Where is justice?

   To the editor:
   Today's mass media newspaper pages read about clemencies and pardons for the rich and well connected.
   Meanwhile, Leonard Peltier, the Native American community worker lingers in prison. He, along with many of us in this country and abroad, were poised for Peltier's release on clemency. So far he has spent almost thirty years there for a crime he very likely did not commit, as he steadfastly maintains his innocence. 
   Compare this with those monied personalities who either served no or little time and were given pardons or clemency. I don't wish incarceration on anyone -- but where is justice?
   In 2001, this is what democracy looks like.
   Andrew Kay Liberman
   Los Angeles

A courageous and difficult vote

   To the editor:
   I wanted to add my thanks for what I felt was a courageous and difficult vote to reject the Target appeal. Courageous because it's hard to reject the earnest pleas from senior citizens and others who want a low-cost convenience store downtown, difficult to turn away the incentives offered by Target to sweeten the deal. 
   I don't think the mitigation measures offered would have done anything to lessen the nightmare congestion that would ensue from the daily traffic volumes generated by the store. For 25 years I've been reviewing EIRs where traffic engineers consistently say all things can be mitigated, and in reality they never are. I think (the) vote is a breakthrough because it fully recognizes that the city has not come up with a true, WORKABLE solution to the downtown congestion, and it signals a seriousness of purpose on the part of the Council to find that solution before any further deterioration sets in. I've had an office at 225 Santa Monica Boulevard for 26 years, and I've witnessed the changes in that time first-hand, on a daily basis. The qualities that made Santa Monica such an attractive, livable city, as opposed to a suburb or a mega-city like N.Y., L.A., or even S.F., have been slipping away as the development processes have taken over. The Council is to be commended for recognizing that this is an issue that must be addressed before the last vestiges of "Santa-Monica-as-we-knew-it-before-big-money-moved-in" are lost and gone forever. I wish it luck in finding the right balance. 
   John Murdock
   Santa Monica

Business involvement is vital

   To the editor:
   In my role as director of the U.S. Constitution Day Parade, I have learned again and again how important business involvement and a local press is to the success of every community endeavor.
   The Santa Monica Mirror's coverage of the events and issues in Santa Monica is essential to keeping the community informed and involved. The Target store issue is only the most recent example. 
   However, we must realize that a newspaper cannot survive on just good ethics and good work. A newspaper is dependent on its advertising base. 
   To have a healthy newspaper, it is essential to have businesses who deliberately and conscientiously build and sustain effective advertising campaigns in that newspaper. One-shot deals only have minimal effects. It takes time and attention to develop effective advertising through any medium. 
   If we are to have local newspapers, businesses must realize that they are individually responsible for the survival of those newspapers. 
   It is impossible for businesses to always find themselves happy with any newspaper's editorial policies. Business ethics as well as political ethics are historically dependent on a critical press. However, it is the ethics of any community which ultimately determines the success of that community. 
The failure of the old Outlook resulted from its absentee ownership divorcing it from the local business community. 
   Businesses are responsive to their own clientele. Customers who notice the local advertising of the businesses they patronize and who express their support for such advertising benefit us all. 
   I commend the Mirror for its rapid development and its focus on community issues. I appreciate the businesses who are already making it possible. 
   Ronn Pickard
   Santa Monica