Downtown L.A.

* Bravo to Patt Morrison for her Nov. 18 column on the poor state of downtown and the connection to Hollywood. I wonder why Los Angeles’ downtown has remained for the most part an underdeveloped and undesirable destination. Why has there no been no uproar as America’s second-largest city’s downtown continues to remain an eyesore, while other cities are going through a renaissance?

Here in San Diego we are working hard with private industry to redevelop our city as a vital, attractive destination and place to live. But when I visit L.A.’s downtown all I see is a gritty, unattractive urban mess. Why has Hollywood, with all its wealth and creative energy, not been helping the city turn its downtown into a tourist destination, instead an example of what not to become? For a city that has given so much to the movie industry, it’s time they give a little back.

NICK KNIGHT

Chula Vista