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MAILBAG
Give the Americana at Brand a chance
Based on his letter, it’s fairly obvious that Stanton J. Price has not been to the Americana at Brand (“Americana ‘just another mall,’” Mailbag, Thursday), even for a cursory look.
The Americana has an above-ground parking structure for visitors (underground parking is for residents). It is bright, clean, well-lit, and the interior walls and ceiling are even painted and finished (unlike most bare-concrete parking bunkers). I spent some time working at The Grove a few years ago, frequently leaving late at night, by myself. Often the only other people I would see were the Caruso Security staff.
Based on my experience, Caruso is not only obligated under the terms of his agreement with the city to provide for the security Price expresses concern with, he is also a savvy businessman who understands that people who feel safe will come back, again and again.
While I am no expert, it is fairly certain that the new Americana will increase traffic. That is what a successful enterprise does, and if The Grove is any example, that traffic will be monitored, engineered, mitigated and ultimately controlled in order to pose as little problem as possible.
Comparing an attraction like the Americana to Disney Hall, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, or the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is disingenuous and false. A concert hall is what it is, and a retail center is something different entirely, and their architectural needs are dissimilar, their aesthetic statements quite distinct. The buildings Price mentions are, by nature, monumental, and must be in order to fulfill their purpose. Conversely, the Americana must be humane and intimately scaled for the interaction of human beings at street level.
The design of the Americana will not please everyone, but for me it hearkens to a sense of place and center in an outdoor setting reminiscent of the old town square. The style may not be to Price’s taste, but I will be grateful for a safe, clean and attractive place where my children can be mesmerized by a dancing fountain in a lush greenscape (as they always are at The Grove), rather than being dragged down brick and marble hallways from one retail store to the next.
Before Price dismisses the Americana as “just another shopping mall,” perhaps he might actually want to visit there.
KENNETH S. MARTINEZ
Glendale
Day of Silence is perfectly timed
I’m writing to express my thanks to the Glendale News-Press for its coverage of the April 25 Day of Silence (“Parents blast Day of Silence,” Friday).
I also wish to thank Glendale Unified School District Supt. Michael Escalante for delivering a calm and concise remedial lesson on constitutional rights to the group of angry homophobes led by Naira Khachatrian.
It is very sad, and supremely ironic, that members of a historically repressed minority group fail to recognize the irrationality of their apparent hatred for members of another historically repressed minority group.
Khachatrian’s claim that homosexuality does not exist is morally equivalent to, and no different from, the falsehood that the Armenian Genocide never happened.
A similar repulsive opinion oozing out of the woodwork is that of letter-writer Dave Enslow, who in a dizzying display of hyperbole equates teachers’ discussions of tolerance for those whose sexual orientation may be different from ours, to approval of polygamy, Nazism or terrorism (“Teacher’s views must be kept out of lessons,” Friday).
It is precisely because of the unfortunate persistence of attitudes such as these in our society that we need events like the Day of Silence.
BILL WEISMAN
Glendale
Don’t take smoking effort out on ‘buds’
In the Community Commentary by Robert Phipps regarding the whole smoking controversy, I hope people are not lumping all smokers into the same carton (“Smokers are waging war on the population,” Wednesday). I am specifically concerned about pot smokers.
Pot smokers are the most mellow folks I know, a little lazy, and they sometimes eat a lot of junk food (the munchies) but generally are good people. They usually don’t smoke pot in front of nonsmokers; they sure don’t leave their joint butts (commonly referred to as “roaches”) all over sidewalks, parking lots, etc. Believe me, if they did they would be picked up within 10 minutes.
I don’t think anyone has ever been killed by smoking pot or second-hand pot smoke. I have never heard of a pot smoker starting a fire unless it was to light a pipe, bong or joint.
As a nonsmoker I agree with Phipps’ assessment of tobacco smokers. It’s a nasty, unhealthy habit, but I believe they have the right to smoke if they choose.
So to sum up: Tobacco smokers are butts, but pot smokers are my buds.
BECKER DANSON
Glendale
Based on his letter, it’s fairly obvious that Stanton J. Price has not been to the Americana at Brand (“Americana ‘just another mall,’” Mailbag, Thursday), even for a cursory look.
The Americana has an above-ground parking structure for visitors (underground parking is for residents). It is bright, clean, well-lit, and the interior walls and ceiling are even painted and finished (unlike most bare-concrete parking bunkers). I spent some time working at The Grove a few years ago, frequently leaving late at night, by myself. Often the only other people I would see were the Caruso Security staff.
Based on my experience, Caruso is not only obligated under the terms of his agreement with the city to provide for the security Price expresses concern with, he is also a savvy businessman who understands that people who feel safe will come back, again and again.
While I am no expert, it is fairly certain that the new Americana will increase traffic. That is what a successful enterprise does, and if The Grove is any example, that traffic will be monitored, engineered, mitigated and ultimately controlled in order to pose as little problem as possible.
Comparing an attraction like the Americana to Disney Hall, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, or the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels is disingenuous and false. A concert hall is what it is, and a retail center is something different entirely, and their architectural needs are dissimilar, their aesthetic statements quite distinct. The buildings Price mentions are, by nature, monumental, and must be in order to fulfill their purpose. Conversely, the Americana must be humane and intimately scaled for the interaction of human beings at street level.
The design of the Americana will not please everyone, but for me it hearkens to a sense of place and center in an outdoor setting reminiscent of the old town square. The style may not be to Price’s taste, but I will be grateful for a safe, clean and attractive place where my children can be mesmerized by a dancing fountain in a lush greenscape (as they always are at The Grove), rather than being dragged down brick and marble hallways from one retail store to the next.
Before Price dismisses the Americana as “just another shopping mall,” perhaps he might actually want to visit there.
KENNETH S. MARTINEZ
Glendale
Day of Silence is perfectly timed
I’m writing to express my thanks to the Glendale News-Press for its coverage of the April 25 Day of Silence (“Parents blast Day of Silence,” Friday).
I also wish to thank Glendale Unified School District Supt. Michael Escalante for delivering a calm and concise remedial lesson on constitutional rights to the group of angry homophobes led by Naira Khachatrian.
It is very sad, and supremely ironic, that members of a historically repressed minority group fail to recognize the irrationality of their apparent hatred for members of another historically repressed minority group.
Khachatrian’s claim that homosexuality does not exist is morally equivalent to, and no different from, the falsehood that the Armenian Genocide never happened.
A similar repulsive opinion oozing out of the woodwork is that of letter-writer Dave Enslow, who in a dizzying display of hyperbole equates teachers’ discussions of tolerance for those whose sexual orientation may be different from ours, to approval of polygamy, Nazism or terrorism (“Teacher’s views must be kept out of lessons,” Friday).
It is precisely because of the unfortunate persistence of attitudes such as these in our society that we need events like the Day of Silence.
BILL WEISMAN
Glendale
Don’t take smoking effort out on ‘buds’
In the Community Commentary by Robert Phipps regarding the whole smoking controversy, I hope people are not lumping all smokers into the same carton (“Smokers are waging war on the population,” Wednesday). I am specifically concerned about pot smokers.
Pot smokers are the most mellow folks I know, a little lazy, and they sometimes eat a lot of junk food (the munchies) but generally are good people. They usually don’t smoke pot in front of nonsmokers; they sure don’t leave their joint butts (commonly referred to as “roaches”) all over sidewalks, parking lots, etc. Believe me, if they did they would be picked up within 10 minutes.
I don’t think anyone has ever been killed by smoking pot or second-hand pot smoke. I have never heard of a pot smoker starting a fire unless it was to light a pipe, bong or joint.
As a nonsmoker I agree with Phipps’ assessment of tobacco smokers. It’s a nasty, unhealthy habit, but I believe they have the right to smoke if they choose.
So to sum up: Tobacco smokers are butts, but pot smokers are my buds.
BECKER DANSON
Glendale
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