Ex-Mayors Anti-V

The debate surrounding Sierra Madre's Measure V just got hotter (though it didn't involve a public debate of the merits of the Cumquat).

Six former mayors of the town have weighed in on the subject and they're against democracy! Or, at least, they're against Measure V. Nicky Loomis of the Whitter Daily News reports:

As members of The Committee to Preserve Sierra Madre, the mayors sent out a letter this week outlining what they consider the measure's negative impact before the special election April 17.

The proposed Measure V requires any developments proposed in the city's downtown greater than two stories or 30 feet in height and 13 units per acre to go to a vote of the people rather than the City Council.

The letter identifies what the mayors consider "fatal flaws," including what they fear would be non-stop elections, waste of taxpayer money and movement of development into residential neighborhoods.

Not surprisingly, Councilman Kurt Zimmerman begged to differ: "The letter contains a number of misleading statements."

Of course, this news comes close on the heels of the publication of the money flowing into the Measure V campaigns. Or, more accurately, flowing into the campaign against Measure V, which is outstripping the pro-V camp by a ratio of 11:1. This news was *sanely* noted by local blogs (ha!). Beth Buck (owner of Downtown Dirt) seems to have been cut a fat check and the Cactus seems to think her head exploded.

And, to round out the Sierra Madre madness unrelated to the V, the police are recommending putting "tiny, almost invisible, adhesive dots, originally developed for military tracking purposes in the 1940s, anywhere on items likely to be targeted by thieves." Mary Frances Gurton at the Pasadena Star-News has the story:

The tiny plastic dots are easily detected on any item, from jewelry to electronics to automobiles, with the use of an everyday blacklight, which has been made available to officers, Diaz said.

"It is not uncommon for an officer to stop someone in the field and find what he may believe is stolen property," she said. "The difficulty of determining ownership will be decreased when using this investigative tool."

Of course, I'm sure the DataDots are real easy to clean off when you, say, want to sell your car.

And, finally, inSierraMadre has the transcript of an interview with Councilman Joe Mosca who is fighting a recall campaign.

That is all.