Letters: Is Malibu selling out?

Re “Malibu sea change,” July 19

I have to commiserate with Dick Van Dyke, the actor and longtime Malibu resident who laments the loss of his city’s small-town charm to the proliferation of high-end retail chains.

Pasadena’s downtown once had a true old-town vibe until the landlords got greedy, ingratiated themselves to the big-boxers and scared off the small businesses. Now I feel like I am walking down a version of the Grove in L.A. or the Americana in Glendale — only without the trolley.

There are some hangers-on in Pasadena, and I hope they hold their ground. You can catch the smaller mom-and-pop businesses in east Pasadena, but I am sure it is only a matter of time until they are pushed out.

Carl Addicott

Altadena

For all the high-end retailers in Malibu, Van Dyke complained that one can’t buy socks or underwear there. What an opportunity for Wal-Mart to break ground on a sprawling megastore complex, snuggled up close to the Colony or the lower-rent district of Broad Beach.

That would solve two problems: Van Dyke could get what he needed — in packages of 24 or more — and others could buy a striped beach towel for $9 instead of $195.

Melissa Verdugo

Rancho Palos Verdes

Thank God for Topanga.

Susan Hanger

Topanga

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