Santa Monicans: you need to spend a little time this weekend or next week participating in the interactive and dynamic “trade off tool” called MetroQuest that the City’s Community and Cultural Services Department is using to consider and evaluate alternatives for the future of the Civic Auditorium and its surrounding area, including financial implications. Here’s a link to the on-line version of the program; if you weren’t at last weekend’s two-day workshop (which I previewed here), you’ll have a little bit of a learning curve, but it’s worth it—for one thing, I predict that this a tool Santa Monica will use often in the future for public process. One thing about the program, it allows you to go back and forth revising as you learn more, but be sure to get to the end. There is a place for you to leave comments, which I assure you will be considered by the Civic Working Group. The tool can’t handle all alternatives, but we on the CWG intend to, so don’t be shy in listing data and ideas you don’t believe the software takes into account. And one thing — try to use up all the land that’s available. If you don’t want to build on all the land, use the variously sized park options to fill in the acreage. Anyway, for the link click here — and have fun!