Whose well-being does General Growth care about? I...

our police, fire and schools when you are asked to sign the

Galleria's petition.

Save yourself, and all of us, a trip to the polls by telling them

now, "TAKE A HIKE."

BRIAN J. ELLIS

Glendale

Mall owner's arguments are transparent, without merit

It was preposterous for General Growth to bring up the

preservation of the old Fire Station 21 located within the boundaries

of the proposed new Town Center. [It is a] blatant move to disguise

its real intent of stopping the construction of the Town Center.

As a longtime resident I want to say: "What fire station? What

historical building?" It's a building that hardly resembles its

original design, and even if it [did], it hardly can compare itself

to the fabulously constructed historical buildings found in Pasadena,

downtown Los Angeles and other towns, which are truly awe-inspiring

and would cause any less-informed or disinterested person to stand up

and fight for preservation. A former mayor of Glendale indicated no

knowledge of the building or its location. If this Fire Station 21

truly was and is so important for General Growth, why have they not

come up in the past with an offer to fund its restoration and

preservation?

Further, to insist on streets such as Harvard or Orange to remain

open would create serious safety issues. The Town Center should be a

pedestrian-only development, where no person, parent or child should

have to worry about being hit by through traffic. We all know and

experience almost daily that no matter what the set speed limit is,

there will always be someone in a hurry, not thinking about children,

older people or pets moving about, who may not remember to look left

and right to make sure that crossing such a street is safe. In this

development, they should not have to.

This is supposed to be an area for leisurely enjoying a park,

fountains, shops, restaurants, a movie house, etc. There are plenty

of access roads leading to the Galleria and people will eventually

adjust to not being able to use roads that need to be closed to make

Americana at Brand a safe place. Roads were readily disconnected

without much fanfare to build the Galleria and other developments in

Glendale. I am no longer a parent of a small child, but if I were,

and if [that child] would get hurt because the City Council -- under

pressure from General Growth -- had decided to keep these roads open,

I would seriously consider bringing a lawsuit against the city and

its council for not having had the foresight to prevent such a

catastrophe.

Until the Americana at Brand is well into its building stage or

completed, or until General Growth decides to withdraw its

objections, I too will not shop the Glendale Galleria and gladly take

my business to other locations that additionally offer a much better

selection of merchandise and style.

RUTH FRANZ

Glendale