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		Letters to the Editor It is with great pleasure that the Great Lakes Bulletininaugurates a Letters to the Editor page. Whether youcurrently are a member, or are thinking of becoming one, this is your forum to express your opinions. Thanksto all the following members for taking the time to write. Learning From Experience Thank you very much for helping to bring Keith Bartholomew to town. (Mr. Bartholomew, a leader of 1000Friends of Oregon, described how Portland strengthened its economy and reined in suburban sprawl byforegoing a new highway.~Ed.)His message is exactly what we need to hear in our region. We have hadothers speak on similar topics in the past, and it is my impression in talking with people after his visit that moreand more people are starting to hear the message The types of development he talks about are new ideas to many people, and we need to hear them over andover again. As we move into the next century, hopefully we can stop building communities as we have over thepast 50 years. Bringing to town outstanding people who have done outstanding work is a step in the rightdirection. Bob Otwell, Traverse City, Michigan A Personal Thank You I'm very impressed with the work you are doing, and feel that you are doing it for me personally. That littlecorner of northern Michigan and the Village of Benzonia are dear to my heart. Thanks to people like you wemay hold on to its beauty. Marcia A. Lee, Rancho Santa Fe, California We Don't Know What We're Missing(This letter was writtenafter a videotaped presentation by James Howard Kunstler, author of the anti-sprawl classic, "The Geography of Nowhere.") This is about Kunstler's talk. I read and agreed with his book. But I left your program early because he wasdoing a lousy job of presenting a very good idea. People in the audience don't know what they're missing unless they are as old as I am (75). They have tosee the benefits of changing. We needed to see photos of people in Parisienne cafes, and pictures of peopletogether, not buildings stark-naked of folks. We needed to see kids walking hand-in-hand on quiet sidewalks toschool, people on porches chatting with passersby, kids carrying their soccer gear to a close-by playfield (hehardly mentioned playfields!), mothers pushing buggies around in the park, folks standing chatting at thevillage Post Office, youngsters going to the library or the store on their own, fathers sitting on a park benchdiscussing politics or helping their children sail toy boats in the tree-lined pond! That old lady on the sidewalk in New York (to whom he passingly alluded) should have been shown (withthe song in the background "Little bit of business here, little bit of business there. Bet that you've beenwindow shopping all around the square.") He should have contrasted the Renaissance Center in Detroit, whereyou can only enter by car, with the lively and festive street scene in downtown Portland, Oregon. That guy Kunstler doesn't know how to pitch!Marian Gyr, Benzonia, Michigan Kudos From "Old Timers" We have followed with interest the Institute's exposure of mal-practices occurring in our North Country.We recognize that your organization has been doing an excellent job in forestalling damage to our NorthCountry! Our congratulations go to you on your accomplishments! As for us, we are now in our mid-90's and are unable to accomplish things as we once did. We have made acomplete move from our place on Douglas Lake to a small establishment with more personal care. From herewe follow your progress and have a feeling you are making many changes in oil/gas drilling operations. For whatever two "Old Timers" can give you we hope you continue to wage the fight for the preservation ofour land for generations yet unborn! Eugene and Priscilla Ochsner, Johannesburg, MI (Priscilla Ochsner passed away on January 25. Our deepest sympathies go to her family and to her husbandEugene, a chemical engineer who has contributed his valuable expertise to the Institute since our founding.~Ed) Giving Tax Breaks To Superstores Is Unfair To Local BusinessesReading in the Bulletin about the Wal Mart development in Petoskey, I wondered if there is any merit to thefollowing strategy in combating commercial development like that. A common inducement to real estate developments is to grant tax exemptions to the company involved.Yet, such an exemption would create an unfair, unilateral advantage to the company receiving it, versus the other competitors in the same field who do not receive such exemptions. Wouldn't this be considered somehow in restraint of trade or an antitrust violation? The local/regionalagency would be giving an unfair business advantage to the one company, and put the competitors at adisadvantage. Or, shouldn't there at least be a requirement that the agency would have to grant a similarexemption to related businesses? This argument might be used by local businesses opposing such a development as in restraint of trade, forexample, the small retailers who will be disadvantaged by Wal MartDaniel C. Keifer, Rochester Hills, Michigan Spreading the Word I find your Bulletin to be a "keeper" -- and copy articles to share with others. Keep up all the good work. Paula Leinbach, Traverse City, Michigan SEND YOUR LETTERS TO: Great Lakes Bulletin, P.O. Box 228, Benzonia, MI 49616Please include a telephone number so we can confirm that you would like us to publish your letter.