To the editor:

The greater part of Old Town-area residents and merchants take pride in their sidewalks and yards. This is not the case on a 100-yard-long stretch of Eisenhower Avenue south of a federal government structure — the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The amount of cigarette butts cluttered in the grass and even on the bricks immediately outside the doors of the building is deplorable. It never ceases to amaze me that smokers don’t consider discarding their butts as littering. The second and third mysteries are why the patent office does not provide receptacles and/or clean up the area.

I’m a government employee and am truly embarrassed that those fortunate enough to work in such a nice complex can’t demonstrate any respect for the community or civic pride.

– S. Stratton
Alexandria