CITIZEN JOURNALISM PROVES POWERFUL.

Byline: -- Annie Hundley

We all know the press is powerful, and it's so exciting now that this power has been handed over to all citizens who live in the Valley.

Citizen journalism is a lot of things -- it's fun, enlightening and communitarian. An example this week shows that it's also powerful.

Valleynews.com uber-user Pam Vetter, a West Hills resident who holds the postings record with 61 stories, wrote recently about Sausalito Avenue, which residents say has been neglected by the city for 50 years.

``Craters decorate the street," Pam wrote. ``Cracks are so large that grass grows in the spaces. Sidewalks are so crooked, you can't walk straight. You have to watch each step, because you might take a step up on the sidewalk and then experience a sudden drop down.''

To prove her point, Pam got neighbors out and into the street and took pictures of them pointing to the cracks and craters. Twenty of `em -- just to make sure the message got across.

Well Councilman Dennis Zine`s office caught wind of the story and contacted the residents. Zine has now made a commitment to resurface the street. Pam posted an update to her story saying this:

``When contacted directly, Zine said, `We're optimistic that Sausalito could be resurfaced as soon as possible in this fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2007. If not, it will definitely be on the next fiscal schedule, but hopefully sooner than that.'''

How exciting is that?

How many venues are there in this city where you can complain about a problem and get not only the attention of your elected official, but a promise of a solution?

As Pam wrote in an e-mail to me yesterday, ``When you can get a street put on the docket for repaving after being ignored for 50 years, yes, the possibilities are endless with valleynews.com!''