To the editor:

This newspaper recently reported that the Lawrence area has fewer jobs than in the year 2000.

Mount Oread and KU have long given Lawrence a steady anchor and sense of “everness” or an enduring notion of stability and permanence.

In his book “Deep Economy,” author Bill McKibben urges us to localize our food, transportation and energy markets around our local population centers. Lawrence and Douglas County are very well located to address an increasing demand for locally grown organic foods.

Lawrence is perfect for a multitude of cottage industries, art and open competition in a now globalized economy, a desirable place with good quality of life and available educational systems.

Why no jobs?

Have we not been following the advice of the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce and City Hall since 1980? The only visible growth is sprawl, so this must not be working, correct?

Why do we not have an across-the-board living wage requirement in Lawrence? Yet tax increment funding has been handed out to hotel employers with large numbers of temp workers? Many of these hotel staff have no medical benefits and must rely on Health Care Access while their employer received subsidies, Why?