Why Blog? Why Now?

You might ask . . . with the Pacifica Tribune and the local blog Pacifica Riptide, what need is there for yet ANOTHER blog about Pacifica? And why would I be involved after moving to Texas?

Well let me preface the first question by saying I think Elaine Larsen (editor of the Pacifica Tribune) and John Maybury (owner and moderator of the Pacifica Riptide blog) are both decent people with good hearts. The issue I have is one of content, and that as hard as Elaine Larsen tries, the modern paradigm of the local newspaper owned by a corporation is one where the bottom line for the bean counters becomes more important than purpose of the Fourth Estate. She's understaffed and overwhelmed, so I feel she just doesn't have the time or resources to be the editor she wants to be. I've tried faulting her for it, but she's such a nice and honest and intelligent person, its difficult to stay mad at her. Unfortunately, an editorial gaffe was made and local funny guy Ian Butler was allowed to mention my wife in one of his columns . . . well the first rule of politics is you don't go after families. It was a despicable swipe, one I won't blame all too much on the busy editor. When I confronted Mr. Butler about it after a City Council meeting (the same meeting where he and Tod Schlesinger shook hands and buried the hatchet, and Tod offered his sympathies for Ian's brother who had just had a heart attack), he got that look most professional basketball players have mastered when called for a blatant foul. Me? Foul on me? What did I do? I'm innocent, ref!!

Anyway, my wife and I canceled our subscription to the Trib, though I still follow it online. I also feel (and this was an issue with previous editor Chris Hunter) that those who want to control every aspect of this town repeatedly bully the local editor any time they don't like the content, especially when it reveals some dirty aspect to their policies and the effect those policies have had on Pacifica. The end result is, as hard as the dear editor tries, the Trib repeatedly falls short of serving the community in an honest and open manner, as a good newspaper should.

I then turned to Maybury's blog, Pacifica Riptide, which I felt had become a very reliable source of local information. I didn't like Lionel Emde when I first moved to Pacifica and we had some issues over Measure L and Don Peebles, but you know what? I respect the hell out of his research and his integrity and his posts to Riptide have become the local version of Matt Taibbi, "beat" reporter for Rolling Stone. Maybury generally does a good job of keeping the peace, and despite him being a Bloody Sox fan, I like him personally. We had many a good personal conversation over lunch at the Upper Crust Deli. I thought the exchange of ideas was helpful, for a time. But Mayburrito knows where his bread is buttered, and his blog has more often than not become the playground for the propaganda of the "frog and snake" crowd. There is a definite bias, and Maybury admits as much with his all too frequent "its my blog and I'll post what I like" rants. I thoguth maybe he understood where our priorities lied in a city that is probably a few years from bankruptcy and becoming unincorporated San Mateo County, but reading his blog day after day hasn't convinced me he sees this as a burning issue for the citizens of Pacifica.

But somewhere during this controversy over the Sharp Park Golf Course, I began to see that once again Pacifica wasn't being given the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Ian Butler's word and a handshake became moot once he went back to ragging on Tod Schlesinger. I mean crikey, I stood there and watched 2 men shake hands and agree to disagree, and there goes Ian back at it like it never happened. And I realized that some people will shake your hand, stare you blank in the eye, then stab you in the back if it suits their agenda. Hey, that's politics, they say. And I say the ref throws a 15 yard B.S. flag on that. Any person who lies to accomplish his or her goals is part of the problem, not part of the solution.

Because at the heart of what I am saying is most people in Pacifica work hard, volunteer when they can, but otherwise aren't really given the TRUTH on a daily basis. And the citizens of this town need it. Not pie in the sky promises, not fake handshakes and thinly veiled agendas, they need someone to tell them the ship hit the iceberg and they better think about grabbing a life boat before its too late.

Does it make any sense to anyone that while Brent Plater, Ian Butler, and Carlos Davidson are promoting one of the most dishonest land grabs in the history of the Peninsula, effectively dismantling the one true "tourist" attraction of Pacifica in the Sharp Park Golf Course . . . Mayor Julie Lancelle (who ironically supports the golf course!) is busting union lines in the paper by making a direct plea to city employees to kick their union bosses in the ass to help close an $863,000 budget deficit? Gosh, Mister Wizard, how do an attack on a revenue generating enterprise and lack of city revenue have anything in common?

You know what, there have been endemic budget deficits in Pacifica since the Friends of Pacifica helped "save" Mori Point. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that there haven't been any "good times" in Pacifica, financially, regardless of the state of the economy. At least we consistently fall short during booms AND busts. The same people who say hiking trails and snake preserves are our future also ran world class developers like Don Peebles, Trammel Crow, and Barry Swenson (among others) out of town.

Beautiful hills? We got 'em. But they're full of fleas and ticks and other nasties. Wetlands? We got 'em, but they have to be sprayed every 3 weeks to keep West Nile away from the natives. We have a state of the art sewer plant that overflows during every heavy winter rainfall, miles of missing sewer pipes in our infrastructure that contaminate the soil and ocean every single day, and we had the worst drop in our road quality in the last 4 years out of SEVEN COUNTIES!! Oh yeah, and we're broke with $140 million in debt obligations. Sewer rates go up even as use goes down, and the economic plan heaped upon the good citizens of Pacifica are a Walgreens and more taxes.

As for my family moving to Texas, it was the right move. We're in one of the richest counties in the country with some of the highest rated schools. In today's economy, it is all we hoped for and more. But we spent many years making good friends who shared our vision of Pacifica, as a city who could make a few smart decisions if the right people were in charge and the lie-mongers got kicked to the curb. So my guns may be in Texas (*Author's Note: I have never owned a weapon nor will I ever own a weapon. A belt buckle, maybe) but my heart still lives in Pacifica for now.

So open your ears, your eyes, and your mouths! I love a good fight. I'm half Irish! No one gets censored here, and if you feel the need to launch a personal attack, be ready to accept the same back at ya. Let's have a good, honest, down to earth brouhaha about the facts, not as we wish they were, but as they are in all their painful glory. You've been lied to, Pacifica. For years. I believe in all that you are, and all that you can be if we can work together and be honest with each other.

JEFFREY SIMONS