What you said about what we said last week

Readers responded with mixed messages to last week’s close look at the Landmark Festival’s financial contribution to the Trust for the National Mall.

RMahoney waded in to defend the fest and stand firmly on the side of green, green lawns: “First off, this festival was not even held on the new turf areas of the mall,where the other damaging festivals were previously held. Also, In addition to the large amount of funds raised for the upkeep of the mall, this was a great event that a ton of people attended and made the city a more attractive place to live. People love outdoor festivals and this definitely added to the diversity and quality of events in DC. … The protection of the mall as an asset that is not too be destroyed through a tragedy of the commons type scenario is of high importance. The nations capital jewel should not be a hardened dirt patch that is beyond being able to be maintained.” OK, you lost us at “diversity,” but wait!

Matt Jones was skeptical: “$570,000 may sound like a lot, but how much of that will actually make it to park repairs rather than paying for the Trust’s Reagan building offices. (The mall’s headquarters are in trailers that constantly flood) And who is paying for the restoration of the concert venue now that it’s over. The problem here is like every other problem in this town — one set of rules for some, another set for the privileged few. Saying no to them comes at a price.”

Thanks a lot, now we’re all vaguely afraid of the toughs at the Trust.

A Roof of One’s Own

Reader TheDistrict weighed in in favor of dignified housing for D.C.’s homeless and formerly homeless populations, which Amanda Kolson Hurley covered in her inaugural Concrete Details column: “Condos for the homeless sure beats tax breaks for billionaires. Surely beats the trillions we dump into defense. Surely beats the fraud of taxes that people with money commit every day. I pay more taxes as a percentage than people making 5x as much as me. Let the wealthy pay for stadiums to benefit the wealthy and take my tax dollars to help the homeless.”