Letters to Neighbors Editor, I'm afraid Lake Forest Park owes Constance Sommer an apology. I'm sure she's a very nice person, but our little town so offended her that she was forced to write a somewhat smug and condescending piece (Neighbors, Oct. 3) about what a boring place this is. She's got us figured out. Here's the excitement of the week: the Spartan and Melrose are ripening in several backyards; vine maples are turning; the salmon and cutthroat, are coming up the creeks; my neighbor's young hens began laying. I guess that's about it. As for our crime rate, as Ms. Sommer suggested, it's downright embarrassing. We've tried our best, but serious crime just doesn't seem to catch on out here. Maybe it will one of these days, and we'll invite her to take another look. Sorry, also, about the moderately moderate price of housing -- barely above the King County median, as Ms. Sommer pointed out. I guess this will Never be Laurelhurst or Medina. Dang. About the prohibition against gambling and the problem it has caused the Elks Club since it became a part of Lake Forest Park, and couldn't get the city to rewrite its laws to suit the Elks -- our city council members are so old-fashioned as to believe gambling corrupts everything it touches. A quaint idea they might have picked up from the Post-Intelligencer's coverage of the Seattle, police/gambling payoff scandals of the '70s. Or from any recent FBI Uniform Crime Report. Unlike other cities, this one can't seem to catch the idea that local government should find a way to profit from gambling, that elegant pastime which the professionals define as smart people taking money from dumb people. Anyway, it was nice of Ms. Sommer to waste her time out here, and I hope she'll come back if someday she has nothing more exciting to do. Although that's hard to imagine. Bob Simmons Lake (yawn) Forest Park To whom it may concern, I am a geography professor at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga. I just wanted to compliment your online section called "Neighbors." I teach urban geography and use these articles often to illustrate concepts discussed in class. It's great. Continue the good work and keep the site up. Dr. Craig R. Laing University of Tennessee, Chattanooga Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Geography 615 McCallie Avenue Chattanooga, Tennessee 37403 I am not a Seattle resident; rather I live in Rudyard, MT. I have had an on going love affair with Queen Anne since I was a student at LBI on Greenwood twenty years ago ... most recently, I have been reacquainted with it and love it even more. I try to make at least one trip each month to the hill to view the water, smell the air, walk around the hill, and have an omelot at the Queen Anne Cafe ... can see definite changes in the wind and like the editorial, I question the changes are for the best ... getting too congested ... but still the view makes the 800 mile trip worthwhile for me ... would like to relocate to the hill someday if I can find a job which will pay for the expensive apts! Janice Delaney Send your comments to: General comments E-mail: neighbors@seattle-pi.com Jon Hahn, columnist Phone: (206) 448-8317 E-mail: jonhahn@seattle-pi.com Or write to us at Neighbors, Seattle P-I, 101 Elliott Ave. W., Seattle WA 98119-4220.