Word play
Your excellent, “Corporate co-opting of ‘local’” [July 14] alerts us to the semantical games employed by business entities in their search for profit.
Concerning the definition of “local,” my Merriam-Webster Dictionary includes (inter alia): “of, relating to, or applicable to part of a whole.” This permits national corporations to use the word “local” for any one of its branches in a particular locale. The term “locally owned” would better serve the interests of local independent businesses.
Leo Shatin
Boca Raton, Florida
All you need is (local) love
Thanks for the great article on local businesses and “local-washing.” I would like to suggest that this issue goes deeper than food and other material goods. One of the most pervasive unspoken values in America is two-fold: if an idea or a work of art (or whatever) has not transcended the local, it must be less important or less worthwhile; if something is distributed nationally, it must be of value. This leads to brain-drain, tepid and inert local institutions, and a lack of counterweight to corporate and other concentrated power and ideology. Churches, local governments, and other local organizations can work against this by nurturing and lifting up local talent as much as possible, instead of buying ideas, programs, and intellectual property from national sources. If it’s not good enough yet, it will be given time and love.
Ken Hymes
Charlottesville
Popular appeal
I definitely do not believe that public land, such as McIntire Park should share with a private building such as the YMCA [“Residents critique YMCA design, site plan,” July 21]. Taking away five acres of the park is a damaging amount. McIntire is a gem that should not be mistreated. It should remain a park for everyone to enjoy and not a host for a limited-use facility.
Elinor Miller
Charlottesville
CORRECTION AND CLARIFICATION
Last week’s UVA News article, “Students contend they’re unfairly charged for rental wear and tear” contained significant factual errors. Jake Minturn was not a tenant of CBS Rentals; rather, he rented from Wade Apartments. At the time that he did, he was not in fact a UVA student, nor was his apartment broken into. We sincerely regret these misrepresentations. Additionally, the photo accompanying the story was intended to generically represent off-campus student housing options and in no way was meant to suggest that GrandMarc, specifically, has been in dispute with student renters.