Problems, problems...

Oh, great, Caltrans is building a new eastern span of the Bay Bridge because the old one was subject to damage from earthquakes. Now we learn that the new span is being built with inferior concreate. Will it withstand the big one?

Then on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley Cody's Bookstore is closing. There is one still on Fourth Street which I have never been in and there is a big new store on Stockton Street in San Francisco where Planet Hollywood used to be. It is big, bright, and shiny with tons of books but few customers when compared to Borders which is only two blocks away. Will this store be able to survive? A Clean Well Lighted Place for Books closed recently so I wondering about the viability of any physical bookstore these days. The Virgin store next to Cody's get a fair amount of customers but then stores like that play to the lowest common demoninator, not intellect, as do book stores. Maybe when the new Bloomingdales and expanded SF Shopping Center open in a few months, foot traffic will increase enough so that additional people will find their way to Cody's on Stockton Street. I hope they survive as it is a good alternative to the sometimes overcrowded Borders on Powell Street.