Monday, July 05, 2004

Gateway SA revisited

So many columnists and letter-writers have been bashing the Gateway San Antonio project I posted about back in June, I was moved (as I so often am) to write a letter in defense of the art project. Said letter was published in yesterday's San Antonio Express-News:
When did San Antonio develop such a sour disposition? Ever since the Gateway San Antonio project was announced, it seems that every doomsayer hither and yon can't wait to take cheap shots at it.

The folks grousing that the $9 million or so might be put to better use elsewhere are missing the point that this is a gift — if this project is derailed, San Antonio gets nothing. Nothing, people.

The Gateway San Antonio project would be funky and fun, adding a touch of whimsy to an otherwise bland expanse of limestone cliff.

I have to pity the people who are so wrapped up in their own bitterness that they can't see that.

Jayme Lynn Blaschke,
New Braunfels

Now, I have to point out that the header they gave my letter, "Funky, fun--and free" isn't exactly accurate and casts my letter in something of a naive light. The Gateway SA project landed a study grant of $25,000 from the city a while back to develop this proposal. That probably wasn't very wise of them, and some of the paper's columnists who are rabidly anti-city hall (not entirely unjustified, I might add) jumped all over that tidbit of information. So, ultimately, the project wouldn't be free. But if fund-raising for this project is successful, there is the possibility of the city recouping that money eventually, along with getting that nifty landmark artwork. If the project is killed, as I point out in my letter, the city gets nada.

And some of the objections people are raising--carved squirrels and armadillos? Dangerous distraction? Oy! The San Antonio Zoo is only a few blocks away, people! How hard is it to make the connection? Apparently, very hard indeed.

Now Playing: The Kinks Sleepwalker

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