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Mitre -Ramirez, Norma From: Huizar, Maria Sent: Tuesday, April 07, 2015 1:58 PM Cc: Cavazos, David; Lawrence, Mark; Garcia, Jorge (CMO); Flores, Alma Subject: The Wellness Corridor Categories: Correspondence Mayor and City Council, Communication received on Wellness Corridor. From: Lucy Bateson[mailto:lj.bateson@sbcglobal.net] Sent: Monday, April 06, 2015 2:18 PM To: Huizar, Maria Subject: The Wellness Corridor Dear Mayor Pulido and City Council Members: Maybe we should count our blessings... I remember downtown Santa Ana in early 70's where I purchased my dinnerware at Buffums, a department store on Main Street. There were other stores as well, a Sears, a dimestore, a drug store, clothing stores. It was a thriving downtown, and lots of people did their shopping there. And I remember when South Coast Plaza was built and our downtown took a big hit. I remember the Latinos coming in and opening up stores and breathing new life into the area. But after a while, slowly and inevitably, the face of our downtown began to change again. The presence of the cultural shops wasn't enough to revitalize our downtown, and soon there was litter on the streets and peddlers and bums stood on corners and in front of small bars blocking the sidewalks and watching people who passed by. Small shops struggled next to abandoned buildings, and it all began to look dirty and dingy. In the 80's I went to night school at a private college on north Main. Driving home alone after class got out at 9:00 p.m. coming south through downtown I worried that all my car doors weren't locked, and I felt uncomfortable sitting at each of a string of seemingly incredibly long red lights. Our friends who lived in other cities made jokes about us living in Santa Ana. We wondered if it would get even worse, and we worried about the investment we had in our home. But we made the choice, and we stayed, and we're really glad that we did. We saw the development of the COP program and then the creation of the neighborhood associations, and we began to get more involved in our own neighborhood. Then came the artist village downtown. To be honest, we wondered if that was going to fly. But then the restaurants and other shops followed, and that was the beginning of the rebirth of our city. Today when we go downtown I remember the negative comments we heard back then, and we just laugh. Our downtown is clean, it's vital, and it's something we are extremely proud of. I direct you to Sunday's (04/05/2015) Register. The Local Section (page 2) has an article titled 'What's happening? Filling a nightlife void'. The sub heading is 'South County's younger cities are struggling to appeal to a younger crowd.' It is interesting and very relevant to this issue. In it is a quote from Albert Armijo, Aliso Viejo Planning Director, who says: "I'd like to bring people here, of all ages, all persuasions, and make it more of an interesting place to be. This will inevitably help attract dollars to the city." Well, that's what Santa Ana did! That's what's happening in our downtown, and it is working. It's WONDERFUL!