THE STORE BELOVED by Generation X and Y is headed for Downtown Ventura. Urban Outfitters will move in right next door to my favorite coffee and gelato spot, Palermo, at 327 E. Main St.

Kudos go to Mark Hartley, who owns the building and brokered a tough deal with the national clothing retailer to get them to sign on the dotted line. It will be a big boost to our Downtown, which is quickly becoming a favored shopping destination. Hartley, along with business partner Jim Rice, also owns the new Watermark restaurant. Hartley's partner in the Urban Outfitters building is Mike Hernandez of Real Investments. We are very lucky to have citizens like these who have invested heavily in our local economy and have played a large part in the renaissance of our Downtown.

As a big proponent of the "shop local" motto, I must admit that my occasional forays out of town to shop have usually been to the Urban Outfitters in Thousand Oaks and Santa Barbara. My daughter loves their clothing and can poke through the bins and racks of this uniquely merchandized establishment for hours.

Luckily, they have comfy couches for tired moms and silly books to read.

I texted my daughter this morning to let her know the news and I got back an obviously excited "Yessssssssss!"

I think she's happy.

In this down economy, it doesn't take a lot to perk us up.

THE DOWNTOWN VENTURA ORGANIZATION has easily sprinted over the first hurdle in its efforts to establish a Property-Based Business Improvement District. According to DVO Director Rob Edwards, more than 50 percent of the Downtown property owners have already returned petitions indicating they are in favor of the idea, the threshold needed to proceed.

As I explained in an earlier entry, a PBID allows a group of property owners to assess themselves a little more through their property tax bills. The money is collected by the county and returned to the non-profit group formed by the stakeholders to oversee expenditures in the district it covers.

It could be put to a myriad of uses such as security, clean-up, street plantings, signage, group marketing efforts or even special events designed to attract more customers Downtown. While the city provided one-time redevelopment agency money to the DVO for start-up costs, an ongoing funding source is needed. Since its inception three years ago, the DVO hired a director and has become a dynamic, nationally-recognized organization. In the past year it has won multiple advertising awards and was named Non-Profit of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce.

Our Downtown has blossomed under these efforts which are helping us gain a reputation as a tourist destination and not just a quick stop between Malibu and Santa Barbara.

Next up are public hearings on the PBID and ratification by the City Council. It then goes through a ballot process and Downtown property owners make the final decision. The PBID sunsets after five years at which time the stakeholders can choose whether or not to renew.

The plan has the full backing of our Chamber of Commerce.

Although it is not a done deal yet, Edwards said the quick and positive response from property owners is a good sign.

"SHOP LOCAL!" The cry goes out every holiday season from chambers of commerce and city officials everywhere. And the reasoning is sound. By spending your money locally you are not only investing in your city's infrastructure through your tax dollars but also keeping your friends and neighbors employed.

It seems like a no brainer to me. But I recently read a letter to the editor which quibbled with that bit of wisdom. "It's a tough economic world out there right now, and while merchants' struggles to compete are hurtful to watch, we are all guarding our money and looking for the best deals," the writer said.

Are we all really that cavalier about our neighbors' business establishments? Is the Mom and Pop becoming an endangered species in a world of big retail chains and Internet discounts? Two local retail fixtures in our town, Adventures for Kids and Bonnie's, have recently called it quits and the owner of at least one of those stores said the Internet and a large chain store contributed to her store's demise.

ON THE OTHER END of the spectrum are the shoppers who don't mind traveling to Thousand Oaks or Santa Barbara for a more upscale and decidedly wallet-thumping experience.

Not long ago, several friends and I went on a road trip to worship on the altar of the new Nordstrom in Thousand Oaks. The opening of that store has generated much excitement among the retail therapy crowd. Nordstrom's shoe department, especially, is spoken about with hushed reverence among some women I know.

It was a good female bonding experience. And while we greatly admired the $495 pair of Burberry shoes, the $1,200 fox-and-cashmere sweater and runway-styled fitting rooms, only I left with a purchase and it was under $75.

I haven't been back.

Many Nordstrom fans wondered why it didn't instead open in Ventura in the space now occupied by the new Target. The issue is demographics, said Alice Love, the mall's marketing manager. High-end stores look at the average incomes of the local residents, she explained. "We just haven't hit their mark."

Target decided to open at Pacific View after seeing the success of the Main Street store, Love said. Both stores are doing well, she added. The Pacific View Target carries more household items and is fashion-oriented. The Main Street store has a garden center.

Long vacant, the north end of the mall is being actively shopped to several retailers, Love and city officials have all confirmed, but they remain tight-lipped on just who. "I can't say until the lease is signed, sealed and delivered," she said.

And how has retail traffic been this holiday season? "Compared to last year, it's been pretty flat," Love said. "But retailers have new strategies to deal with this economy." Shopping local keeps your neighbors employed, Love said. And many franchise businesses at Pacific View are locally owned and operated, she reminded me.

MORE OFTEN THAN NOT I find myself shopping at the unique locally owned boutiques Downtown. On a recent trip my daughter and I found bargains at the new Rag Doll on Main Street, where owner Alisa Hoganson showed us the feathered headbands she makes herself and sells at a fraction of what a pricey teen-age boutique in The Oaks charges. She also designs her own clothing which she soon hopes to feature in her store.

"Locally owned establishments probably make up well over 95 percent of the businesses Downtown," Rob Edwards, director of the Downtown Ventura Organization, told me. "We have just a few chain restaurants and only one nationally known retailer."

The DVO has spent a considerable amount of time and energy sprucing up the neighborhood for the season. Property owners chipped in to buy eight new benches and new holiday banners. They've installed new refuse and recycling bins.

"The streets are repaved after nine long months of construction and the icing on the cake is our new festival lighting -- festive strands of flame-tip bulbs that require very little energy but have a vintage European feel," Edwards said. They will remain on the palm trees year-round.

Shopping Downtown is a civic duty, the always-enthusiastic Edwards maintains. "These business owners live next door to you and donate to our local non-profit charities at a much higher frequency than corporations headquartered out of state," Edwards said. "Ergo, your dollars are recycled back into the community when you purchase your holiday gifts from the locals -- and the service is usually much more attentive in my experience," he added.

Saving local jobs, bargains, one-of-a-kind gifts, and better service to boot. So, to our Scrooge-like letter-to-the-editor writer I ask: Why would you go anywhere else?

Special note: I've been asked by a friend to add that the Christmas tree lot Downtown at California and Thompson is donating part of their proceeds to the Police Activities League, a very worthy cause. Happy holidays!

IN THE ANNALS OF Ventura history, there is likely nothing odder than the back-story of Cemetery Park on Main Street Downtown. Established in 1862, the cemetery once sat on the very edge of town before the city sprawled eastward. The site is the final resting place of more than 2,000 people.

You'd never know that by looking at it today. It now functions as a public park with only occasional small, flat markers indicating it was ever a proper cemetery. It's become a gathering space for families and lots of Frisbee-tossing dog owners. I often drive visitors by the spot and point out that while the headstones are gone, the bodies still remain in the ground, a tidbit which nearly always elicits a look of disbelief.

How the resting place of some of Ventura's founding fathers and mothers got to this stage probably ranks as one of the city's more controversial decisions. The church-owned cemetery, filled to capacity in the 1940s, began falling into disrepair over the years, much to the dismay of nearby property owners. A large hedge, planted to cover up the spectacle, did little to appease neighbors.

Years of vandalism took its toll until 1963 when the city, by now the owner of the property, decided -- with only a bit of public outcry -- to convert it to a public park. Bodies resting in mausoleums were moved underground, relatives who could be located were give the option of moving their deceased ancestors and/or collecting the headstones. Flat markers were placed at the request of some family members.

The monuments were unceremoniously moved to a city storage yard and arranged in alphabetical order for relatives to collect. But over the years it became a popular high school prank to steal the headstones and cart them off as grim trophies. Now, many years later, they still pop up from time to time in odd places.

Finally, the unclaimed stones were ground up and used to fill a levee near the Olivas Park Golf Course.

GIVEN THIS CHECKERED history, it is no wonder local residents have clamored for a respectable ending to this resting place for people who have Ventura streets named after them. Finally a plan has emerged that may appeal to everyone, but paying for it in these tight financial times is the difficult part. The city is hoping for help in the form of grants and private donations, Mayor Christy Weir said.

"Since most grant funding will only pay construction costs -- and not design fees -- the city has taken the initial steps necessary to become eligible for available funding by designing a plan for improvements to the park," she said.

But neighbors, who now enjoy the open, restful spot, have complained about the addition of perhaps 2,000 flat brass markers to the site and wonder how recreation and memorials can co-exist. Others in the community say it never should have been made into a public park in the first place and should be fenced off and restored as a cemetery. A map to the gravesites with names still exists.

The new plan also includes refurbished landscaping and repairs to the historic WPA cobblestone retaining wall, a veterans' memorial path and flagpole, original headstones inset into a memorial wall and a memorial garden, which will make it a more pleasant public space.

"The plan is to gather whatever headstones still exist to use them in the memorial wall," Weir said. "We're trying to restore the history and dignity that was lost when the park conversion took place."

The city is hoping to get more public input on the plan on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at 5:30 p.m. at Community Presbyterian Church, 1555 Poli St. The proposed plans are posted at the park, and are also online at the city's Web site.