New mall should kill the lights

I am relatively new to the neighborhood of Dos Vientos. Since I moved in last summer I have anxiously awaited the opening of a what appeared to be a beautiful new Paraiso shopping center located right behind my house. The anticipated November opening came and went without any tenants to speak of, but what I have really noticed in the midst of the dragged-out construction is more wasted energy than I could have ever imagined.

With the Earth Day and green awareness celebrations going on all around me last month, I sadly noticed the many, many bright lights burning at all hours at the shopping center. As of now, I see only three businesses opened, but the center still looks like the Light Parade at Disneyland. These glaring, decorative lights are on no matter what time I drive by the center.

For what, I ask?

I pride myself on trying to be as energy conscious as possible, turning off lights and water in my own home and always using recycled bags from the grocery. I am not extreme by any measure, but I do find myself constantly irritated by this blatant waste of energy- on a shopping center that isn't even one-tenth occupied!

Please, Paraiso, turn off the lights.
Karen Wright
Newbury Park