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Letters to the Editor

City should not have to subsidise Target

1/31/2007

To the Editor:

Forgive me for being suspicious, but when I read the recent stories about the scheme for the taxpayers of Oak Ridge to subsidize development of a Target store on Pine Ridge, my first thought was "Uh oh, here we go again." Once again, we are being asked to bail out a failed development and provide financial guarantees for developers and speculators. Despite hopes and promises to the contrary, I expect that the taxpayers will wind up holding the bag. We already have several prime locations that the City should promote (for stores, hotels, whatever), such as where Food City recently closed - both with good access and plenty of parking - not to mention the stalled "Downtown Shopping Center." Let's look at those places first. If the Target scheme is really viable, it shouldn't need any subsidies from the City. As for Pine Ridge, why don't we just allow the pines to grow back?

Bob Cushman

Oak Ridge