CLOSED has popped up on a lot of buildings in University City. Children and parents pressed their faces against the darkened University Community Branch Library on Governor Drive during the winter break from school. Starting Dec. 24, the little library with the big books and computers was closed until Jan. 3. Almost all of the city libraries saw the same fate: a closed sign. One library in District 1, Carmel Valley Branch Library, was allowed to stay open — that’s a long bike ride for a kid from South U.C. Coronado and North County libraries were wide open. Is there any correlation between academic success in school and library hours in a community? Many children weren’t off skiing or visiting grandma’s house and wanted to go to a safe place with books, caring adults, computers and comfort. Will CLOSED be on the sign in the window next December? Let’s hope the mayor and City Council take seriously the non-voting wishes of the children who don’t have a voice in politics. CLOSED was also the sign on the door to Swanson Pool on Jan. 2 — and it will remain the pool’s sign until April 8. Several years ago, concerned citizens from University City fought the good fight against a possible pool closure, but lost to city representatives who devised a plan to “share the fiscal pain” by closing various public swimming pools in communities like U.C. How much money has been saved? How many people have just given up and gone to other facilities with pools? The answer — if you talk to the folks who like water exercise and lap swimming — is a lot. “I can’t count on the city to keep the pool open so I decided to join the Y in La Jolla,” was one resident’s answer. Statistically it looks as though Swanson is not used enough to justify keeping it open. In the words of Mark Twain, “There are three kinds of lies — lies, damned lies and statistics.” How can you close the pools and expect the numbers to grow? At one point in U.C.’s history, when Scott Peters was representing us in City Hall, he proposed expanding the pool to accommodate more people, especially University City High School swimmers and water polo teams. CLOSED was the sign on International City Bank (ICB) — permanently closed. This bank served the community for more than 20 years. ICB CEO Jane Netherton, who works out of Long Beach, donated $10,000 to the University City Community Association street banner program ten years ago. She added another $5,000 to put new banners on the main arteries: Governor, Regents and Genesee. Why did Netherton, a David among Goliaths of huge corporate banks, donate so much when other banks refused? “It was the right thing to do,” she said. “Businesses should support a community that supports the business.” It seems the economy — the upside-down homes and the foreclosures — had Netherton rethinking the practical side of business. The closure was quiet and painful for longtime customers who were well-served. Soon-to-be CLOSED on Jan. 30 was the sign on the California Coast Credit Union ATM in the Marketplace Shopping Center that houses Sprouts, Starbucks and many other stores. Bonnie Hornbeck and Shelley Plumb rallied the University City troops who use this ATM on a regular basis — and word travels fast in a small community like South University City. The owners of Marketplace are represented by Cushman and Wakefield, and associates Kam Walton and David Bradley assured the folks who would be seriously inconvenienced by the closure of the ATM that the owners had done all they could and the purpose for the closure was California Coast Credit Union’s refusal to negotiate fairly. On the other hand, Rob Miller, senior vice president of California Coast Credit Union, accused Cushman and Wakefield of hiking the rent too high. In the meantime, for the consumers who support both the credit union and the shopping center, the opposing businesses were starting to sound more and more like members of Congress locked in a partisan stance instead of companies looking out for their constituents/consumers. The outcome may not be known by press time, but hopefully the ATM will remain open instead of closed on the last day of January. It used to be a give and take world. Now CLOSED is going up in many communities, and that makes for a sad day in San Diego. It appears the only things consistently open are the potholes. — Sandy Lippe is a 36-year resident of University City and the former president of the University City Community Association.