Thank you for your May 23rd article on “Tearing Down Our History.”

We all know change is inevitable and that some is beneficial and some is detrimental. It would seem that it would behoover us to carefully examine change initiatives and if we determine that we are note resisting change because we are just reactionary, we should try to deter detrimental change.

Our community does have something unique. People across the state and nation realize this. We know it is not just because of money. Our community has much of a small-town atmosphere despite being in the middle of one of the larger urban areas. People know one another. People are centered on family and schools. The list goes on and on.

The new “big box,” “nuevo rich” mentality that is sweeping the nation is and will have an impact on our community. We look more and more like Plano or Frisco every day — not that there is anything wrong with these cities but it is not the same “personality” as the Park Cities.

The people who are coming to the community to build these new structures seem to want to take advantage of what we and those who came before us have established but do not seem to recognize that they are changing what makes the community unique.

There are numerous issues. One that does not seem to have been mentioned is the alley entrances utilized by many of the new structures. Our alley is a single lane but many people are now using it as a street. Do our alleys have to be made one way? Will the alleys have to be resurfaced more frequently because of the traffic? Because most of the new construction does not want to waste any land on a driveway and the alley entrances are inconvenient for quick in and outs, people often park in the street as do their visitors. Many of our streets are down to a single lane because there are cars parked on each side of the street. Virtually every block seems to have construction going on and that adds even more vehicles. The safety issue of children crossing the street to play with other neighborhood children is also of concern.

The rear entrances and the high fences are similar to the bedroom communitites where people are said not to have met their neighbors.

Most of the new construction is “over building” the lots. The lack of lawn area should concern us. The privacy issues you mentioned should concern us. The drainage issues should concern us. Many of these houses should be built on acreage and not in a residential setting.

Your analogy to the recent rash of problems at NorthPark should give us pause. Bigger is not necessarily better. Zoning ordinances meant to protect the community should be completely revisited. Please continue to bring this to the attention of the community.

Speaking of pet peeves:

The purpose of an escalator is NOT “to speed up the normal ascent of people climbing a stairway”.  That is to say, getting any one person from point A to point B faster is not the goal.  The goal is to move a group of people from point A to point B as efficiently as possible, without compromising safety.  Speed of individual ascent (even average speed of individual ascent) and efficiency aren’t the same thing.

The most common accident that occurs on an escalator is tripping.  Same as on stairs.  In my experience, people walking escalators typically appear awkward and uncertain. That’s partly because the dimensions of an escalator step are different from those of the typical stair step.  The escalator step has a slightly higher riser and a longer tread.  You don’t even have to look that up to know it’s true, but it is.   Do you think people take this into account when they step onto an escalator?  Even if you know that information your brain doesn’t process it.  Add small kids – hell, any kids – to the equation, or people not paying particularly close attention, etc., and expect them to perform this group exercise gracefully and in unison …. What, are you kidding?   Your model of efficiency is shot.

But here’s the thing I don’t get, how many valuable seconds of useful time would you gain if everyone adhered to your standards for escalator protocol?  At Northpark, near the theaters … 5 seconds per ride?  Even 7?  Let’s call it 6.  Multiply that by the number of escalator trips you’ll take in your lifetime.  What would you do with all that free time? Write a novel?  Invent a green alternative to the internal combustion engine?  Are you that good??!  Or would you just trim your toenails?

I don’t want people walking past me on an escalator.  It’s an annoyance – and for what legitimate end should I suffer their rudeness?  When I step onto that tread, it’s mine.  Don’t expect me to move or have my personal space crowded because you deem yourself or your time more valuable.

Nobody looks dumber to me (or more rude) than somebody walking on an escalator when everyone else is not.  All for the sake of a few seconds.

“That was the only ATM in the company that was close to a door like that that doesn’t have a roll-down metal door in front of it,” said Brooke White, a corporate spokeswoman for Nordstrom. “We just won’t replace the ATM there. We had it as a convenience for our (restaurant) customers.”

After taking a look at the scene of the crime near Nordstrom’s east entrance, I ventured into the mall to find some patrons willing to share their opinions on the third high profile crime to hit NorthPark in three months.

I talked to a nice woman and her daughter for all of two seconds before mall security was looking over my shoulder at my reporter’s notepad.

Brett Holbrook, a security guard at NorthPark, required backup to inform me of the following:

“We don’t allow any type of reporters here at all from sidewalk to sidewalk,” Holbrook said in a voice that sounded more like ‘We don’t take kindly to your type ’round here.’

Then he kind of stood in my way. I say “kind of “because it’s never wise to test the limits of someone who dresses up and acts like a cop for a living. And it’s also really hard to write a story from the back of a squad car.

So, being the nosy reporter I am, I headed back into Nordstrom and looked for my next interview.

After a 20-second conversation with a nice gentleman from Waxahachie, I was approached by a guy named “Gary.”

Gary happened to be with management at Nordstrom. He told me to get lost. As he escorted me from the premises, he shared Nordstrom’s philosophy on the first amendment.

“We care about freedom of press and all that. We just don’t want you disturbing our customers,” He said.

When a security guard drove slowly by my car in the parking lot and read my license plate number into his radio, it only served to reinforce what my reporting skills had led me to deduce earlier:

All those mall customers who live in constant fear of being ambushed by rogue reporters; have no fear, because NorthPark is here.

“Balls Hamburgers in Snider Plaza is either closed or closing…now for the news:  Dunkin’ Donuts is going in that space!  Not a bank.”

Did you know June is National Iced Tea Month? To commemorate this Southern tradition, The Plaza at Preston Center is hosting its second annual Best Iced Tea Contest on Sunday, June 8, 2008 from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. to find the best iced tea in the [Ed.: offensive word removed, replaced with Dallas-Fort Worth area] benefiting the North Texas Food Bank. Come taste the wide array of iced tea samples from participating Dallas-area restaurants to determine which restaurant truly has the best iced tea in Dallas - whether it’s a “mom and pop” shop or a prominent Dallas restaurant. Some of last year’s participants included Craft, Celebrity Bakery & Café, Houston’s Restaurant and many other Dallas favorites. The public’s vote will determine the People’s Choice Award alongside a panel of “celebrity judges” who will be handing out the Judges’ Award for the best version of this classic refreshment.

Tasting ballots will be sold in participating Plaza stores in advance and the day of the event to sample the many tasty versions of this summertime favorite. Ticket pricing is available at multiple levels: $5 (children); Gold level - $10; Platinum level - $20. All tasting ballot purchases will be included in a raffle with tons of prizes - the higher the ticket level, the better the prize. Come join us for this fun-filled family event with activities for the kids. All proceeds from the Best Iced Tea Contest will benefit the North Texas Food Bank, a nonprofit organization that passionately pursues a hunger-free community through distributing food to feeding and education programs in North Texas.

What is the deal with Chick-Fil-A’s popularity? It was a good meal — better than I expected. But it’s still fast food. Can someone tell me what the big deal with this chain is? I’m about ready to invest in the company based on what I see at that location every day. It was busy until 1:50 inside, and still had 10 cars in the drive through well after the standard lunch hours.

(phone message left for Cassie Clark, who wrote our lead story this week on the shooting at NorthPark):

(Thu., 8:49 p.m.) — “You dumb ****. I’ve been here 37 years and I read your stupid article. You think because one god ****** ****** decides to commit a random crime that NorthPark and its changes has anything to do with it? Huh? You ass****.”

The caller, whose caller ID listed ‘unknown’, hadn’t had enough. He called back later.

(Fri., 2:52 a.m.) — You forgot to mention in your article how those damn ******* get to NorthPark these days. DART. They get on that DART train and they don’t need a car to get there. They get there to steal cars. Don’t forget to put that in there. ‘Course you don’t have to say ‘******.’ Say ‘undesirables.’

How about that. He found his conscience in the final two sentences.

Editor’s Note: The correlation between the increase in crime (most of it non-violent) and NorthPark’s expansion two years ago is attributed to shoppers we quote as sources in the story. We made no such conclusions in the story itself or in our reporting.