Yep, we're upgrading. The frail, old, leaky, stinky septic system here in Paradise Cove is finally being replaced. It's been a long haul, years of law suits and sewage spills, accusations and denials, streets awash in human waste. You really haven't lived until the unmistakable scent of effluvium wafts in in a gentle breeze from the street in front of you.

We've all got photos and videos of it, copies of letters and e-mails we've sent. We've all spent time in grindingly dull meetings. And finally, it's happening. Big machines carving even bigger holes for the new septic system. State of the art, says Paradise Cove management. Porta-potties are state of the art compared to what we've got now.

Our space rents have nearly doubled to help pay for all this. It's been a burden on the park's long-term, pre-real estate boom residents, who live on modest incomes. If it works, though, if the waters off our little stretch of beach run clean again, it'll be well worth it.

And P.S. - the LA Times piece calls Paradise Cove a private beach. There are no private beaches in California, as Jenny Price so tirelessly proves and explains.