According to Wikipedia: "Extortion is a criminal offense, which occurs when a person [or organization] either obtains money or property from another through coercion or intimidation..." The definition continues: "The simple four words "pay up or else" are sufficient to constitute the crime of extortion."

I suggest that the action of the BID in hiring a collection agency in order to squeeze money from unwilling business persons in Nevada City in order to further their own vaguely defined agenda amounts to exactly that: extortion.

If our local Chambers of Commerce, or any chambers across the nation for that matter, were to implement such heavy-handed tactics in order to forcibly generate revenue, I'm sure that the outcries would be deafening.

The BID and its proponents, regardless of their intentions, are sowing seeds of divisiveness that will in the end benefit no one and damage, perhaps irreparably, the entire downtown business environment.

TD Pittsford

Nevada City