I would love my sales tax dollars to go to Palo Alto, but unfortunately it just doesn't work. I want a one stop store where I can do my back to school shopping in one go. I want a supermarket with a bakery on the premises that actually bakes bread plus the fillings for the sandwiches, with plenty of parking space when I want to shop. I want a gas station that I pass on the way to my Palo Alto destinations. And while you are at it, a post office nearby and a subway restaurant in midtown where you can actually find a table inside or outside to eat.

Where do you go for school supplies on the day the kids come home with their actual lists? Certainly not Walgreens or Longs, they were sold out. Where do you go for reasonably priced childrens shoes when they have worn a hole from dragging their feet instead of using brakes on their bikes? Where do you go for a last minute birthday present when you realise that the party is today and not next week?

I know that we have lots of specialty shops and there is always Stanford, but I do not have the time for that. Instead I will go to Mountain View where all the stores I need are close at hand and sell what I want to buy. I know we want small neighborhood retail parks with small specialty shops because that is the Palo Alto image. But what we need is one stop useful stores in our own city. I know what I am talking about - I bump into my neighbours all the time in Target, Office Max, Mervyns, etc. etc.