First published in the Sept. 22 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
I watched the Sept. 12 Special City Council Meeting online.
Dozens of people attended in person, but it appears the majority were present under false pretenses because of misleading messages and/or advertising in the local paper.
I’m not a religious person but I’ve always shown and will continue to show courtesy toward the clergy.
I don’t know Rev. Amy Pringle. I’ve lived here 25 years and didn’t even know St. George’s Church was tucked in along Foothill Boulevard. What I saw/heard at the council meeting and read in the paper made me ashamed of some of my fellow residents. The minister was attacked based entirely on a false accusation/lie that someone (or some group) spread just to rile people up and get them to object to something that wasn’t even real.
It appeared to me someone made a decision to throw the minister under the bus in order to get what they couldn’t achieve with simple honesty. I’ve lived in many different places and originally come from the East Coast, where we have a reputation for being painfully blunt and even nasty toward others sometimes. But I’ve never seen the kind of passive-aggressive bullying that’s all too common in this city. I’m a senior and starting to think about the need to free up my single-family home so a young family can get into La Cañada. Also, for more than a decade I took care of my mother who had advanced Alzheimer’s. It would have helped more than I can say to have had an affordable facility right here in town to help me take care of my lovely and deserving mother. We need Senior Housing, especially with assisted living options, that’s affordable and safe here in La Cañada. I sincerely sympathize with residents who don’t want the added traffic/parking — I’m with you on that. But we need to figure out a way to make it work not only so young families can move in and enjoy the life we’ve enjoyed in La Cañada, but also because many of us are frankly approaching the age when we need it.
Kudos to Rev. Amy for surviving the slings and arrows cast by some in this town. I don’t know you, but I respect what you do and hope you have the strength to continue your commitment for housing equality.
Pamela Woncik
La Cañada Flintridge
