The Willow Glen Resident

Letters

This area resident doesn't like the barbecue smoke

I am one Willow Glen resident who objects to the billowing smoke from the barbecue at La Villa Delicatessen. I have driven down Lincoln Avenue and been assaulted by clouds of stinking burned meat smoke that enters my car. I have been overwhelmed by smoke while shopping and walking across the street from La Villa. I'm surprised that the merchants haven't declared a smog alert.

It's not fair that building codes require restaurants to install expensive filtering devices in their exhaust systems to reduce emissions when these open barbecues are allowed to spew smoke without consideration for other merchants and shoppers.

La Villa self-righteously says that we should be glad that they are serving Willow Glen residents good food. Artery-clogging, heart-attack-causing meat is not my idea of good food. And the smoke certainly does not help the smog situation in the summertime.

Judy Jones
Minnesota Avenue

Billiards and Brew versus neighbors: David and Goliath?

First let me say that prior to reading the advertisement in The Resident on Dec. 24, my husband and I did not have an opinion regarding the Willow Glen Billiards and Brew vs. Meredith Avenue parking situation. However, the tone and size of the advertisement concerns us. As outsiders looking in, the situation now appears to resemble a "David and Goliath" approach to resolving a neighborhood problem. Yes, we did read the letter from the Meredith Avenue resident, but at the time, we still believed that the two sides could probably work out an agreement. A small letter to the editor would have been an appropriate response and probably would have led most Willow Glen residents to believe that the situation is probably somewhere between the two viewpoints. But now the issue looks more like a "neighborhood vs. big business" fight. And we personally don't think this is a productive approach.

We have attended Willow Glen Neighborhood Association meetings and believe that it is important for residents to speak out and voice their opinions. In fact, we think that this is what makes Willow Glen so special. Willow Glen residents believe strongly in their community and are willing to fight to keep it safe, peaceful, etc. This is a good thing. (Still, we all know that opinions/viewpoints are sometimes skewed by a passion for a particular issue. But it is still important to speak out.) And yes, it has been nice to see a revitalization of the downtown. We enjoy walking to town and finding many new shops that fit our lifestyle; however, I must say that if there weren't "affluent, upwardly mobile" residents moving to Willow Glen in the last few years, would most of these businesses be interested in investing their money in the Avenue? Another point: A lot of these "affluent, upwardly mobile" new residents are buying homes from elderly folks who have made Willow Glen such a friendly, beautiful and peaceful place in which to live. I think we owe it to these elderly folks to concern ourselves with their well-being ,too, e.g., safe and quiet streets. In addition, it would really be a shame for Willow Glen to lose its friendly reputation because of public berating of residents.

Willow Glen is a very special place, which is why many of us have chosen to live or do business here. Let's keep it that way.

Patsy and Larry Neher
Camino Pablo

Lincoln's lights don't look so bad

As a volunteer with five years of hands-on experience with the checkout and installation of the Lights Over Lincoln, most recently in 1996, I wish to take strong issue with the comments made in the Dec. 24 Resident regarding their appearance and condition.

Contrary to what the sources in the article say, the garlands are in no way tattered, lousy, shabby or out of date. When they were last installed, they had been extensively overhauled and were electrically sound with bulbs working. The accompanying greenery was in pristine shape, with no gaps or tears.

In 1996, there were no complaints from either residents or merchants about the condition or appearance of the garlands; only compliments.

The article talks about the garlands taking up space in the business association office. This is incorrect. Eleven 75-foot-long garlands, plus 11 center lanterns, are too bulky for that and have always been stored in the WGBPA storage locker.

A comment was made that the district "deserves something better than garlands." I disagree. It was strong, positive community sentiment that spurred the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association board to decide to revive the tradition of the Lights Over Lincoln in 1992. At first the installation and checkout of the lights was handled by WGNA, but was later taken over by the business association.

Without the garlands, the Avenue lacked the warm, inviting holiday spirit it had when they were up. Instead, the Avenue was bleak and cold. When the garlands were up, visitors checking out decorations on nearby streets usually made it a point to cruise the Avenue and check out the lights over Lincoln; it was not unusual for those visitors to later return to the Avenue and shop.

Willow Glen is full of tradition--tradition that the garlands are very much a part of. Since their revival, the garlands have received tender loving care, and volunteers who have helped with the checkout and installation of the garlands have found the experience very satisfying and rewarding.

It's a travesty that the WGBPA board voted not to put up the garlands this year, and I, like many residents and merchants, miss them terribly. I took pictures of the garlands just before the end of 1996, pictures that show the garlands in great shape and make it that much harder for me to believe and understand the logic behind the decision. Since seeing is believing, I'll be happy to show these photos to anyone who asks to see them.

I would like to hope that this year is the last without the garlands and that they will be brought back next years. To this end, let me be the first to volunteer to work on bringing the garlands back for the 1998 holiday season. In addition, I would also urge other Glenites who missed the garlands to let the business association know they want WGBPA to keep them and put them back up next season.

June Cooley
Almaden Road

Correction

The Willow Glen Resident sincerely apologizes for a statement made in last week's cover story, "Is Lincoln Avenue missing out on New Year's revelry?" which indicated that Sharky's owner Fran Crozier was purposefully ignoring the city's 24-hour policy. Crozier is in constant contact with the Planning Department, and together they are in the process of working out the bar's hours of operation.

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