MASON, OH - "Downtown Mason? Why would I go there?" wondered resident Tina Thorpe. "There's nowhere to park but the street.  There's no Dick's or Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Worst of all, you've got that turf war brewing between Mason and Loveland over who 'owns' that stretch of I-71.  Just the other day, I saw a car with a bumper sticker for the Loveland Tigers driving down Main Street. That's a recipe for violence."

Tina Thorpe is not alone. Faced with a declining downtown, Mason Mayor Peter Beck this week announced a $2 million revitalization plan for downtown. At the heart of the plan is a controversial decision to move the oak tree at West and Main a block east to East and Main.

"Thousands of dollars to move a perfectly good oak tree?" said Thorpe. "I could think of better ways to spend that money.   How about,  there's no Cheesecake Factory out here yet, for starters."

Another resident, Mark Turner, put it bluntly. "The problem is, the consumer will accept mediocrity. They keep going back to the same places. Not because it's good, but because it's convenient."

Turner paused for a moment as he finished his coffee at Mimi's Cafe in Deerfield Town Centre. "If people stopped settling for convenience and went to places that offered excellent food at moderate prices, downtown Mason would flourish."

"It's a shame really. There's isn't another downtown like it in the whole region. It's probably the only real urban neighborhood for miles."