Mr. Tillotson,
Your recent editorial, "Middle class key to next election" (http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=28728137e1769f4a) seemed to start off on the right track. Galveston's middle class is struggling to keep our numbers from dwindling on the Island. However, for me, your story derailed into a fiery explosion once you knocked the commuter train.
My husband and I ARE Galveston's middle class. Our peers and friends that live on this Island that CHOOSE to continue to live here (Islanders By Choice), enroll their children in schools here, and involve themselves in the shaping of Galveston's future are also a large part of Galveston's middle class. And I've got news for you: we're on board to support the commuter train.
"A commuter train service that goes to nowhere"? With all due respect, I beg to differ that the 4th largest City in the country is "nowhere". Would the Zoo, the museum district, Reliant Stadium, or NASA agree with that?! The other end of that statement hits closer to home, though. That commuter train goes both ways. To say that it goes "nowhere" might imply that our beloved city of Galveston is "nowhere" as well. Do you think The Grand Opera House, our small business owners, or the CVB would agree? How about the restaurant association, our great bars, the Strand Merchants and HDGP? Would they agree we're "nowhere"?
I wonder if, knowing you are also serving on the Long Term Recovery Committee, you noticed at any of the community open houses that the transportation easels were littered with post-it notes and dots of approval supporting a commuter rail service? I sure did. In fact, according to the numbers that were compiled from all of those open houses, there were 122 comments posted in support of the commuter rail system, and NONE that opposed it. To put that in perspective, another issue you brought up - gambling - only garnered 34 total supportive post-it votes.
Although I think we could both agree that growth of Galveston's middle class is hugely important, I cannot disagree more with your take on the rail.
To those "wise leaders" you referred to that may be in the running to help write the next chapter of our Island, I respectfully request that they take it FROM a middle-classer: the commuter rail is a MUST, and we can show the votes to prove it.
-Adrienne Culpepper
Your recent editorial, "Middle class key to next election" (http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=28728137e1769f4a) seemed to start off on the right track. Galveston's middle class is struggling to keep our numbers from dwindling on the Island. However, for me, your story derailed into a fiery explosion once you knocked the commuter train.
My husband and I ARE Galveston's middle class. Our peers and friends that live on this Island that CHOOSE to continue to live here (Islanders By Choice), enroll their children in schools here, and involve themselves in the shaping of Galveston's future are also a large part of Galveston's middle class. And I've got news for you: we're on board to support the commuter train.
"A commuter train service that goes to nowhere"? With all due respect, I beg to differ that the 4th largest City in the country is "nowhere". Would the Zoo, the museum district, Reliant Stadium, or NASA agree with that?! The other end of that statement hits closer to home, though. That commuter train goes both ways. To say that it goes "nowhere" might imply that our beloved city of Galveston is "nowhere" as well. Do you think The Grand Opera House, our small business owners, or the CVB would agree? How about the restaurant association, our great bars, the Strand Merchants and HDGP? Would they agree we're "nowhere"?
I wonder if, knowing you are also serving on the Long Term Recovery Committee, you noticed at any of the community open houses that the transportation easels were littered with post-it notes and dots of approval supporting a commuter rail service? I sure did. In fact, according to the numbers that were compiled from all of those open houses, there were 122 comments posted in support of the commuter rail system, and NONE that opposed it. To put that in perspective, another issue you brought up - gambling - only garnered 34 total supportive post-it votes.
Although I think we could both agree that growth of Galveston's middle class is hugely important, I cannot disagree more with your take on the rail.
To those "wise leaders" you referred to that may be in the running to help write the next chapter of our Island, I respectfully request that they take it FROM a middle-classer: the commuter rail is a MUST, and we can show the votes to prove it.
-Adrienne Culpepper
Very nice retort!
It is also worth mentioning that the commuter rail service will make it easier for people to commute to galveston, thus enhancing the creation of jobs on the island. On the other side of the coin it will make it easier for a galvestonian to commute to work on the mainland, enhancing the reasons to remain a resident of the island.
As someone who chose to live here - because it is a lifestyle choice for many - and who commutes to Houston daily, I need the commuter rail. And my family and I are young, middle class residents. There are limited jobs (even before Ike & the UTMB crisis) that pay enough to live here and sustain a family. And, it is not just the small quantity of quality, professional-level jobs that provide a true standard of living, it is the lack of a diverse array of jobs that is the problem. Galveston will most likely never get another ANICO, so how do we get jobs on a barrier island after a major hurricane in the middle of an economic meltdown? A commuter rail would allow many people who truly want to live here the opportunity to make a living in Houston and make their home on the Island. And these people are out there. They want to live here and the number one thing I've heard is not schools (that usually is second or third) - it's jobs.