Changing our small world

One of the neat things about Tracy and this county is that it's small enough that you get to know people and run into folks in unlooked-for places. It's a sense of community you just don't get in a place like L.A. or S.F.

Trying to track down facts for a story on graffiti with the county sheriff, I ran into, via phone, an old buddy, Matt Cook, who works for the department. We go back to kindergarten, when nap time was the second-best part of the day. (First best, of course, was recess. Still is, now that I thnk about it.)

Of course, run-ins like that could become less and less common. Right now the county is drawing up plans as part of a valley-wide blueprint process to project growth as far away as 2050. The county's also going to work on a new General Plan beginning next year. And you can be developers of single-family tract homes are getting their message across to planners.

We need growth, but not at the expense of our area's defining characteristics — agriculture, open space, low cost of living, and a sense of community. Let's hope our leaders remember that.