Dear Editor:There is a site at Florence Avenue and Studebaker Road, previously World of Decor but also the former home of large stores such as Pace and, going farther back, Gemco. I have a bit of fun attempting to "foresee" successful business endeavors in vacant locations. This time I asked my teenage daughter, who was in the car with me when we drove by all of that vacant land, what she thought would do well there. "A skating rink," she replied. "All of the kids at school have to go to different cities to go skating, whether it be ice or roller skating. We all travel to different cities to do anything because there is nothing for kids in Downey. This place would be perfect for skating." I thought, how brilliant. What a perfect spot for a roller or ice skating venue. And I pondered my 16-year-old's comment. There really is not much to do in Downey for the youth. As much as this city is flourishing and the big plans that city officials have for its future, all that is here for our kids so far is movies and food, which is really not healthy if it's not balanced with some kind of activity. We see this when we look around at many cities' overweight populations of youth and adults alike. Our kids are also susceptible to drinking/drug use at younger ages due partly to the lack of healthy activities that surround them and/or programs that teach abstinence and give them other options, and the set of standards that "Hollywood" sets the bar at: nice car, stereo system, cute girl, bottle of expensive booze, and da night club, and this is the life. I just think that Downey should consider a skating rink at Florence and Studebaker as much as they consider, approve and collect fees and taxes on another huge mansion or compounds to be built and sold (and in demand) in this city (while we are in a real estate recession, no less?), as much as they want to build new restaurants and revamp the Downey scene with entertainment and a housing project. A skating venue would be hugely successful, a win-win situation. How could our city officials and planners leave the youth out of Downey's future for so long? The youth are our future and they are falling at the wayside. And sorry, but a run-down Golf 'N Stuff doesn't cut it. -- Dee Cee Carrasco, Downey

********** Published: January 13, 2011 - Volume 9 - Issue 39