I totally agree Herb. The rent at the Clearview Mall is insanely high. If you don't understand that competition is necessary for the businesses to flourish then I don't think you'll understand anything else about the economic decline in this city. Sometimes stores have to prioritize which chains are doing well and choose locations that are newly developed to re-establish a new customer base. It's unfortunate because I agree that their are way too many empty buildings sitting and rotting in the city and surrounding townships. I don't know what the solution is. I hope one is found though before the rest of Butler starts looking like the ghost town we've become on Main Street. I'd love to see Butler flourish they way the shops in Volant have or other places like Smicksburgh. It's a great idea but is the interest there? They bring in tourists

from all over the state and even some from Ohio and W. Virginia