I attempted to send this to Myron Lawson of the Alexandria City Council, but the e-mail address he has listed is invalid. Dear Mr. Lawson, I am writing to express my interest in participating in the discussions of downtown revitalization and to inform you of an upcoming column I wrote for the Town Talk concerning this issue. Although I am very critical of our local government's vision and priorities, I believe the problem exists on a collective level, and I respect the fact that there are many dedicated people who, like yourself, truly want what is best for Alexandria. Often, when people criticize the City Council, the perception is that the criticism is directed toward the individual members, and no doubt, people may incorrectly read this into my column. I contend, however, that the government simply needs to reevaluate their priorities and work at building stronger alliances with businesses. That said, our company, Elm Tree Properties, is considering (edited for a good, practical reason....................................) Today, I spoke with Clifford Muller, and I would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you and other members of the City Council about their hopes for this critical piece of downtown real estate. Please also share with me your opinion of my column. I want to work with the city, but, at the same time, I feel the need to express my opinion as a concerned citizen. I hope the two are not mutually exclusive in Alexandria. It will be appearing in the Sunday edition, I believe. Sincerely, Lamar PS: You may recall that we shared a moment of fame together over a decade ago when you presented me with the Student of the Week award on KALB-TV. Thanks again.

This entry was posted by Blogger, on Thursday, March 09, 2006.