Move from "Mostly Dead" to "Dead"

It's been a while since I visited the Foothill Cities Blog. So it took me about a week to discover that it is now "officially" dead.

Foothill Cities used to be an interesting place to visit, full of original and informative posts regarding the politics of several of our nearby cities. They raised the hackles of some local politicians and helped keep the SGV Tribune on its toes.

Unfortunately, after that brief blaze of glory, it soon faded. The self-absorbed and self-destructive Aaron Proctor briefly dominated the site, before he performed an amazing bit of self-immolation. Next, Foothill Cities effectively became "Mostly Monrovia." Shortly, even those posts stopped. As a result, my visits there became less and less frequent. Still, more often than not, there was nothing new to read there.

By the time news of its death became official, it was already largely irrelevant. Too bad, because even a little extra insight into a city's government can be good for democracy. Unpaid individuals can't be expected to watchdog government all by themselves. But, in most cities, someone needs to be asking the questions that the powers that be would rather not have asked. This is particularly true when the so-called mainstream media is often so transparent in its biases.

It's too bad the folks behind The Foothill Cities blog couldn't keep it going, if even as a shadow of its old self. A little bit of watchdogging is better than none and all.