As a Willow Glen resident and retail real estate professional with experience in leasing on Lincoln Avenue and Willow Glen, I felt a responsibility to weigh in on the subject of Lincoln Avenue tenancy. Like many Willow Glen residents and landlords, I would enjoy having more national and regional retailers like Trader Joe's, Gap, Whole Foods, etc. establish storefronts on Lincoln Avenue. Unfortunately, retailers don't work that way.

Trader Joe's, as an example, has a large-size requirement that is difficult to locate in a business district like Willow Glen. In addition to size limitations, regional and national tenants require significant investments for tenant improvements, have specific requirements for rent, parking and co-tenancy and have radius restrictions that often restrict them from locations too close to another store.

While we have very strong population and household income demographics, which is important for certain tenants, we do not have the type of downtown district, synergy or space available that these brand retailers require ... yet.

Properties like the soon-to-be completely renovated Garden Theatre will include a Starbucks, generating a new buzz at the previously difficult-to-lease front space. They will be neighbored by a women's boutique called Bella James, a great local store operated by two Willow Glen women.

Bella James would have located somewhere else if Starbucks had not opened next door. The store will enjoy increased visibility due to the high activity level at Starbucks. This is the kind of synergistic leasing that helps create balance for the avenue.

Many business and property owners have invested significantly into our avenue, and they should be valued. There is enough population and household income within a 5-mile radius to support all the businesses that are willing to invest in Willow Glen currently and in the future. Each of the businesses appeals to different consumer preferences and has attracted a loyal following.

Let's be supportive of tenants (national, regional and independents) that are willing to invest in the current and future of Willow Glen, even though there may be a crossover in product offering.

Marie Anderson

Meacham Oppenheimer Inc.

New slogan for Willow Glen neighborhood

After reading the article about neighbors who complained of Legion parties ("Neighbors to Legion post: too many parties and noise," Jan. 25) such as quinceañeras (thought to be the celebrations of outsiders), I thought of a new slogan for our neighborhood:

Willow Glen, home of the invisible Latino, the silent weekend party that ends before 10 p. m. and children's parties with no bounce house.

An attractive vision, no?

L.A. Kurth

Warren Avenue

Kids fail because funds
are spent inappropriately

Don Delay's difficulties with our "educational" system ("The answer to education is simple: back to basics," Feb.1) inspired this analogy: Suppose you want a car. Unless you want to spend an extra $10,000 per year for the car, you must go only to a government-determined dealer, who will provide you with a government-determined car.

Should you have any complaints (that the car does not have enough horsepower, is uncomfortable, etc.), the government-authorized "expert" will pooh-pooh "traditional" cars, which inhibit the "expert's" idea of "learning." Or the "expert" will say cars are too "complex" for commoners to make a competent decision about. Or "We can't allow you to own a car that a person of other circumstances can't afford or drive."

When you complain that they should spend their money making better cars, the "expert" will respond, "But we need to have all these other experts in social issues to make sure everybody is sensitive about everyone else's car. And of course, we need to have this wonderful central office and these immaculate showrooms."

The "failed curriculum and a teaching methodology that jeopardizes [children's] success in school" are symptoms of a more basic problem--lack of genuine choice in education.

Parents cannot take the money the state has allocated on a per-student basis, leave the schools that are failing and go to schools where the children will learn.

Competition forces improvement. If I don't do my job well, I'll be replaced. If a business doesn't do its job well, customers will leave and the business will go under. But the public schools not only have a government monopoly but an arrogant teachers' unions that vigorously opposes the "commoners" daring to choose their children's school. (ABC's "20/20" on Jan. 13 was an excellent exposé of the problem.)

The "system" will not improve until the monopoly is broken. But the teachers' unions will spend millions (taken from teachers' salaries) to maintain their monopoly, and kids will continue to fail.

Larry Bickford

Hallbrook Drive

Correction

In the February issue of Image, an item in the Hot Flashes column was incomplete. The Victories bracelet designed by Marilyn Dorsa is a tribute to the Victories Rosé wine Peggy Fleming and her husband Dr. Greg Jenkins are producing in their Fleming Jenkins Vineyards.

For additional information on both the bracelet and wine, go to www.marilyndorsa.com and www.wine.com.