Breaking News: The FC is Back

The FC Blog, which shut down abruptly to an unfortunate and disastrous server crash, is back with a new look. They're still working out a few bugs, but they're back online with news of the San Gabriel Valley.

Sounds as if it may take them a week or so to work out a few bugs, but keep checking in on them. FC Blogger Centinel writes:

We’ll have a lot more about the blog in the days to come, but this week is our soft launch. We’re sneaking back on the web without a whole lot of promotion while we kick the kinks out of this brand spankin’ new design. I’ll be showing off some new features, and testing the functionality of the site, while some of our writers get acquainted with the updated Wordpress and sharpen their knives. Please email me with any complaints (centinel@thefcblog.com) and let’s get the blog back to snuff.

Foothill Cities Blog Blamed for Passage of LA County Transit Measure R

In a wave of bitter recrimination, opponents of the Metropolitan Transit Authority's Measure R, another half cent sales tax increase for transportation, blamed the now-defunct Foothill Cities Blog for the defeat.

"We were counting on Foothill Cities to be there when we needed it," lamented a chastened Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. "There was nothing in Measure R for the San Gabriel Valley, and we frankly expected Foothill Cities to point that out to its wide readership. But Foothill Cities has been silent on this issue for more than six weeks."

In fact Foothill Cities has been off the air for almost seven weeks. A lonely note claiming a server crash is all that now greets the visitor to thefcblog.com. According to Publius, the founder of the Foothill Cities Blog, "This was a major technological error. Centinel is on it." Sure.

Mayor Ellen Taylor of Claremont, secretly very happy to have another half-percent added to her shopping cart, making Claremont still less competitive with Montclair Plaza, nonetheless put on her game face: "We just don't understand why the voters would have done this. I published a letter with all the arguments in the Daily Bulletin and even in the Claremont Courier. If only the Foothill Cities Blog had covered it. This is really, really sad."

Pomona City Council member George Hunter, whose name was left off the ballot argument in a conspiracy that included Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder Dean C. Logan, piled on. "Foothill Cities bears a heavy responsibility for the passage of this measure. We had counted on that blog, and it wasn't there." Councilmember Hunter called us from his car with this quote; he was stuck in traffic on the 71 at Mission Blvd in Pomona, an Intersection From Hell that will not be addressed by Measure R funds.

As of this writing Measure R appears to have passed with a mere 18,080 vote margin over the 2/3 of the 2.4 million voters who inked a preference, one way or the other, for the measure. It is unclear whether late absentee or provisional ballots could possibly change the outcome. But with the aforementioned Registrar-Recorder Dean C. Logan counting the votes, no worries; right?

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a key supporter of Measure R, was ecstatic. "Now we can build the subway to the sea for my Westside supporters, and to hell with those hicks in the San Gabriel Valley. Who wants to go there, anyway? Gold Line Schmold Line." He added, "I'm just grateful we weren't up against the Foothill Cities Blog."

Supervisors Gloria Molina and Don Knabe issued a joint statement blaming the Foothill Cities Blog. "A shocking abdication of responsibility," the statement said.

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All quotes in this post were made up.

Foothill Cities Blog--RIP

Perhaps news of its death has been greatly exaggerated, but the Foothill Cities Blog (thefcblog.com--don't try it; it's down) has been off the air for days now.

Posting there has been a bit spotty of late; we understand how life happens to the most committed bloggers, and wish Centinel well in dealing with his father's health. Publius, formerly a reliable source for thoughtful commentary, seems to be on an extended vacation far far away from Internet access. Here's hoping that tan is coming along nicely.

We are thinking that some of the enemies made by the FC Blog have finally done their dirty work. Probably the most likely suspect is Arnold Alvarez-Glasman, city attorney of West Covina and other cities, who was involved in a dust-up with the FC Blog last year. (We'd provide a link but, as we may have mentioned, the FC Blog is no more; gone; kaput; a former blog.)

The key here is to take down the blog and not leave any fingerprints.

They finally figured it out. Maybe they used the hacker who outed the Chinese gymnast or the one that hacked Sarah Palin's email.

Foothill Cities = Community Service

John Clifford over at the M-M-M-My Pomona blog has a nice post that pays tribute to the stellar work the Foothill Cities writers have done covering the Sierra Madre fire.

Clifford says:

It must be remembered that bloggers are not being paid to do this. However, the contributors of the FCB have done an very admirable job in giving the community (and the wider community as well) a very good picture of what's going on. This coverage is so much better than any of the local media has given because it is being reported by those who are directly affected.

I salute the contributors at the Foothill Cities Blog. They show that blogging is more than just a bunch of complainers venting at their local governments. They ARE concerned citizens, who like most concerned citizens, rally together in times of trouble.

News aggregators is what most local bloggers are, and the Foothill Cities folks have shown that having all those eyes and ears out there in the community can be valuable during crises.

Claremont v. Claremont

The Inland Daily Bulletin has an article online concerning the Great Claremont Salary Leak. Reporter Will Bigham does a nice job rounding up comment. We urge you to read the whole piece, but can't resist some excerpts:

The pay stub contains private information that the city would not be required to release upon request, said City Attorney Sonia Carvalho, putting the city in a position to be sued by any staff member whose privacy was compromised. [look for the lawsuit soon: Claremont v. Claremont.]

[City Manager Jeff] Parker said late Friday that he plans to investigate how the information was leaked and said he had contacted Police Chief Paul Cooper about the possibility that the document had been stolen.

Carvalho said Friday afternoon that she had contacted the legal department at Google, which hosts the Claremont Insider blog, to request that the private information in the post be removed.

Sonia must have been busy yesterday. She really got her knickers in a knot and went tattling to teacher. But so far the Google Gods have permitted our modest effort to live on in cyber-space.

"I'm not happy because I don't think it's information that should be on any kind of Web site, or a blog in this case," [Parker] added.

Don't shoot the messenger. Matt Hawkesworth is the one keeping the records in the on-line City Document Archive, not us.

"However it got into the hands of the blog, there was a theft involved, and that concerns me greatly," Parker said. "I'm going to look into starting an investigation into the potential theft of that information." [Will they be getting Columbo, or Inspector Clouseau?]

Parker would not comment when asked whether he would consider legal action against the city if it's determined that a city staff member was the source of the leak.

Maybe the lawsuit will be Parker v. Parker.

(The Insider got brief mention today on the Foothill Cities blog. The link is worth your while because it raises the point, once more, that there is a real public interest in disclosing public employee compensation.)

Bloggers: Watchdogs or Windbags?

So asks today's print edition of the Los Angeles Times. (We vote "Windbags.")

The article, by Jonathan Abrams, appears in the Times' California section and is also available online. Several local blogs received mention, and Publius at The Foothill Cities Blog was quoted at length.

The Insider even got a brief mention, and Claremont Mayor Peter Yao was quoted:

Claremont Mayor Peter S. Yao said the blog provided a bit of insight but had to be taken with a grain of salt.

"It certainly is one additional input for the City Council on how some of the population feels on certain issues," he said. "Occasionally, it sheds a little light on a situation, but most of the time it is a rumor mill."

True or not true? Judge for yourself.

They've Got the Munchies

Publius over at Foothill Cities was kind enough to pass a funny bit on to us.

We weren't sure whether to file it under food or crime. Of course, depending on the quality of the cookies, it could be both.