A few months ago, The Fort Bragg Advocate News introduced a column called “Face Talk.” Each week, the editor posts a question on Facebook and encourages people to respond. The following Thursday, the paper publishes select answers.

I find this an excellent opportunity to piggy-back on that idea by instituting my own column called Space Talk where I’ll lift the more passionate arguments that do not get published in The Advocate. (Note: spelling, punctuation and grammar of commentators will not be altered.)

Recently, the following question was asked: Fort Bragg Planning Commission denied property owner Robert Affinito’s proposal to use a portion of the former Social Services building at 825 S. Franklin St. for a Dollar Tree store. What do you think about that decision?

Cutting down the puff-puff-passes: Right now the only thing you are a prototype for is how NOT to do things. You want the downtown mom and pop stores to thrive? Stop letting them price gouge and give them some competition. Instead of catering to the non-existent tourist traffic, cater to the locals. If you want that tourist traffic to start pouring back into your community, then you will have to cut down on all the puff-puff-pass and start revitalizing, making jobs and making a tourist friendly environment, because what you have now is really just smokescreens and mirrors hiding a plethora of problems.

Clever use of parentheses to highlight persuasive points: I say if the property is zoned for it and the owner meets all the city codes it should be allowed. All new business bring (JOBS) we have way to many (HOMELESS) in this town. WE need (JOBS)

Unable to classify: I think it’s a good decision. We don’t want to be known as an everyday kind of town now do we??? NO!! We don’t. We want to be the prototype for the all the other town’s in need of repair and down home ma and pa style honest, productive, resourceful, uniqueness. Enviromentally sound recognising our true power in ingenuity. With unity and diversity being our master tools. Self sufficient emergency savy homegrown music loving solid rock homesteading peoples~

Rebuttal: ??????? What??????? Where are you from?

Locally-grown products: Well if he holds out until after November, he might be able to put a pot shop there! New retail selling locally grown products = perfect fit.

Idiot Mines: Like i said the other day, you have a bunch of idiots trying to run the town and all they have on there mines is where can we spend money, they don’t care about people like the Affinito’s who would bring money into the community. All they care about is spending like the property they bought from the Johnson family that is located next to the city turd farm. What a joke

Church leading ignoramuses: Obvious outsiders coming in trying to everyday the way. It’s time to use your MINDS to create jobs, how many jobs do you really believe a dollar store will produce??? Duh, not many. Californias should be making these desions not, ‘church’ leading ignoramuses from God knows where? This spewed hatred toward the homeless, isn’t benificial to our ‘community’ growth. Ingenuity is !!! Try and come up with something fresh if your going to be involved. The issue itself is of minimal importance in the realm of “issues’ in our town!

Post-card mailing tourists: As an “outsider” who married into an OLD Fort Bragg family, I see things in a different light. My first time in Fort Bragg, I was treated to panhandlers blocking the way into Safeway. And how many other tourists would come back after going to the Post Office to mail off a postcard having to walk past 3-5 drunk/drugged men screaming at them, getting into their personal space and just plain harassing them? Or how about the guy who jumps in front of vehicles on Highway 20 (that’s a GREAT first impression!)?

Itsy runs in front of and chases cars because he finds it amusing.

Finally, my favorite: I say he should put in a strip club and piss everyone off.