BY MARK MITCHELL
Los Alamos

I recently read that the Los Alamos Local Business Coalition (LALBC) has invited the public to review and to provide input on their “Storefront Recapture Initiative” idea
(https://losalamosreporter.com/2025/07/14/local-business-coalition-unveils-storefront-recapture-initiative-idea-to-strengthen-our-communitys-economy/). The goals of this idea are numerous, and are as follows:

● Bolstering the sustainability and growth of Los Alamos County’s business and non-profit sectors,
● Improving continuity of commercial activity and supporting improved vibrancy on Central Avenue,
● Improving the shopping experiences of both residents and visitors,
● Increasing local business survivability and retention,
● Addressing community concerns, and
● Fulfilling plans, adopted by “the community.”

We are told that by executing this idea, economic results will be improved for “the community.” According to my reading of their website (https://coalition.losalamos.com/wp content/uploads/2025/01/Coalition-Idea-Book-Imagine.pdf), the LALBC proposes to contract with Los Alamos Commerce & Development Corporation(LACDC) to actively lease privately- owned buildings located on Central Avenue as current leases expire or existing office tenants agree to give up their leases. After these privately-owned buildings are leased by the LACDC, the contract will use public monies to physically upgrade these privately-owned buildings to modern standards so that the owner does not have to do it and they, the owner, can’t burden future potential lessees with flipping the bill. Once these privately-owned buildings are upgraded, the LACDC will attempt to find other locally-owned businesses to sublease these privately-owned buildings.

My thoughts regarding this LALBC plan is that it reminds me of the exploits of Wile E. Coyote in the Road Runner cartoons that I watched when I was a kid. Wile E. Coyote was known for creating elaborate systems of levers, pulleys, and other contraptions to catch his nemesis, the Road Runner. His elaborate inventions are a recurring theme in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts where he constantly attempts (and fails) to capture the Road Runner. Many of Wile E. Coyote’s inventions are obtained through the fictitious Acme Corporation, a mail-order company known for its outlandish and often faulty products. Despite the sophistication of his plans, they invariably backfire in spectacular and comical ways, often resulting in Wile E. Coyote falling off of cliffs or being crushed by boulders.

In the above analogy, Wile E. Coyote is representative of the LALBC because they continually concoct elaborate schemes to benefit themselves. The famed ACME Corporation is representative of the LACDC because the LALBC needs their help in order to fulfill their outlandish ideas. The elusive Road Runner is representative of a local business environment in which local businesses are shielded from harsh realities of capitalism.