Hey, maybe THIS article should be linked to the one wondering why nobody seems to be patronizing UTC. Ya think there's a connection?

University Town Center is being foreclosed on. It will be auctioned off to the highest bidder. I'll give them a $1.00. That's all that it is worth.

Crime is not good, obviously, but there are positive things about UTC and the area that you can highlight as well, such as, just as one example, the UTC business Wild Onion's presence at the Governor's Buy Local event in Annapolis noted here on Patch: http://riverdalepark.patch.com/articles/university-town-center-business-owner-featured-in-annapolis-buy-local-event. UTC is located at a very prominent intersection, close to a lot of residences and practivally on top of a metro station: it can be a lot more than it is with the right ownership.

Danny, tell that to the small business owners that lost everything trying to bring business to this area who believed in the project at the beginning. By the way, I purposely do not hide behind a screen name so that the people who do read what I have to say will know who I am. You are confusing obnoxious with a deep down dislike for the way UTC turned out. By the way I will still stand behind my original bid of $1.00. Kristi, I am very happy for Wild Onion. I know the owner and I also know how hard he works to keep his doors open. Unfortunately being located at a prominent intersection and being close to local neighborhoods is no guarantee of success. It will take years and millions of investment dollars to succeed.

I will not sugar coat how I feel because I am an elected official. I am entitled to my opinion. Put yourself in someone else’s shoes for a moment. How I feel personally does not affect how I vote in town elections. My experiences actually help me to reflect on how issues that surround my community affect my community and vote accordingly for the betterment of my community.

I have to agree with Danny on this. I for one am getting tired of reading your sniping comments about anything that has to do with development. I am sure every member of the community appreciates the effort you made to make a small business work at UTC but that failure doesn't give you the right to cry sour grapes on every other development project in our immediate area. I for one cannot believe that your comments are 100% representative of all the people you represent. Danny hit this on the head - you are an elected official and you should be held to a higher standard. It isn't about sugar coating it, its about being an adult and making sound decisions once all the facts have been gathered. You judge a person's character more by how they react in defeat than success.

Please note that Kirsten Jensen and Kristi Janzen (me), who both commented on this article, are different people. Thanks.

I have risked everything before and failed twice before I was successful. But you are right, I do not know how you feel. After I failed, I focused all my energy on how to be successful the next time - I did not waste any of it begrudging people or the situations that were contributory. I too am leary of developers in general - but I trust that the voters in the towns of College Park, Riverdale Park, University Park, and Hyattsville have elected officials that have the intelligence, vision, and negotiating ability to effectively shape all development projects that benefit our respective communities. I appreciate that you tried at UTC, but what I would say to you is - keep trying. I am glad you are engaged in the process but since you are in a position of power and get to vote on things, wouldn't it make more sense for you to engage the decision-makers directly to shape development acitivity vs. making sniping comments? I would hope that your experience at UTC can be more of a lessons-learned vs. thinking all development is bound to fail. I think EYA contraditcs that and when I was at Chipotle I saw 1-2 stores still available to lease - give it another try!

The nerve of you people having a discussion about business while families are mourning the death of a loved one and the loss of another child to be bound to prison. If you want talk business and politics do it on your own time and a different article. Thank you.

With all due respect Sherry, people should not be afraid to discuss complicated issues regardless of the circumstance. Would youths be driven to violence if they lived in a society full of economic and educational promise - possibly not. And unfortunately disentangling this situation to say it has nothing to do with anything other than tragedy is disingenuous to the memory of the fallen victim and to the alleged suspect. Events, be they senseless murders, random terrorist events like Oslo, or 9/11, should give all societies pause to consider the events and situations that are causing them. There are serious underlying reasons to all tragic events and if we as a society ignore them or dance around them in some politically correct fashion we are bound to never learn from history, nor move together forward towards a better future.