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6 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, November 21, 1989 i a i a a The Lavi Perey Slav 235 QUEEN STREET - PORT PERRY, ONTARIO Elsewhere $60.00 per year. Single Copy 50¢ EDITORIAL Publisher - J. Peter Hvidsten Editor - John B. McClelland News/Features - Julia Ashton BUSINESS OFFICE Office Manager - Gayle Stapley Accounting - Judy Ashby Billing Department - Louise Hope Member of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association Ontario Community Newspaper Association Published every Tuesday by the Port Perry Star Co. Lid. Port Perry, Ontario PHONE 985-7383 FAX 985-3708 Retail Sales - Kathy Dudley, Linda Ruhl, Tracy O'Neil Post Offes Departmen, Otte, lor ean parmont of Poms. PRODUCTION AVERTING | or-Naloris Si Second Class Mail Registration Number 0265 Annabell Harrison Advising Gordinalor. Yossie Eh Trudy Empringham Advertising Sales Representative - Anna Gouldburn Subscription Rate: InCanada $20.00 per year Darlene Hiozan Advertising Sales Representative - Tanya Sheehey Editorial Comment OPEN SUNDAYS It looks like the major food chains are gearing up for a showdown with the provincial government over the con- troversial and flawed Retail Business Holidays Act. The first major salvos were fired a week ago Sunday when food stores in several areas of Ontario including Peel, Halton, York and Niagara Region stayed open in de- - fiance of the law. Police issued over 100 charges, and Ontario's Attor- ney General lan Scott vowed that he would demand that convictions carry the maximum fine of $50,000. He also made it clear that the province through the courts will seize the profits made by the stores which violate the law by opening Sundays. And Scott was none too kind.in his comments about this latest furor, calling the major food stores "bad corpo- rate citizens" and using the word "blackmail" to describe the efforts of the chain stores to make their point. . It was only a matter of time before this Sunday clos- ing (opening) issue blew up again in Ontario. Four major food chains, Miracle, A&P-Dominion, Lo- blaws and the Oshawa Group, formed a Committee for Fair Shopping in an effort to point out what they perceive are inequalities in the legislation and the way it is applied. Whether these stores actually want the right to be open Sundays is not known, but they certainly have a point when they note that so-called "drug stores" and oth- er establishments which are open Sundays, are now heavily into the grocery business. The chains argue that to meet this competition head on they have no choice but to be open on Sundays. : Why, they argue, are food stores not allowed to open Sundays, when another store just down the street selling groceries, is open. Obviously, the legislation or the enforcement or both, are badly flawed. Nobody can predict the outcome of this battle, but you can bet that the consumer is going to pick up the tab over the long haul, one way or another. What is it going to cost the chains to fight this through the courts over the next few months or years? Who is go- ing to eventually pay all the lawyers fees, the fines, the seized profits, if it comes to that? The consumer at the ~ check-out counter. And who picks up the tab for.the province to prose- cute the chains, the consumer through tax dollars. Who pays police forces to have officers on Sundays running around serving charges against store owners? And if a municipality, which under the law has the power to exempt cestain stores from the Sunday closing law, winds up in a legal battle, who pays the bills? Three guesses. Peel Region, for example, is already in court at- tempting to secure temporary injunctions to force food stores to keep their doors locked on Sundays. What we have in Ontario is the unfortunate spectacle of the giant food chains battling for years to come with the province and/or local governments over this issue. And both sides simply pass the enormous costs on to their "customers." This issue bubbles up periodically in Ontario, and the events of the last week or so indicate strongly it is a long way from being resolved. Many were critical of the province earlier this year when the onus on Sunday openings was thrown onto the municipalities. One obvious flaw is the domino effect. For (Tum to page 8) " THINK OF ALL THE GARBAGE WE'VE RECYCLED INTO GOURMET CUISINE ! "Ln mE omy THANKS we GET 15 UNPRINTABLE ! SCALPERS Have you ever wanted to get tickets to a concert or show, but by the time you secure them through the usual channels you find your- - self sitting back so far, it's a waste of money. I'm sure most everyone, at one time or an- other, has purchased tickets by standing in line for a couple of hours, or by phoning one of the ticket outlets like TicketMaster or BASS, only to find all the best seats are gone. A recent article in a Toronto newspaper confirmed my thoughts that there is a lot of wheeling-dealing going on long before the ticket outlets start selling to the general public. Scalpers are buying the tickets in blocks of up to 100, and then selling them back to the public at three and four times their face value. About a year ago, an advertisement in the Toronto Star offered American Express card holders advance sale tickets to the Phantom of the Opera. Without a moment's delay, | picked three al- ternative dates we would like to go, and sent in my money requesting the best possible seats. You can imagine my di intment about six months later when my tickets arrived, and we found our seats were in row Y in the Back Orchestra of the Pantages Theatre. At any rate, the day arrived and we went to see the Phantom. We were in awe as we walked into the renovated Pantages, and found ourselves in the glitz and glamour of a theatre built in the 1920's which had only recently un- dergone an $18 million restoration. Huge chandeliers hung from the ceiling, marble steps led to the balcony, exquisite rugs covered the floors and the decorative moldings were to be seen everywhere. It was truly a mar- vel and undoubtedly is the most elegant theatre in Toronto today. But back to our seats. After waiting almost one year from the time we sent for our tickets, we were vey disappointed to find that we were seatad in the second back row of the auditori- um. Although even in that location, we were able to see the stage and the performance re- markably well, we were extremely disappointed at not getting better seats. So it was very enlightening a couple of weeks ago to read about ticket scalpers, and Jottings by }. Peter Hvidsten how the best seats are gone before they even go on sale to the public. Scalping is never going to be stopped, as long as people are willing to pay the outrageous prices they demand to get good seats at major shows. As the article stated, what the scalpers do is illegal, but they consider they fill a valid role in society meeting demand with supply, and let- ting the ticket cost inflate as the market dictates. One example of just how much a $32.50 ticket to the Paul McCartney concert could cost was revealed when a reporter called a scalper and he was quoted, anywhere from $100 to $750 a ticket. So what's the fine for a scalper if he's caught selling tickets at inflated prices? Not much! If a scalper is given a provincial offences ticket, a guilty plea can be settled out of court for $13.75. If he receives a summons, the fine can range from $5.00 to $50.00. As one policeman said, "it's a license to do business". So next time you want to go to a concert, be prepared to pay, and pay dearly if you want good seats. It's the only way you'll get them. THE PHANTOM Speaking about the Phantom of the ra, Port Perry's own Phantom dropped me a line a few week's back, along with one of his famous trademarks. It has been over a year since | last heard from the Phantom, but his message arrived one morning through the mail slot at the office. His fa- miliar white rock with The Phantom written across the face was in a black paper bag cov- ered in red roses, and a message cut out of the newspaper taped to the front. The message read "well done. Keep up the good work". Peter Hvidsten (different type style) CISION, "and then concluded with "WRONG D BOSS). The message was in response to an ear- lier decision to stop writing this column. A second message from The Phantom was received last week in which he complimented the Star as being one of the few rs around which is community oriented and icated to the betterment of the town. My thanks to The Phantom, for his kind comments. it's good to know he's still keeping an eye on things around this community. "OK Phantom".