Pressure Cooker

Without a serious reevaluation of the impact of 3 a.m. clubs in Westport, and if the underage crowds return, some businesses may find that their priority could become simply staying in business. City officials and business owners who claim to be urban revivalists have to remind themselves that despite the rejuvenation that can come from diversity, nobody wins if businesses drive homeowners from a community. Nor does the mayor's office have legitimacy if it bemoans the harmful effects of drunk driving without examining the impact of more than 100 clubs with 3 a.m. licenses in Kansas City, Missouri.

As I wrote in September ("Move the Clubs," September 21), the city should offer up some tax breaks to local businessmen and send the large, 3 a.m. Westport clubs downtown, where the entertainment district should be and where the traffic won't kill a taxi driver's desire for a fare.