A Message from RG4N President Hope Morrison

This Friday marks one year since RG4N held our first big meeting. As you may recall, hundreds of people came to Grace Church of the Nazarene that cold evening to say, "No!" to putting a big box store in the middle of our neighborhoods.

What A Difference A Year Makes.

Had RG4N not brought attention to the Northcross redevelopment and raised awareness of the problems a Supercenter would cause for our neighborhoods, here's what would have happened:

• The developer wouldn't have had to pursue a second site plan approval and a Supercenter would likely already be open, just in time for the holidays, bringing many thousands of big box shoppers into this area every day.
• The City Council might not have passed the Big Box Ordinance, which ensures that no other Austin neighborhood will be told they have no say in whether that kind of development is right for their area.

I want you to know that any verdict in our lawsuit will make a huge impact:

• If we should lose, I believe most if not all of the incumbent Council members will lose the support of most Northcross-area voters. The situation is likely to affect the next couple of elections either way, but if a Supercenter gets built it will be a daily reminder to voters that the City failed us.
• But when we win, the City gets a strong message that the law must be followed and business-as-usual is not acceptable.

Talk about making a difference! That's a lot to have accomplished in just a year. And none of this would have happened without all of you. Sending letters and making calls to Council, displaying yard signs, showing up at events, volunteering to help at events, making donations.

We Still Need Your Help. $40,000 Worth Of Help.

We estimate that we need almost $40,000 to pay our attorneys, Doug Young and Brad Rockwell, in full. The total bill will be a little higher than our original estimates, but they worked really hard for us and presented a good case. They're already discounting their fees by about 50 percent.

We need everyone's help to make sure they get paid. Here's what you can do:

• Throw a Holiday House Party.

  Throw a holiday party benefiting RG4N. All you have to do is invite your friends and acquaintances who are likely to donate, break out some snacks and drinks, and an RG4N representative will do the hard work of making the ask. For more information, email: fundraising [at] rg4n [dot] org

• Buy a Christmas Tree

  http://montanafresh.net

  Montana Fresh Christmas Trees (at at Northcross and Burnet) is happy to donate 10% of your tree and holiday greenery purchase amount to support RG4N legal costs in the lawsuit against the proposed development at Northcross.

  However, you must let the cashier know at the time of purchase for the donation to be recorded.

• Donate to the RG4N eBay Store

  http://stores.ebay.com/Wal-Mart-Isnt-Weird

  Sell something and give the proceeds to RG4N. Donate items in very good or excellent condition and that can be easily shipped. Popular eBay items include collectibles and memorabilia, designer brands, popular brands, CDs, DVDs, computer software, games, furniture, electronics in excellent condition, toys, holiday items, and interesting art items. Got something you want to donate? Email us: ebay [at] rg4n [dot] org

Hang In There With Us.

As someone who has invested countless hours as well as money of my own into this endeavor, I just want you to know how much I appreciate what each of you has done to get a better redevelopment at Northcross. I'm sure you're ready for it to be over, but please hang in there with us and help us pay Doug and Brad. They've worked hard for us.

Besides, we're going to need them again. When we win this lawsuit and the developer has to do a new site plan, we're going to need our lawyers to help us monitor that process.

Happy and safe holidays!

– Hope