Let me get to the point; let me get to it now. Who-ville’s not the only place Grinches abound, and Christmas is not the sole thing they steal. It’s anything good they consider ideal.

Sad to say, “Our-ville” has many, many Grinches, who left unchecked, can steal things from San Diego that are far more precious and longer lasting than Christmas trees and gifts. Maybe these local Grinches are not green or covered with yak fur, but they’re mean, meaner and even the meanest kind nonetheless.

And, who really knows how many Grinches are here? Who really knows all the bad things they’ve done? But four are in Our-ville’s real estate sphere. Let me now count them one by one.

Grinch No.1 is the contingent of San Diego’s electrical power providers which is literally stealing prosperity from the businesses that rent space in most of our office buildings. The so-called electrical rate relief bill passed late last summer provides temporary mercy to homeowners and some small businesses — but not to the owners of buildings 100,000 square feet and larger. These medium to large office buildings are still paying electrical rates that make even the meanest Grinch wince.

One doesn’t have to be as clever as Dr. Seuss to figure out who’s paying the outrageous rates via the operating expense pass through provisions of their lease agreements. Keep in mind these ratepayers are not “fat cats.” The typical office space is only 3,500 square feet, commonly occupied by one- and two-person law and accounting firms as well as other professional service firms and small businesses. They cannot continue to pay unchecked and deregulated power bills and be expected to survive, much less prosper and grow. For that matter, this Grinch eventually will affect all ratepayers under the present relief scheme that requires repayment a couple of years from now of the difference between the lower rate and the actual inflated price of electricity plus interest.

Our second local Grinch has been with us for some time and is certainly no stranger to Our-ville’s office tenants. We’ve seen this hideous beast incarnate in the handful of property managers who daily steal any notion of customer service and respect from the buildings they represent. They have forgotten the primary reason they are in business — to offer high-quality and responsive services to attract and keep their tenant customers in a competitive marketplace.

Alas, our region’s tight office space market has created a “bah, humbug!” and “take-it-or-leave-it” mentality on the part of enough property managers to pose a real threat to our city’s real estate market. Hopefully, the additional office space inventory coming on line over the next few years will inject into the marketplace a dose of competition to either weed out or reform the gruff and insensitive property management Grinches.

Grinch No. 3 particularly enjoys criticizing and opposing anything new that would revitalize downtown Our-ville. He doesn’t like additional downtown parking structures, new housing, or expanded retail and service facilities. He really hates the future downtown library planned for the emerging East Village neighborhood. This important resource not only offers center city San Diegans a state-of-the-art repository of learning, knowledge and culture, but it offers an important anchor for our city’s branch library system.

Non-Grinches need to see the potential of this facility as a resource far greater than what libraries have been in the past. Other progressive and heavily suburban cities — San Jose and Salt Lake City immediately come to mind — are building downtown libraries as knowledge centers that will serve all their citizens well into the new century. We must do the same.

Our final Grinch is a cousin of No. 3, but this one uses litigation to hamper specific efforts already under way to improve our downtown’s economic vitality. Among the things this one apparently hates is the downtown ballpark project.

This Grinch loves law suits. The number of times he’s been in court far exceeds the number of Christmas trees and toys stolen by Dr. Seuss’ green creature. No amount of suspected or actual ballot box tampering in last month’s protracted election can begin to approach the harm to the public welfare this Grinch inflicts on our city’s courageous efforts to rebuild itself.

I’ve told you a tale of some of our Grinches, whose many bad deeds fill these column inches.

Hopefully, new buildings and new leaders, too, will keep these bad creatures from hurting you.