[vista, Originally uploaded by okarol]

To all members of the blogosphere:

Greetings and hello. Since 2006, the Foothill Cities Blog has endevoured to bring citizen-journalism to the suburban communities of the San Gabriel Valley that abutt the powerful mountains. We have strived to inform the citizenry not only of events and their duties in the face of them, but also of their awesome power over the government itself.

Each of us had our private motives and sensibilities that guided us. But never was this venture expected to generate revenue or income. Those who supported us, morally, materially or otherwise, may know that they gave aid and comfort to a tribe that wanted to reach out to the community around. Our legacy will be honorable if it is merely a footnote in some greater work.

In short, we’ve had a lot of fun.

But the pressures of domestic life have finally closed in. The enigmatic Centinel and Publius no longer return even my email. Technological problems with the server software impare even my power to post this goodbye. Were I an administrator I could continue this struggle myself. But, as I sit, I deem it time to throw in the towel once and for all.

This site and its archive will stay up as long as someone pays the bill. I will migrate over to a new platform elsewhere. Keep tabs on me over at http://therealzajac.110mb.com

-30-

[Originally uploaded by The Real Zajac]

So, we are told this is a golden age,
And gold is the reason for the wars we wage.

[profusion of purple panicles in Pasadena, Originally uploaded by faria!]

Excerpted from The Economist:

Q: Do you see blogging as an inferior form of journalism?

A: I only wish more bloggers would do journalism. Meaning: independently check (alleged) facts before publishing them. Ask people for comment before printing claims about them or attributing hearsay to them. Leave the house and find things out, preferably things that surprise and confound one’s initial predispositions. Try to provide some balance. Understand that people can be hurt or even ruined by what writers write, so there is some real need for compassion and caution. Understand that an all-purpose snarky attitude is no substitute for the specialised knowledge that comes from working a beat. Newsrooms teach these values. The blogosphere seems, too often anyway, to teach contempt for them. I suppose I’ll get a flood of comments (some abusive, proving my point, but never mind) saying I paint with too broad a brush. Fair enough. Some bloggers do good work. And of course the medium is still young. But it’s already old enough, I think, so we can say it is no substitute for the newsroom journalism that is in such trouble today.

And special thanks to Faria! for her jacaranda collage. (Yes, the two are totally unrelated; so there.)

[Voting Booths at PCC, Originally uploaded by The Real Zajac]

Some of you may have heard the phrase, “This is a republic, not a democracy.” The speaker no doubt was voicing some sort of complaint about the nature of our politics, or at least the pandering policies of the politicians. But this nice catch-phrase sits at the heart of a debate that Western Civilization has been having since the time of classical Athens. I’m also reminded of another catch-phase, but from the 19th Century: “The people have spoken, the bastards.”

I’m not trying to chastise the electorate for voting down the propositions yesterday, I voted no on some of them too. I’m just not so sure that constant voter referendums are an effective way to pass critical legislation.

(more…)

Last time I published a piece, the blog lit up like old times. It seems that my assault upon Howard Jarvis and Prop 13 (supposedly a political no-no in this state) has hit a deep nerve about California. While we got a lot of great feedback on the issue, the conversation gradually got sucked into the never-ending screaming match over illegal immigration (save that for next month). In the interests of brevity and staying-on-topic, I closed the comments (it was my decision alone and was not prompted by anything in particular). I just want to draw attention to Ms. Zucco’s post on civic nomenclature (Metroblogging has a nice post on the larger issue too) and bring things back towards a discussion of taxes.

Because that’s what I’m interested in talking about. California has a peculiar system of often overlapping tax districts, and a stranger system of limitations on both spending and revenue generation. I’ve seen some states get by just fine without an income tax, or even sales taxes. Then we have the perennial problem of “going to the voters” to balance the budget. The fact of the matter is that the people we elect (quit whining about gerrymandering for 10 minutes and own up, folks) are unable to make a budget work.

Think about it: the state’s budget system is so ridged that the legislature is constantly forced to go back to the electorate with a slate of confusing ballot propositions. If even one of these fails, we are told, it sends the budget back into deadlock. Of course, instead of rationally discussing the issue and crafting a compromise where everybody wins, the legislators are asking the great unwashed to be budgeteer for a day, and not just pitch in a helpful idea, but take the wheel of the ship of state for a spin. Why be surprised when California ends up in a muddy ditch?

Despite the claim that we pay more in taxes than other people, we don’t. (more…)

[Over the Limit, Originally uploaded by Puzzled Panda]

Every time I revisit the issue, I keep returning to the same conclusion. California is facing record deficits. Again. The legislature has been deadlocked on the budget every year as far back as I can remember. Every year, a flury of ballot propositions comes up and the governor, whoever it is, hits the road to promote them, claiming that the fate of the state budget hangs on whether the measures pass. The constant revenue shortfalls keep imperiling the funding of transportation, police, health care, education. Whenever I read an analysis of the problem, I hear about the “golden years” of the sixties, when California built hospitals, schools, colleges, highways and a flurry of other public works projects. Invariably, the commentator points out how the state was able to finance all this spending through massive federal government grants which dried up in the seventies as years of structural deficits began to catch up.

With this understanding and the plausibility that I may be just out for lynch mob justice, one man stands out as being the source of so much pain and anguish in our state. This one person, more than any elected leader, international geopolitical event or natural disaster, has turned California into a basket case of a state tottering on the edge of bankruptsy.

I am talking about Howard Jarvis. And I lay all the woes of the Golden State at his grave.

(more…)

[pasadena police, Originally uploaded by raalvarezphoto]

In Sunday’s Los Angeles Times, the Opinion page ran an article about the investigation into the death of Leroy Barnes. Written by Merrick Bobb of the nonprofit Police Assessment Resource Center, the article condemns the Police union for trying to hide the identity of the officers involved and getting a restraining order against their own Chief of Police, Bernard Melekian.

On Feb. 19, Leroy Barnes Jr., a 38-year-old African American man, was shot 11 times by two Pasadena police officers. The chief followed the rules of good policing, ordering an internal investigation, turning the results over to the FBI and the district attorney, and engaging a county agency to independently assess the fairness, thoroughness and integrity of the shooting review.

We grant the power of life and death to those who carry a badge. With that power comes the obligation to take personal responsibility. Anonymity defeats accountability. Absent a clear and present danger of imminent harm, which the police union has failed to show, Melekian would have been right to disclose the officers’ names. His willingness to hold himself and his department accountable to the general public is admirable.

Should this kind of insubordination against the chief be brooked? Normally the union plays hardball negotiation with the city, not the chain of command. Then of course is the question of whether the identity of officers should be disclosed at all.What do you guys think?

This is my KYBO – that’s what my husband and all his friends call these things – KYBO stands for Keep Your Bowels Open – I think it might be a Boy Scout-thing.

Not every front lawn has one of these…but for the past year during our renovation, we have had a KYBO for all the multitude of construction guys working here.

We even decorated with Christmas Lights during the holidays.

Of course if has be tee-peed – probably by some of the many high school boys that live in our area…and it’s even been knocked over once…

But something the Port-A-Potty folks don’t tell you is this will become a stop for neighborhood walkers and others as a pit stop, essentially – a public bathroom.

At *least* three or four times a week as I am pulling up, or walking out of the house – I will see someone…and I am going to generalize – typically some older, white guy – coming out of my KYBO.

DUDE – not your potty and not cool!

My request – if there is an underground map of all the clean KYBO’s in Monrovia front yards; good for walkers, public works guys and utility workers…time is running out.

Our renovation is almost done and we will no longer have a need for Big Blue.

You will have to hold it until you get home – or maybe hit those other two that used to be on North Canyon.

The Crisis of Credit Visualized - Part 1
The Crisis of Credit Visualized - Part 2

Don’t look now, but we’re all in big trouble. Post stories of default, unemployment, homelessness, foreclosure and economic disaster below.

Here’s a new idea: every Friday you submit your questions. Over the next week, we’ll (the collective FC writers and I) will answer them. Probably, the majority of answers will be supplied by yours truly, but if any other writers want to take a stab, we can split them.

So, fire away with any questions you have. Want to know why reader AA is such a “parking tard?” Wondering why certain roads are so noisy? Curious as to why Romero won’t talk? Ask the question in the comments, and I’ll do my best to give it an answer.

One question per comment and other readers are welcome to jump in with answers.  I’ll answer questions next week in the order they were left. Fire away.