L.J. Renaissance?

We never thought we'd see it in our lifetime, but a bonafide downtown renaissance is underway in downtown Lake Jackson.

Don't get the wrong idea. Trendy lofts aren't being built for the cognoscenti, and citizens of the City of Enchantment aren't forsaking their suburban tract homes to become latte-sippin' urban dwellers, but the changes, modest though they are, nevertheless are welcome.

At the intersection of Circle Way and That Way, you will notice a huge mountain of dirt that has been excavated from the earth. In due time, we're told, the big pile of dirt will be replaced by a new building that will host a gourmet deli restaurant and some shops. One local antique dealer already has signed a pre-lease deal to move her shop into the new digs.

Down the street, in the old Lake Theater, the cornpone on stage will soon be complemented by a new full service restaurant that will be operated by a former Houston chef who has been running an steak eatery in West Columbia.

There's more.

The old Post Office building is undergoing a renovation for a new enterprise that has not yet been unveiled, although our sources say rumors that a gay cowboy dance hall would soon occupy the old fed building are patently false.

The downtown merchants already in business are waiting anxiously for the city to provide them 50 new parking spots to relieve the vehicle congestion. The patrons of Cafe Annice will welcome this development as they say that searching for a parking spot before they dine tends to put them in a foul mood. This leads to smaller tips for the wait staff.

Speaking of Cafe Annice, does anyone out there share the opinion that it's time they add a few wrinkles to their menu?

Change is difficult, we realize, but now, with all the downtown activity going on, seems a perfect time to forget booting the simple Point-After-Touchdown kick and going for Two Points instead.

As LJ residents know, however, going for the iffy two-point conversion rather than the almost-sure-thing one point conversion does not comport with the L.J.'s M.O.

Case in point: the local movie scene.

The buzz this year among the movie-going public is focused on "The Hours," the movie starring Nicole Kidman, Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore. Kidman could get the Oscar. The movie and/or the director may take Oscar home, too. But you can't see the movie in Lake Jackson. Instead we are offered the usual fare of kiddie movies, teen-age hormones-a'bustin' flicks and story lines that feature lots of explosions.

That's proof, we are sad to say, that Lake Jackson remains a cultural backwater, but at least there soon will be more dining choices downtown.