POSITIVITY ON FOURTH STREET
I’m glad to see my favorite street finally get some respect from the powers downtown [Theo Douglas’ “How to Build a Fourth Street,” Sept. 24]. I was on Fourth Street during the Art Theatre opening, and I had to stop and watch the parade of people I’ve never seen on the street before. It was great. They looked like someone was playing a joke on them! I wanted to say, “Did you know some of these shops have been around longer than your face-lift?”

DAVE
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THE JOKE’S ON WHOM?
Are you making fun of CityPlace or building it up [Dave Wielenga’s “Hooray for McCafé!” Sept. 24]? I understand your point to be that it works, and that’s why it’s good—basically making fun of Pine because it sucks so bad that CityPlace is its only bright spot. I totally agree, although it shouldn’t be celebrated. CityPlace and Walmart are trafficked, but by the lowest common denominator of shopper and have done more to hold back the entire downtown than any other development. If you’re really trying to figure out why Pine sucks, start there. Then, look at all the “good things” the RDA has brought to the area. In life, you either work to build something better for yourself and fight to overcome the odds, or you settle. CityPlace was purely settling for what we still have today. Jack shit.
ANDREAS
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I rarely patronize CityPlace, and I avoid Walmart stores like the plague, but the few times I’ve visited the “Place” it seemed to be plenty abuzz with customers and sales tax revenue. Why the constant naysaying from so many detractors? Members of Long Beach’s governing body need to get over themselves and their megalomaniacal delusions of converting downtown from a former seedy Navy district into some unachievable, Santa Monica-esque, upscale dining/shopping/entertainment “destination” by the sea, and aim for a happier medium. It appears CityPlace is just such an example of this kind of compromise.
DWR
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YOU SMELL SOMETHING?
The pungent odor of Gary DeLong’s failed 11th-hour attempt to infect the Belmont Shore Residents Association election last week [Dave Wielenga’s “The Ruehleing Class,” Sept. 17] is yet another striking example of how inept he is as a council person. He thumbed his nose at the well-reasoned concerns of many solid citizens in the BSRA and at a basic tenant of an elected representative—to be an honest broker in contentious issues.
LAURENCE GOODHUE
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I wonder if it’s time to change the current city-charter-mandated makeup of the Belmont Shore Parking Commission. It seems heavily skewed in favor of area business interests. Granted, its actual title of Belmont Shore Parking & Business Improvement Area Advisory Commission might explain this. But perhaps it’s past the time to separate those two sometimes complimentary but often competing interests. Since area parking impacts residents and businesses fairly equally, a more balanced composition would prove far more representative of the stakeholders.
JOHN B.
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DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS
Theo Douglas’ feature on the Fourth Street business district [“How to Build a Fourth Street,” Sept. 24] misstated the name of a hair salon with a glass connecting door we’ve gazed into hundreds of times while ordering coffee at Portfolio next door. The salon is Atlantic Studio, opened in 1988 by 27-year Carroll Park Historic District residents Mike and Janet Salemi. We regret the error.