Hole in the Wall
Cover Austin
RECEIVED Wed., Jan. 12, 2005
Dear Editor,
Louis Black, with Mike Clark-Madison leaving the Chronicle along with his vast experience covering Austin, you should focus more on local issues. I know hating Bush and Perry are your favorite topics, but a paragraph or two each week is enough to placate your readers. After all, Austin clearly agreed with you last November and plenty of other publications cover those state and national figures.
Meanwhile, Austin faces issues transcending typical partisan classification such as the smoking ban and toll roads. Another hot issue is growth management. Environmental Democrats oppose urban sprawl, yet in my majority Democratic Travis Heights neighborhood, the association fights most density at planning meetings. Meanwhile, Republican property owners, developers, and remodelers are chomping at the bit to build those new urban density liberal utopias. Liberals envision a dense city where citizens can live close to and walk to businesses and restaurants, ultimately with residents living above businesses. Yet, Democrats in my neighborhood consider a home next to a business to be unacceptable for people lucky enough to own a $300,000 home.
You call Republicans radical moralists, yet Democrats in my neighborhood fight new liquor licenses. Don’t get me started on shopping opportunities for low-income people. Might I mention more bars within walking distance might reduce the incentive to drink and drive? I could walk to bars in Ann Arbor, Mich. Meanwhile, the Austin City Council voted to prevent more taxi availability here.
I can’t offer a perfect libertarian solution in this space, but consider this. If Gov. Perry stopped waving $300 million in big-business incentives and Travis and Austin Democrats stopped matching with tax abatements, Austin would not be faced with so many divisive growth fights. Agree or not, add to these debates and chronicle Austin.
Louis Black, with Mike Clark-Madison leaving the Chronicle along with his vast experience covering Austin, you should focus more on local issues. I know hating Bush and Perry are your favorite topics, but a paragraph or two each week is enough to placate your readers. After all, Austin clearly agreed with you last November and plenty of other publications cover those state and national figures.
Meanwhile, Austin faces issues transcending typical partisan classification such as the smoking ban and toll roads. Another hot issue is growth management. Environmental Democrats oppose urban sprawl, yet in my majority Democratic Travis Heights neighborhood, the association fights most density at planning meetings. Meanwhile, Republican property owners, developers, and remodelers are chomping at the bit to build those new urban density liberal utopias. Liberals envision a dense city where citizens can live close to and walk to businesses and restaurants, ultimately with residents living above businesses. Yet, Democrats in my neighborhood consider a home next to a business to be unacceptable for people lucky enough to own a $300,000 home.
You call Republicans radical moralists, yet Democrats in my neighborhood fight new liquor licenses. Don’t get me started on shopping opportunities for low-income people. Might I mention more bars within walking distance might reduce the incentive to drink and drive? I could walk to bars in Ann Arbor, Mich. Meanwhile, the Austin City Council voted to prevent more taxi availability here.
I can’t offer a perfect libertarian solution in this space, but consider this. If Gov. Perry stopped waving $300 million in big-business incentives and Travis and Austin Democrats stopped matching with tax abatements, Austin would not be faced with so many divisive growth fights. Agree or not, add to these debates and chronicle Austin.
Wes Benedict