I must say that I am grateful to receive your publication each week and enjoy its informative and entertaining contents.

I will confess to taking special pleasure in the occasional examples of one particular brand of Simi’s local culture that I’ve found to be quite common here.

It can be seen in the form of longtime Simi Valley residents who seemingly never tire of prattling on about how nice this town “used to be” or those who are convinced the world will end if the city follows through with plans to improve the neighborhood par-3 golf course.

Though I normally enjoy these tales of the real Simi Valley for only moments before they’re forgotten and life moves on, the July 31 edition of the Acorn contained double the usual irony and has compelled me to submit this comment.

For how can our fair city just stand by when Joe Schmidt’s property value may be in peril as I read in “Miniature golf course a big point of contention.” Imagine all the noise and traffic.

To be fair, the proposal seems to be fiscally sound and well conceived and shouldn’t require more than a couple of tweaks before reasonable neighbors might recognize the revenue-enhancing benefits these planned improvements could bring to our community’s park district. Oh, and my sons would love to have something like that close by.

But enough about the common good, what about the “travesty” that threatened poor Barbara Tuers as described in your piece, “New housing proposal denied?”

I was so relieved to learn that her neighborhood’s “country feel” would remain safe for now. Of course, 32 homes on 6½ acres is probably excessive, but would any amount of housing built so near her “custom, country-style home” be welcomed by Miss Tuers? Mark Locke Simi Valley