City of Letters
July 14th, 2009
Mr. Rick Newcombe
President Creators Syndicate
5777 West Century Blvd.
Suite 700
Los Angeles, CA 90045
Dear Mr. Newcombe,
It was with great interest I read your July 10th article in the Wall St. Journal. I noted that you intended to move Creators Syndicate. I invite you to seriously consider re-locating to Salinas, California and join us in our efforts to pursue economic revitalization in our community as part of our City of Letters initiatives.
You know far better than I the future of the printed word will continue to change dramatically in future years. Whether it is books, newspapers or even libraries things are beginning to change rapidly. Indeed, there are many who question whether reading in general has a future. As former NEA Chair Dana Gioia put…”In America there is no good news about reading”.
As Mayor I have the honor of representing the hometown of Nobel Laureate John Steinbeck whose memory is kept alive for future generations at the National Steinbeck Center. Part of our emerging Economic Development and Downtown Revitalization strategy is to develop a Literary District and develop a City of Letters recruitment strategy. My goal is to actively pursue specialty retail, tourist, publishing, creative and manufacturing opportunities that will make us one of the Literary Centers of the 21st century.
This year the Salinas Public Libraries will celebrate their 100th anniversary on September 27th. Four years ago the libraries almost closed…today they are open 7 days a week thanks to enormous local, national and even international support. Salinas is the County Seat of Monterey County which has served as an inspiration for many noted literary figures including Robert Louis Stevenson, Jack London, Henry Miller to name a few.
To be sure Salinas has its share of issues like any City. You may be interested to note that as part of our multi-dimensioanl response to our most serious issue…gang violence we have promoted a “culture of literacy” as part of our prevention programs. But the heart of Salinas is hard-working, family-oriented and community –minded.
Tonight in our community thousands of young Salinas residents will march in the annual Kiddie Kapers Parade….because everybody deserves a parade The parade kicks off Big Week and the celebration of the 99th edition of the California Rodeo.
I could go on about the beautiful vistas of Steinbeck’s Valley of the world, the great scenary of the Monterey Peninsula. My guess is you may know something of that already.
Instead I would ask you consider if a Steinbeck quote from Travels with Charley might cause you to think about Salinas seriously. Steinbeck wrote…”We find that after years of struggle we do not take a journey, but rather the journey takes us”. I invite you to consider Salinas on the next phase of Creators Syndicate’s journey.
Best Regards,
Dennis Donohue
Salinas Mayor