Island Can Take Learning Lesson From Others
To the Editor:

The beautiful Champs Elysees in Paris is in danger of losing its Cultural Heritage site designation. This is because of banalization by means of an onslaught of T-shirt shops, tourist traps, franchises, and the disregard for historically correct construction of businesses, according to an ABC TV News report July 19, 2007. Local businessmen, who are full-time residents of the area, are struggling to regain control and restore the area to its former glory.

On August 1, 2007, it was announced that the Delta Queen, a National Historic Landmark steamboat plying the interior rivers of the U.S., will discontinue service in November 2008, as Congress has not extended its ability to continue sailing.

Signs of the times?

Dick Ott Berkeley, Illinois