my name is deidre vonne rock. i am the president of the rest portal rock merchants association. while i'm proud that we have the lowest vacancy, that is not how it appears on an objective view. in west portal, absentee land lowers who have no interest in the block of a huge problem. for example, we had a discussion in anchoring a project on the west tunnel because they were still collecting rent on a formula retailer. we had a radio shack that sat vacant for years because the owner wanted another radio shack. finally, verizon showed some interest in it, but it's been meyered in planning for well over a year. just recently, one of the owners of the four buildings where three of our businesses recently has been devastated has been unresponsive, delaying the recovery efforts of all the other businesses. the merchant association is often asked about the status of the vacancies and what can be done, and our answer is nothing. not until there is anymore enforcement or accountablity as to the vacancies. we support more stringent rules on vacancies and enforcement, and we would welcome