Far be it for me to stand in the way of progress. But I hated what was said today in the Bulletin article: "A NEW ENTRY TO DOWNTOWN."

You know, you read these kinds of articles all the time, about improvements. And you really don't think about the people and places who are 'improved' right out of existence. "Peter Gramlich, another Bend planning commissioner and a local architect, said the intersection of Greenwood Avenue and Third Street -- two major roads -- should be a vibrant and memorable one.
................"We have a flower shop, pet store and gas station and acres of parking," Gramlich said. He also said the architecture of 'horizontal-based, low strung buildings with a lot of asphalt around them doesn't inspire anybody.'"

That sounds great, unless you happen to actually BE the flower shop, the pet store and the gas station, and oh, by the way, the businesses that would also be affected by the changeover, such as a used bookstore, a hispanic market, etc.

Who needs them? After all, we could have another Franklin Crossing. More high end dress shops, art galleries, and home decor stores! Lets turn Bend into one big Old Mill District.

But shouldn't they rent a couple of the spaces in the Franklin Crossing before they build another one?

Oh, but they'll let us move down near the railroad tracks. Nice of them. Oh, I suppose the people down near the railroad tracks can just move ONTO the railroad tracks. Let them eat cake.

The Bulletin printed an article not so long ago from an expert who warned against not leaving any places for start-ups, non-fancy, utilitarian type businesses to exist.

Funny thing is, I think the business cycle will take care of the problem. Housing slowdown will ultimately affect commerical businesses. There's a couple of empty lots downtown that aren't being worked on, because that slowdown has already begun.

So it's all pie in the sky. But there is a certain smug, arrogance to all this talk that really gets to me. It's so dismissive.

P.S. U.S.A. Today's Headline this morning: "HOME SALES FALL MOST SINCE '89"