Government containment

I would be terribly sad if City Hall became The Container Store. The spacious, beautifully lit building is simply too grand to be a purveyor of Tupperware and shelving units.

Unfortunately, that's what the old Pasadena City Hall building became in 2003, a two-story Mecca for suburbanites too organized for their own good. I went there for a visit over Labor Day weekend. I couldn't contain myself because shoppers strolling down Fair Oaks had boasted big shopping bags that read "contain yourself."

I was surprised when I came across the plaque that described the Fair Oaks and Union building as the site of the old City Hall. So it has come to this ... isn't anything sacred?

I'm not completely in love with Rancho's City Hall. Those three steps out front are too shallow even for my stubby legs and the grape clusters on the ceiling have always puzzled me. Why are there grapes in the sky?

Nevertheless, I find it very welcoming, especially when the rose bushes are in bloom. As a reporter who works in a windowless newsroom, I'm also totally jealous of all that glass.

So please, can we pass an ordinance that would ban The Container Store from being housed at City Hall? That building should always remain a container for city government.