I can measure the success of any day by the amount of paper and files that I move across its surface. I had finished massaging my schedule, something that qualified as a complete workout in some books, then digested a report from the planning commission on a requested variance for a new restaurant on the north end of town. It was a chain restaurant, family style, lots of seating, and another good source of tax income and job opportunities. The problem rested with a citizen’s group that opposed any franchise restaurants setting up shop in our borders. I hated to admit it, but many of our citizens were snobs, preferring that Santa Rita not become a haven for Denny’s, Bob’s Big Boy, Applebee’s, and all the other family restaurants that spring up in California like toadstools. Truth be told, I tended to agree with such dissidents. On the other side, however, are the businesses, chamber of commerce, and others who see such additions as ways of strengthening the local economy. It is one of those “stuck between a rock and a hard place”
