Dear Editor,
In Abby’s letter to you (July 23-29) she says of Main Street: “Now every second or third space is a nail salon. The committee needs to be more discerning and creative with respect to how it rents on Main Street.”
First, I need to point out the obvious: every second or third space is not a nail salon. There is still, in her words, an “eclectic mix of interesting little shops and cool bars and restaurants,” and I’m sorry if she doesn’t feel like that’s the case.
Second, I need to point out something that, given the emails and phone calls I get now and then, may not be as obvious or well known. There is no committee that decides on what specific businesses get to rent space on Main Street. There are land use and zoning laws decided through public processes, and within that regulation and various city policies, there is the marketplace.
If by “committee”, Abby was referring to the Main Street Business Improvement Association, let me be clear: the MSBIA has no authority to regulate what businesses locate on Main Street.
To see the variety of businesses– interesting little shops, cool bars, restaurants and more, please visit the street or check out the website: www.mainstreetsm.com
Gary Gordon
Executive Director, MSBIA
Dear Editor,
I am shocked and deeply disappointed by the budget that the California state legislature finally passed on Friday. As a college student, I cannot believe I am expected to stomach massive cuts to higher education, while the biggest corporations in the state are getting billions of dollars in new tax breaks.
I attend UCLA, where fees have increased by 9% this year alone. Across the University of California system, freshmen enrollment has been cut by 10%, and the California State University system just announced they will no longer offer enrollment to 35,000 spring semester applicants.
But there are some winners in this new budget deal; nine multi-state corporations will get $30 million in tax breaks each. These newly passed loopholes amount to billions in corporate handouts for the largest companies operating in California — totaling $8.7 billion in lost revenue by 2016.
It’s time state legislators got their priorities straight. Next time they ask college students and our families to make sacrifices, they had better make sure corporate giants are asked to do the same.
Sarah Dobjensky
Los Angeles, CA 90024
