Pocket veto

Mayor Ballard apparently reconsiders a plan to de-green Indianapolis:

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard appears to be backing away from the idea of selling the city's so-called pocket parks, though he is not ruling out the option.

Ballard first came under fire from parks supporters and environmentalists earlier this month after ordering an inventory of city property to identify land the city could sell. He said the Parks Department must learn to live within its budget and, at one point, called the small parks a "drain on resources."

At least I assume that somebody who buys such property will want to use it for something different. Pocket parks don't exactly bring the revenue rolling in. But they do give a city a sense of space and calm. If I had a choice of giving up a major park or several pocket parks, I think I might choose the major park.