and that was amazing. And then we've done since then Emperor's New Groove, which is just my favorite cartoon.
Speaker 2:So funny.
Speaker 3:So funny. It's like a kit. Oh, so good. So good. And it's like a little underappreciated.
Speaker 3:And so a lot of people had never heard of it or never seen it. And so, like, I decided to make that one of our first cartoons because I just thought it was just like such a beautiful film.
Speaker 2:Did you get a good kid turnout for that movie even though it's a little older?
Speaker 3:It's a little. Yeah. I think that's one of the things that maybe this radio show can help me with is how do you program to families? How do you advertise to families and what time of day? So, like, trying to pick between nap times is a is a whole new
Speaker 2:is a is a whole problem I have, really. Yeah. I mean, I think maybe you just need a nap section so you can nap at the movies if you bring your little kids. Mhmm. So we are gonna go into a little commercial break here.
Speaker 2:Tune back in with us after just a few minutes to talk with James some more and hear more about the Aurora Grand.
Speaker 1:Your city, your station, K I N Y.
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Speaker 7:Gary's Fine Jewelry, located just across from the downtown library. Family owned and serving the community year round.
Speaker 8:Juneau Community Charter School is enrolling students now for the next school year. They're a parent led, tuition free Juneau School District optional campus, offering k through eight classes that are small, individually focused, and engaging. From eight to three Monday through Friday, kids enjoy fun, engaging learning in a safe and structured classroom focused on the needs of each student. An after school program that runs until five is available for those who need additional coverage. Call (907) 796-5857 or go to jccs.junoschools.org.
Speaker 5:Dan Sullivan by the numbers. Twelve years in Washington DC where he made almost 100 stock trades for himself. While Alaskans were paying higher and higher health care costs, Sullivan bought and sold stocks in pharmaceutical companies, making trades worth millions of dollars, doing better than most other investors, even growing his own stock portfolio by 50%. In the end, Sullivan tripled the size of his fortune, and we paid more for doctor visits and prescription drugs. We're stuck with soaring prices and he's worth up to $14,000,000.
Speaker 5:And once he made that fortune, Sullivan tried to cover it up, breaking congress's insider trading law and hiding his trades for months. All those numbers sure work out for Dan Sullivan, but they definitely don't work out for Alaska.
Speaker 9:I'm Mary Paltola, and I approve this message.
Speaker 5:Paid for by Alaskans for Mary.
Speaker 1:You're listening to Problem Corner on KINY, bringing neighbors together for generations. From the days of Dennis Egan to today, we're proud to continue the tradition of lively debates, community insights, and local connections here on KINY.
Speaker 2:And we are back on the air with James McSweeney the third running the Aurora grand downtown. We've gotten some great calls in today. Please give a call if you wanna share a memory from your times in the Gross Alaska Theater or if you've got any requests or questions for upcoming entertainment or different ideas for recurring programming at the Aurora Grand, because, correct me if I'm wrong, but you all are still looking for some programming ideas. Right, James?
Speaker 3:Absolutely. Yeah. We're, we're in the mix of trying to fill out reoccurring programs. And so we can have you know, we've talked to you a bit about D and D, and, we have some other ideas for some other some other monthly events that could happen regularly. Yeah.
Speaker 2:That's very, very cool. Maybe we got some ideas on the line right now. Hello. You're on the air with Juno's Problem Corner. How are you today?
Speaker 6:Oh, fine. I'm calling in to wish my daughter, Rochelle John, a happy happy birthday from her daughter, Jasmine, mom, and the grandchildren. And we just want her to have a very blessed day today, and happy birthday, Rochelle Mary John.
Speaker 2:Happy birthday, Rochelle Mary John, from your beautiful family. Thank you so much for calling in to share that. I hope you have a really great day. Happy birthday, Rochelle.
Speaker 10:Birthday, Rochelle Mary John.
Speaker 2:So thank you so much. And, yeah, if anyone else has any anniversaries or well wishings or commemorations they wanna do, please give us a call at 586-1800. You can also shoot us a text at the same number, and let us know if you have any questions for James and the Aurora grand or any requests for some upcoming movies. Now, there is you're sort of like a second run theater. Would that be the right term?
Speaker 3:Yes. Yeah. That works.
Speaker 2:And so, like, what is the time frame that, like, movies can't be in in order for it to be considered a second
Speaker 3:Sure. Yeah. That's, it actually depends on how good the movie was. I suppose, there's as it leaves the main theater, then it would become a second run almost immediately. So, I I grew up with a dollar movie theater, like, back in North Carolina where I'm from.
Speaker 3:And, movies would go straight from the main theater to it wasn't actually a dollar, but that's what we called it. Sure. And that was a so as it goes into that phase of its life, as it, you know, as it gets turned into DVDs and other things.
Speaker 2:So I have a question, which is how did you find yourself in this wonderful position? Like, how did you, where were you before Aurora Grande? How did you talk with the people who own the building? How did you end up in this position? Because, I don't believe there's any sort of, like, call out to the public for, like, new ownership or anything.
Speaker 2:How did that come about?
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah. It was a complicated story. So I worked for the ferries for a long time.
Speaker 2:Thank you.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Oh, yeah. So I did navigation. I was a third mate, second mate on the ferries and did that for a long time. But before I went to the I went to California Maritime Academy to become a mariner.
Speaker 3:And before that, I worked in theater, and I did theater for most of my life. I and I I worked at a dinner theater up until I went to the Maritime Academy
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 3:Doing tech. And so once I became, you know, locked on a boat all the time, I wasn't able to do any theater. And I was you you know very well that rehearsals and the the commitment that it takes to be a part of a show is all encompassing. And so if you're forced to go back to the boats every two weeks, it's just a nonstudy.
Speaker 2:Yeah. It's that's really tough. And, and, you know, it's a lot of commitment. It's a lot of work, but it's also, like, part of, I think, why most people, like theater people and show people go back to that and stay in that is because you're also in sort of this weird, insane club of people who are also all also in it, you get to connect on that feeling. And so Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Must have also been kinda hard to kind of, like, close that door for a while.
Speaker 3:Very much so. Yeah. I mean, was it's it's it was really sad. It was being on a boat is another weird club.
Speaker 5:Mhmm.
Speaker 3:So there was a new club for me. But but I but, yeah, I really missed it. And I always thought, like, this is I'm not done with theater. Mhmm. I am pausing to do something else because it doesn't you know, I was a I was a starving artist when I worked in dinner theater.
Speaker 3:And so to be able to go work for the fairies, I worked for the fairies for nearly ten years. And the only type of theater I could do that was a small enough commitment was the Gold Towns Rock River Picture Show.
Speaker 4:Ugh.
Speaker 3:So I did that for years. I did it for a bunch of years. I was riff raffing that. And how the story goes, the building was sold last year. The people who bought the building had their local guys who really wanted to invest in the community and keep downtown alive.
Speaker 3:And they saw that there were 20 or 25 apartments above the theater that could be rehabbed and brought back online. So they bought the building with those apartments in mind and didn't really have any design for the downstairs theater. Didn't have Wild. Right? So they were just like, something will happen.
Speaker 3:We're just gonna trust that this is gonna work out, and we're gonna buy the building and focus on the apartments and figure it out. And so and it comes with the there's two shops on either side, Drip Drop and the Irving Dry Goods. Yeah. So so they were like, we're just gonna try to do this. They're local guys.
Speaker 3:They just didn't wanna see downtown erode away. And they put a big sign on the door that said space for lease, build to suit on the door there. And I would walk by that all the time and just think like, there's a theater just sitting right there, you know? Wouldn't that be cool?
Speaker 2:You start itching, like scratching your neck like theater.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And so so I called them. I was just like, suppose I could see what's going on in there. And they were really cool guys, and they were just like, we need we don't want this to turn into something else. We want a theater downtown, but we don't we're not the guys for that.
Speaker 3:That's not their bag. So they more or less opened the doors up to me and we're just like, I hope you do it. And, like, we've been working together and they're very gracious. It's quite an endeavor. There's a lot there.
Speaker 3:So we started working on it and did a few, like, open houses effectively for the community on first Fridays. Mhmm. Had people walk through and just kinda like, is this something people want? And it was the answer was a resounding yes. And so now so I quit the ferries, and now I'm just working on a theater.
Speaker 2:Wow. Man, really exciting. I mean, like, it has been this, like it's strange because, like, the state of our downtown right now is not perfect. You know? I mean, there's a lot of great things going on downtown in Juneau.
Speaker 2:But having had the theater shuttered for as long as it has been, it did kind of feel like having a man, I don't know. I mean, like, the the imagery that comes to my mind is, like, so dark, but it's like it was almost like having just sort of, like it's like someone had passed away, but you just had an empty chair at the table that you didn't let anyone sit in. Mhmm. And it's really nice to have someone sitting in that chair again. And it's really great because for anyone out there who's looking to produce some shows, they are doing the Aurora Grand not just as a second run theater, although it is that, which is great, but also for live events.
Speaker 2:You did Glitz. I know you're talking with other people about doing some new shows. I myself run Roll For Your Life, which is a live play TTRPG show. We're talking about doing a show there in the near future. And we've got a call on the line of maybe someone else who wants to talk about the Aurora Grand.
Speaker 2:Hello. You're on KNY's Problem Corner. How can we help you today?
Speaker 10:Good morning. I have a little bit of a beef.
Speaker 2:Beef. Beef.
Speaker 3:Where's the beef?
Speaker 10:Yeah. I didn't wanna say a bad word. My sister and I walk our dogs every day. We start on tacos, sometimes pull up pallor, sometimes pull up Trinity, go down Tongass, go down Glacier Highway, and we pick up garbage as we're walking our dogs every day. And I mean, every day.
Speaker 2:Yeah. And
Speaker 10:it's usually the same people throwing their cigarette butts out on the road. You can tell just by the cigarette brand and whatnot. But over the last twenty four hours, somebody's throwing carpet out over by Nancy Street. It wasn't there day before yesterday. And I was like, yeah.
Speaker 10:That's not gonna fit in our dumpster. So somebody's gonna have to go and get ahold of somebody to pick up the carpet and add it to the pile right here on Benning Hall Boulevard. It's ever growing.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 10:I don't know. I don't know what to do. I mean, people are just really not carrying it anymore, just throwing away all of their stuff. The the bus stops are horrendous to say the least. And just about every bus stop now has a garbage can on it, and people just don't use them.
Speaker 10:I don't I don't understand it. I don't understand why, people are not, abiding by, you know, certain standards. I mean, when you grow up, your parents teach you to use a garbage can.
Speaker 2:It's really sad. It's really yeah. You know, I I lived here my whole life, and I definitely have seen more and more litter going about. And first of all, I wanna say I might have to turn you off here. You're getting a lot of background noise and a lot of dinging.
Speaker 2:So I'm gonna cut you off, but I wanna say thank you for your call. And also just thank you so much for bringing this up because it is a problem. And so, hey, here's our public service announcement. Everyone, please pick up your trash. Please don't litter.
Speaker 2:Also, please don't put your trash out until, like, the morning of trash day, especially if you live downtown, but really that's anywhere in Juneau. And, you know, I guess also a call for action. If anyone with a truck or a van who is gonna be going to the dump anytime soon is going by Nancy Street, stop by. Pick up that rug. We really appreciate it, and thank you so much for calling in.
Speaker 2:We've got another call on the line. Hello. You're on the air with Juno's Problem Corner. How can we help you today?
Speaker 6:Yes. Good morning. I would like to here I am preaching about the radio. I'm turning it all the way down this time. Oh my god.
Speaker 2:Alright. Sorry.
Speaker 6:I I missed my desk too, I thought I had the radio all the way down. I apologize. No problem. The other it's not where it's before 4th Avenue. It's not there.
Speaker 6:Is it is it relocated, the new movie theater?
Speaker 2:Can you say that again one more time? I couldn't quite hear you. I don't know if you moved away from your camera or something.
Speaker 3:I think you were asking what the movie theater's address is?
Speaker 6:Yes, please.
Speaker 3:222 Front Street.
Speaker 2:222 Front Street. It's the it's the big old theater, like, right on Front Street.
Speaker 6:Okay. So it was it is still the one that used to say that used to have, like, 4th Avenue or something assigned in front of it.
Speaker 2:I don't know anything about a 4th Avenue anything. This is the one that's, like, the big tall thing that has gross, like, written in, like, one story tall letters up and down it. It's it's the really big, like, two screen theater downtown that is now the Aurora Grand and was the Gross Alaska.
Speaker 6:Okay. So it is on Front Street then?
Speaker 2:It is on Front Street. Yes.
Speaker 6:Okay. Great. And I'm after okay. I just wanted to shout out that there's some really, really good restaurants out here, if I can.
Speaker 2:Sure. Absolutely. Well, give us give us two restaurants, and then we're gonna move on to our next caller.
Speaker 6:Okay. There is the I wrote it down, and I haven't
Speaker 2:I'm sorry. I'm gonna have to move on to our next caller. If you get your notes together, give us a callback. Thank you so much for calling in. Hello.
Speaker 2:You're on the air with Juno's Problem Corner. Oh, we missed that one. Anyways, we love plugging our local businesses. Let's see. Hello.
Speaker 2:You're on the air with Juno's Problem Corner.
Speaker 6:Problem Corner.
Speaker 11:This is this is Catherine Howard.
Speaker 2:Hi, Catherine. How are calling?
Speaker 11:From Cisco.
Speaker 2:I think
Speaker 11:doing good.
Speaker 2:Did you get oh, no. I are you Michelle Howard got a birthday call out earlier today. Are you calling about a similar thing?
Speaker 11:I am. And I just wanted to to let her know that I am just missing her, and I wanted her to come visit me in my new trailer home sometime soon. And I was inviting all my siblings over. I got it home. I'm not gonna be homeless anymore.
Speaker 11:Congratulations.
Speaker 2:That's so exciting.
Speaker 6:Yeah. This
Speaker 2:is wonderful. How long have you had your new home?
Speaker 11:Just a day today. Just got the giver sale.
Speaker 3:That's crazy.
Speaker 2:This is so exciting. I'm so happy for you. Thank you so much for calling in to share that with us.
Speaker 11:I know. It's just like a birthday present of always giving. Right? Mhmm.
Speaker 2:Alright. Catherine is calling with my sister. To invite Michelle and all the other Howard siblings out. So thank you so much for calling in, Catherine.
Speaker 11:Thank you, sirs. Happy birthday, sis.
Speaker 3:That was nice.
Speaker 2:That was really nice. Happy birthday, Michelle. Alright. We're getting ready to go into another commercial break, and I wanna give, James another chance. James, do you have any upcoming events that you want to promote before we go into our commercial break?
Speaker 3:Yeah. So September is gonna be pirate month.
Speaker 2:Pirate month. Pirate month. Yar. Yar.
Speaker 3:So we're gonna be some pirate movies all month. So that's gonna be really I'm very excited about that.
Speaker 2:What's the oldest pirate movie you're gonna do?
Speaker 3:Oh, well, it's not we're not gonna do very many old ones. I think Goonies.
Speaker 2:Goonies? Okay. That's not bad. That's eighties. Right?
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah. But we're not gonna do, like, Errol Flynn or anything. So
Speaker 2:I mean, that's fifty years ago?
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Yeah. Goonies is Yeah. That's what I mean. Goonies, I guess, maybe, like, forty years ago.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I'm sure most of the people that sit on the radio station would not consider that old, but will.
Speaker 2:I mean, for a movie.
Speaker 3:For a movie.
Speaker 2:You know, movie lifetimes versus human lifetimes, very, very different.
Speaker 3:I mean, I just feel like most people have very yeah.
Speaker 2:If you got an Errol Flynn movie, I would love to come see that.
Speaker 3:Errol Flynn? Talking about heartthrobs.
Speaker 4:Oh. Oh. That guy.
Speaker 2:That billowing Yeah. Squashbuggling. Yeah. Absolutely. Incredible.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Alright. We are gonna go into our next commercial break, and then we'll be back with James from the Aurora Grand and answering all your calls. So get your phone ready. And in a few minutes after this commercial break, give us a call at (907) 586-1800.
Speaker 1:You're listening to KINY. Connect on Facebook and stream at kinyradio.com.
Speaker 9:ABC News. I'm Michelle Branson. More than two hundred and twenty people are confirmed dead following yesterday's major earthquake in Western Columbia. Crews now scrambling to dig through the rubble for survivors. ABC's Faith Abube is in
Speaker 12:American Alyssa Aroyavi was at the gym in Medellin when it hit.
Speaker 13:There was, like, this sudden commotion, and everybody was yelling. And the staff then was, like, really pushing everybody to get outside as quickly as possible because it was quite strong.
Speaker 12:The damage widespread, impacting health and community centers as well as roads, making it difficult to assess damage in rural areas.
Speaker 9:President Trump says he spoke to US marine and veteran Robert Gilman after his release from a Russian prison. The 32 year old held and abused for four years according to the group advocating for his freedom. Gilman was said to be gravely ill. He is now on his way to a US military hospital in Texas where he'll receive medical attention. On Wall Street, stocks are lower due to the unrest in The Middle East.
Speaker 9:This is ABC News.
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Speaker 16:Areas of drizzle will continue from time to time this morning, then becoming partly cloudy the rest of today with a high in the upper sixties near 70 with a light westerly wind. A few clouds overnight, yellow 54, mostly sunny throughout the day on Wednesday with a high 71. Wednesday night, clear and mid to upper fifties. Warmer on Thursday with a high 74. Our next weather update is in less than thirty minutes.
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Speaker 17:I'm Bill Walker, lifelong Alaskan and candidate for governor. Alaska faces one of its biggest challenges in state history. Alaska is running out of natural gas, and Alaskans could face dramatically higher energy costs within just a few years. The good news is that Alaska's gas line projects are moving forward today. We need experienced leadership to bring the gas line to completion.
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Speaker 21:This is David Lindrum of Landscape Alaska. Please join Margaret and I each Saturday morning at 08:30 right here on KINY for conversations with Alaskan gardeners. It's a call in show about our favorite topics, all things green and growing. Check us out every week and visit with our gardening friends. And remember, happy gardening.
Speaker 1:You're listening to Problem Corner on KINY, bringing neighbors together for
Speaker 2:Welcome back to Juno's Problem Corner. I'm your Tuesday host, Connor Lindstrom. We've got James McSweeney the third from the Aurora Grand Theatre in the booth with us today, and we've got our first call in after the break. Hello. You're on the air with KINY's Problem Corner.
Speaker 2:How can we help you today?
Speaker 4:Can you give
Speaker 2:me that one more time?
Speaker 4:You can't help me by getting our bus routes back.
Speaker 3:I
Speaker 4:We it. We did our bus route.
Speaker 2:Oh, our bus route back. Awesome. What part of the bus route has changed for you?
Speaker 4:Oh, we needed going up and down Cedar Park, going to town and going to Sandy Beach, and we need our bus back in Lemon Creek.
Speaker 2:Okay. Don't know much
Speaker 4:about this. Yeah. Nothing's changed in the last twenty years. Twenty years ago, they were driving up and down the hill and driving into Lemon Creek and new day and age of drivers or something.
Speaker 3:When did it change?
Speaker 2:I don't know. He said twenty years ago. So I know that there is a bus that does still go down to Sandy Beach, basically. Yeah. I mean, to, like, Savaco Park.
Speaker 4:Oh, we needed to we needed to go up Cedar Park both ways.
Speaker 2:Cedar Park both ways. You know, refresh me. Where is Cedar Park? Is that in Lemon Creek?
Speaker 4:It's in Douglas.
Speaker 2:It's in Douglas. Okay. So you need is that is Cedar Park one of the streets?
Speaker 4:Yeah. We need it going up to Cedar Park in or is Cedar Park in?
Speaker 2:I don't. That's what I'm asking.
Speaker 4:What the heck? But, yeah, we need it going back up Cedar Park so we don't have to walk down the hill to catch the bus to town or ride the bus all the way to Sandy Beach to go to town or we need our bus back in Lemon Creek too.
Speaker 2:Okay. Alright. Well, thank you so much for calling in. If anyone out there has the ear of the bus route planner or is interested in talking more about the bus routes, give us a call at (907) 586-1800. We have just about ten minutes left on the air.
Speaker 2:And I would like to ask our guest James from the Aurora Grand, the revitalized theater downtown. What do you see as maybe a potential timeline for going from a one screen to a two screen?
Speaker 3:Excellent question, Corner. That depends on funding, and it depends on a lot of things. So, that's quite an quite an ambitious we're we're biting off a lot. And so just the upstairs is quite a bit for us as a small team, and we're hoping to restructure and acquire funding and work with the community. And so there's a there's a lot of variables that would make it very hard to answer, but my dream is as soon as possible.
Speaker 3:I go in I go backstage and look at the look at the area almost every day just thinking about, like, what we can accomplish in this space and how important it'll be to Downtown Juneau and Juneau as a whole and the culture of what it is to be in Juneau.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Kind of unrelated. I don't know how much you would know about this, but do have any idea about the state of the apartments that are being renovated upstairs by the building owners? Are they gonna be on the market anytime soon?
Speaker 3:Depends on your definition of soon. So in the global scheme of things, very soon. But, yeah, it's gonna be a few years. I think they're they're planning to do it by floor. And I hesitate to speak on their behalf for one time.
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:I was just curious about tell us about your team. So you've got a team is it a team of three?
Speaker 3:Yeah. Well, yeah. There's I have hint so it's me and Elise. Mhmm. Elise Labonte and Amelia Sween.
Speaker 3:And so the three of us are the people really dedicating ourselves to this project. And then I have Henry Gomez, who is a a young man who works for me now, and he's doing a lot of the, you know, honestly, he's the one getting stuff done a lot of the time.
Speaker 2:Shout out to Henry.
Speaker 3:Shout out to Henry.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much, Henry Gomez.
Speaker 3:Killing it. He's he's at the theater right now, whereas I'm not. So, you know, he's he's working hard. I had Troy who's a really good guy, but he's he's gonna go watch the flood. So he's gonna he's gonna go do that for a little while, but come back.
Speaker 3:And then, yeah, we have a great team of volunteers, really awesome people. My the biggest best part of this experience for me by a country mile is who I've met, what they've meant to me, and, like, what we've accomplished and the community outreach and, like, the flood of appreciation and involvement has just been, tremendous. And so, yeah, there's to say there's a small team really undercuts the tremendous team of, like, volunteers of people that just come and volunteer their time and work with us. Amber has been she's I mean, she's putting in hours, doing upholstery with Elise. Wow.
Speaker 3:So yeah. And then Nick Goll has been there all the time helping us with stuff and painting and doing woodworking with me and stuff. So, yeah, it's it's been a really great opportunity to meet people who are just, like, really so enthusiastic about the theater. They wanna come and just help make it happen.
Speaker 2:Hey. If there's anyone out there who has some skills with carpentry or upholstery or I don't know. What other kind of, like, need do you help Or what kind of help do you need? Yeah.
Speaker 3:Oh, I need so much help. Yeah. People who just are really enthusiastic who wanna actually, like, get their hands dirty and get involved. There's so many things to do. We're gonna start, painting the steps of this of the upstairs seating area.
Speaker 3:That that's gonna happen this week. So, you know, there's just so much to do. So
Speaker 2:You know, I came in there to watch, the FIFA World Cup finals, you know, back whenever that was a hundred years ago. And I it's really comfortable. It's really sweet. I really love the way it feels being in there with everyone. I love the big bench seats that you've put in.
Speaker 2:It's so cool. It's great. Also, if you, like, have a couple of friends kinda, like, cuddle up, and it really is, like, very well designed and very comfortable. I also love that you have put up this plaque in the men's room above one of the toilets. It's, like, original toilet from, like, 1949 or whatever.
Speaker 3:Please be gentle.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Please be gentle. And I it's really bizarre. Like, looks so strange. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Like, the weird, like, color swirl, like, toilet seat. Mhmm. And but it's also very, like, sweet that it's there because, like, I don't remember that being there. Is that you you found it and you reinstalled it?
Speaker 3:I found it upstairs, and the toilet that was in that spot was broken. And so I was like I mean, the number of people who have come into the theater and said, are the urinals still there? It just blows me away. I mean, the urinals are cool. And anybody listening, you come check out some really cool urinals.
Speaker 3:But but they're they're original urinals from 1940. And, like, people come in and they go, did you tear the urinals out? Please say no. I go, no. They're still there.
Speaker 3:And they're like, if you ever do, I want them. I'm taking one to my house. It's going in my house. So they're pretty cool. They're like floor mounted urinals.
Speaker 3:Yeah. And not they're nothing, like, extravagant.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 3:But then because of that urinal interest, I thought, well, I'll just pull the original toilet. It is fully original to the building, so 1939. Wow. So I put that in the spot just as like a showpiece. 1939.
Speaker 2:Close to a 100.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Crazy. Right? So Crazy. Got we're starting to plan already our hundred year party.
Speaker 3:Yeah. So
Speaker 2:So how many so you've got a pirate month coming up. If anyone wants to call and, like, make any requests or plugs or suggestions about future programming for the Aurora Grand or to share any memories that you had there when it was the Gross Alaska Theater. I know myself went on many dates in high school and after going to that theater. I remember that was the theater where I saw Superbad for the first time. Superbad.
Speaker 2:And it was I mean, it's a great movie, but it was also one of the most, like, sincerely powerful, like, cinematic experience I ever had because the place was packed. Every single seat had people in it. I think there were people standing in the aisles and watching, and every person was losing their minds laughing. Like, it was just such a, like, communal experience when you're in a room full of hundreds of people all laughing and having a shared experience. And that's kinda like, that's the movies.
Speaker 3:You know?
Speaker 2:Yeah. That's the theater is that shared emotional gestalt. It's it's so special, and it is such an essential part of, like, what is sort of in that man, I know this sounds so, like, you know, crazy, but the sort of, like, spiritual core of, like, humanity. I mean, it's the same sort of feeling of being in church or being in a choir or going through some sort of, like, intense physical experience together, like, when you are really connected with the people around you and we have these temples to that feeling and to the artwork which helps us evoke that communal experience, which is called the theater. Yeah.
Speaker 2:And, anyways, yeah, I'll
Speaker 3:If Juno had an identity, it has to be formed by things that the group is doing. Mhmm. And that can't be done in your living room watching Netflix.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. And we've got another call on the line. Hello. Welcome to KINY's Problem Corner. I am your Tuesday Hills Corner.
Speaker 2:Connor, how can I help you today?
Speaker 6:Hey, Connor. Hey. I got an idea for the theater.
Speaker 8:Great.
Speaker 6:How about some old Sinbad movies or Clash of the Titans?
Speaker 2:Oh, Sinbad like the the pirate.
Speaker 6:'50. Yes. The early sixties.
Speaker 2:I love the old clash of the titans movie. I grew up watching that movie. That's how I found out that Pegasus, was born out of Medusa's neck when she got decapitated. Yeah. Those old claymation films are so cool.
Speaker 2:I love the old Clash of the Titans. Please don't play the new Clash of the Titans. That movie was terrible.
Speaker 3:Sounds great.
Speaker 2:But this is a great suggestion. I agree with you completely, caller.
Speaker 6:Okay. Bye.
Speaker 2:Okay. Bye. If anyone else has any suggestions, give us a call at (907) 586-1800. We're only on the air for a few more minutes. So how many pirate films do you have planned for September?
Speaker 3:Four. Well, there are there's series of pirate films that you could count as one or multiple. Okay. We're planning to do Caribbean style pirate movie, a series of those. The Alaskan does their pirate night.
Speaker 3:We don't quite have the rights to everything, so I have to be a little cagey.
Speaker 2:Great.
Speaker 3:So there's some Caribbean pirates are gonna be playing. Sure. And there's the Alaskan does their pirate party every year.
Speaker 6:Oh.
Speaker 3:So there's I I don't know if you've been there before.
Speaker 4:I've not.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Every year, there's a a pirate party. And so we're lining up our first pirate of the Caribbean style film to be the the same night as that. So we're gonna go, like, kind of a cross promotional thing, and then we plan on doing a a two three with a break and some entertainment entertainment in between. So, yeah, there's gonna be quite a lot of pirating going on.
Speaker 2:That's awesome. I love the idea of a double feature. Love me a double feature. Also, I do think I got kind of burnt out on pirates when, like, I was in high school and there was that really big, like, weird phenomenon of, like, ninjas versus pirates. I don't know if you remember this, but it was like
Speaker 3:I do.
Speaker 2:It was huge. It, like, took over Facebook back when Facebook was for children. Mhmm. And, like, as opposed to, like, the weird sort of, you know, content slot machine it is now. And I I just, like, I think I hit a certain point where, like, anytime I hear the word pirate or ninja, I do kinda glass over a little bit.
Speaker 2:Oh, I see. But when I'm sitting and watching a movie, I feel like I can smell the salt air and, like, I can feel the deck beneath my feet. And it's, yeah, it's great.
Speaker 3:I'm might not some Muppets involved. So I don't know how you feel about Tim Curry, but there's a
Speaker 2:That is one of my favorite movies. Is that is that is the Muppet movie that I have seen the most. Easy. Far and away. Are down here to the end of our show.
Speaker 2:If you have anything to plug, give us a call at (907) 586-1800. I want to review some of our calls that we've had in. Happy birthday to Rochelle Maryjohn and to Michelle Howard. And, also, we've got a motorcycle for sale. 9074196808 if you're interested.
Speaker 2:And we also have someone who's looking to buy PS four games. Give a call to 523-3040 if you're looking to sell your PS four games. Joe is looking to grow his collection. I love the PS four. I thought it great.
Speaker 2:I still use mine. I mostly use it to, like, you know, watch TV and stuff, but Sure. It's great. Alright. My name is Connor Lindrum.
Speaker 2:It is Tuesday, August 11, and this is the end of your Juno Problem Corner right after this call. Hello. Right under the wire. Hello. Happy Problem Corner.
Speaker 2:How can we help you today? We only have a moment on the air with you.
Speaker 10:Hey. I just wanted to know that you guys were talking about the homeless people yesterday.
Speaker 2:Don't I'm afraid I don't know anything about that because I was not the host yesterday.
Speaker 10:Okay. Well, the only thing I wanna know is if you guys are talking about the homeless people, why where's all the programs that they need to be helped at?
Speaker 2:That is a great question. I recommend you give a callback tomorrow because we are the end of our show, and I have to wrap things up. But thank you so much for calling. It is a real problem. And if you wanna talk about homeless give our host tomorrow on Problem Corner a call at 586-1800.
Speaker 2:I'm Connor James. Thank you so much for coming on the air with me.
Speaker 3:Thank you, Connor.
Speaker 2:It's been an absolute pleasure. We will see you all tomorrow.
Speaker 1:From the Gold Belt Tram Studio, KINY Juno, and Alaska First Media Radio Station.