When I told Angus that DowntownDirt.org didn't appear to be as satirical as other sites and instead seemed devoted to jabbing the Observer, she scoffed. DowntownDirt has a space devoted to "lively, spirited and civilized debate," on which a February entry by "Cumquat" asked "how long it's been" since Angus "had an orgasm."
Makes you wonder if there are any grown-ups left in town.
Some folks, such as retired journalist Jackie Knowles, argue that the vast majority of residents are not engaged in all this hysteria and wish it would go away. But there's no denying that the mud-slinging and a steady rain of annoying political mailers have taken a toll in paradise.
"It's ugly both ways," said Judy Webb-Martin, a local real estate broker who is campaigning against Measure V.
She and an ex-mayor, a blogger and a Realtor, among others, warned me outside Bean Town not to trust the other side's distortions.
Before I proceed, I suppose now is the time to attempt to explain -- and I'm not saying I'll succeed, given local peculiarities -- what all of this is about.
Going back a couple of years, Angus, Katina Dunn and many others in town became worried that city leaders could not be trusted to protect the 19th century character and scale of downtown Sierra Madre. Dunn, who was then with the Sierra Madre Weekly, got hold of a draft for downtown development and published a story that sent a shiver through town.
"It was an increase of 1,387 parking spaces, 325 new residential units and 221,110 square feet of commercial space," said Dunn, whose story caused widespread hyperventilating.
This was huge news in a town that prides itself on not having a single traffic light, and last year three concerned citizens were voted onto City Council to mind the store. Soon after the election, one of the three new council members, Joe Mosca, opposed holding a citywide vote on the downtown plan, arguing that it was a mere draft that hadn't been finalized and never would be.
That didn't sit well with some of his former supporters.
It turns out that when the lights go out on the mountain each night, suspicion reigns. Restless souls, determined to save their fair town, quickly began pitching Measure V, which would give townsfolk a vote on any project that exceeds two stories or 30 feet in height and more than 18 units per acre.
Mosca accuses Dunn of blowing the whole thing out of proportion. No way will projects that would ruin Sierra Madre get approved by the council, he insists.
