Is growth merely about money?
To the Editor:
RE: Massive Expansion of Santa Monica Place/Downtown Santa Monica
I have lived in Santa Monica for over 36 years and have observed many changes to the community in that time. Development doesn’t necessarily go hand and hand with my definition of growth, if growth is merely about “bigger” and not about long term benefits to the city and its residents.
Case in point is the massive expansion project that is proposed for the downtown area. I know that the developers will benefit. Cha-ching! But regardless of the so-called perks and projected income touted as benefiting the city, the average Santa Monican will be responsible to unravel the problems that will ensue and will be unbearable, i.e., traffic gridlock, elevated smog conditions, and many other problems too numerous to list, though obvious to all except the pro-project city council members. I cannot image any of them seriously approving this. It begs the question, “whose side are they on?” I urge the council members who are not opposing this project to wipe the allure of flashing dollar signs from their eyes and rethink their positions.
Beverly Kleiner, Santa Monica
Misleading recruiting practices
To the editor:
While I support our troops, I believe it is time to end the false and misleading recruiting practices of our military. According to the Marine Corps Times, the government has set recruitment goals that are 7 percent higher than last year, but most branches of the armed services are below their current recruitment goals.
The military knows they need to make adjustments in order to increase recruitment but they should not be allowed to take students’ private information. The military has also started distributing video games in an effort to connect with young people. These games make war seem like a lot of fun, something that can be easily controlled, and if you get killed, just hit the reset button! In real life, dying or having your arm or leg blown off is nothing like a video game. It’s for real, and it’s permanent. Is a few thousand dollars for college three or four years down the road worth dying for?E. Arredondo, Los Angeles
