Game over

Dear Editor:I have been searching for a good location to open up a classic arcade center with mostly American iconic games from bygone eras. I found the perfect location (or so I thought) on Paramount Boulevard near Stewart and Gray Road. When I went to City Hall, they told me this location could not be zoned as such since it was too close to a school and kids would skip class to go to this classic arcade. (Even though the opening hours would be after school?) The place remained empty for almost a year but now it has been leased to a tobacco store. How wrong is this, I ask you? How can tobacco sales be zoned close to a school? Way to go, City Hall. Instead of showing a bit of American history you would rather poison the kids. -- Robert van der Velde, Downey

********** Published: January 27, 2011 - Volume 9 - Issue 41