California towns and communities are proud of their identities. Regional divides are the source of great pride and fierce rivalries.
The unincorporated community of Alpine (please note it was not referred to as the City of Alpine or Town of Alpine) is facing a challenge to its small-town, off-the-grid identity.
As reported by the San Diego Union Tribune:
The company plans to team up with county officials to dress up the road once the power line is installed. Rubberized asphalt will be laid down, along with gutters and sidewalks along some sections of the road.
To longtime locals like Ralph Griggs, gutters and sidewalks aren’t something to boast about.
“We’re cowboys out here, basically,” he said. “We don’t want no stinkin’ sidewalks. Those are city.”
The unincorporated community is thick with urban escapees who settled in town because of what it isn’t – and darn if some road overhaul is going to mess with that.
Read the full article here.