TRUER  THAN STRANGE

Coney Island's Sideshow by the Seashore, the nation's only vaudeville-style
10-in-1 show, which sponsors the annual Mermaid Parade (shown), recently
lost its NEA funding and is danger of closing. Unless the Sideshow comes
up with back rent and taxes, the location may fall victim to the expansion
of a nearby McDonald's. Supporters of the Sideshow can call 1-900-476-3037;
the 99-cent fee goes to their fundraising efforts.

BYE-BYE, JEN

With issue #7 BMT bids a sad farewell to Jennifer Downey, a member of our
editorial collective since Spring 1994. Downey, an electrician by trade
and committed community activist, founded Williamsburg's Barter Exchange,
and set the standard for BMT with her probing analyses of the community
board system. Jen has been a vital contributor to all facets of the zine,
but she has also been a dear, valued friend--the kind of person whose very
presence dulls the sharp edges of life in the urban meat grinder. A
veritable Jen-of-all-trades, she heads to Charlottesville, Virginia, to
learn midwifery. We wish her well; we'll miss her so.

It's All Greek To Them

From the Daily News--which recently launched a Spanish-language version--
in its coverage of the attempt by squatters to retake buildings on East
13th Street: "They also unfurled two banners, one which read in part:
'Independent self governing...not control.' The second was written in
Spanish."

Prehistory, Privatized

Canadian entrepreneur Barry Sendel lost a contract with the Mexican
National Ecology Institute to install dinosaur robots and holographs in
the Caves of Cacahuamilpa, south of Mexico City. The project was intended
to serve as a model for the privatization and marketing of the country's
national wonders. According to reports compiled in the Weekly News Update
on the Americas, the concession was withdrawn in July when the Institute
learned that Sendel had run out on a $1 million debt after his Montreal
dinosaur park went belly up.
.