Opinion: In today’s pages: Starbucks goes to Tijuana; Russia goes to the Arctic; Getty art goes back
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USC’s Josh Kun hails the arrival of Starbucks in Tijuana:
Unlike other Mexican cities where Starbucks has outposts (Puebla, Toluca and even Mexico City), the presence of U.S. culture in Tijuana is nothing new. TVs and radios pick up English-language broadcasts from San Diego, and it’s not tourists shopping at the local Home Depot and Wal-Mart. Indeed, the first Tijuana Starbucks is housed in a former Pizza Hut, right in front of a statue of beloved hero of Mexican independence, José María Morelos y Pavón. It’s a prime corner in the bustling Zona Rio commercial district, across the street from the massive luxury gym Sports World ($120 a month), where the coffee chain’s opening was the buzz of treadmills and Pilates classes all last week.So why are so many Tijuana locals riled up about Starbucks?
Former Times reporter David Smollar notes today’s anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. Lewis & Clark Law School’s Robert J. Miller explores how countries lay claim to new territory, as Russia did by planting a flag and a capsule in the Arctic Ocean. Columnist Gregory Rodriguez wonders if Internet shaming means everyone can be Big Brother.
The editorial board praises a court’s decision to invalidate Hazelton, Penn.’s harsh anti-illegal immigrant laws while decrying a panel’s decision to raise some school board salaries and keep others the same. And editorial writer Dan Turner offers his take on the Getty antiquities.
Letter writers aren’t pleased with USC’s decision to sell a historic parcel of land. North Hollywood’s Zsa Zsa Gershick, a USC alum, notes, ‘That the school ‘cannot find a proper use for the property’ is lame and unimaginative. How about using the ranch as a site for its popular cinema school summer intensives, which draw students from around the world? ‘